ACTV ENQUIRIES Piazzale Roma, daily 7.30am-8pm tel
041.528.7886.
AIRLINES Alitalia, Salizzada S. Moisè, San Marco 1463 tel
041.520.0355; British Airways, Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello 4191
tel 041.528.5026.
AIRPORT ENQUIRIES Marco Polo airport, tel
041.260.9260.
AMERICAN EXPRESS The American Express office is in
Salizzada S. Moisè, a couple of minutes' walk west of the Piazza;
Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm; emergency number tel
041.1678.72.000 (toll-free).
BANKS Banks in Venice are concentrated on Calle Larga
XXII Marzo (west of the Piazza), and along the chain of squares and
alleyways between Campo S. Bartolomeo and Campo Manin (in the north
of the San Marco sestiere). There's not much to choose between them
in terms of commission and exchange rates, and their hours are
generally Mon-Fri 8.30am-1.30pm and 2.30-3.30pm. The main ones are
as follows:
Banca Commerciale Italiana, Calle Larga XXII Marzo, San Marco
2188.
Banca d'Italia, Campo S. Bartolomeo, San Marco 4799.
Banca Credito Italiano, Campo S. Salvador, San Marco.
Banco Ambrosiano Veneto, Calle Goldoni, San Marco 4481.
Banco di Roma, Mercerie dell'Orologio, San Marco 191.
Banco San Marco, Calle Larga XXII Marzo, San Marco 383.
BEACHES The Lido has two public beaches, at the northern
and southern extremities of the island. The southern is the less
crowded; better still, go down to Sottomarina, in the south of the
lagoon.
CAR RENTAL
At Marco Polo airport:
Avis tel 041.541.5030
Europcar tel 041.541.5654
Hertz tel 041.541.6075
Maggiore Budget tel 041.541.5040
At Piazzale Roma:
Avis tel 041.522.5825
Europcar tel 041.523.8616
Hertz tel 041.528.3524
Mattiazzo tel 041.522.0884
CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES The British consulate is in the
Palazzo Querini, Dorsoduro 1051 tel 041.522.7207 (by the
Accademia); this office is staffed by an honorary consul - the
closest full consulate is in Milan, at Via San Paolo 7 tel
02.723.001. The nearest US consulate is also in Milan, at Largo
Donegani 1 tel 02.290.351. Travellers from Ireland, Australia, New
Zealand and Canada should contact their Rome embassies: Irish
Embassy, Via Largo Nazareno 3 tel 06.678.2541; Australian Embassy,
Via Alessandria 215 tel 041.06/832.721; New Zealand Embassy, Via
Zara 28 tel 06.440.2928; Canadian Embassy, Via G. B. de Rossi 27
tel 041.06/841.5341.
ELECTRICITY The supply is 220 volts AC, but anything
requiring 240V will work. Most plugs are two round pins: a travel
plug is useful.
EMERGENCIES For all emergency services ring 113.
Alternatively, dialling tel 112 puts you straight through to the
Carabinieri (police) and tel 115 goes straight to the
Vigili del Fuoco (fire brigade) .
EXCHANGE There are clusters of exchange bureaux (
cambios ) where most tourists gather - near San Marco, the
Rialto and the train station. Open late every day of the week, they
can be useful in emergencies, but their rates of commission and
exchange tend to be steep. The best rates are at American Express
and the main banks.
FOOTBALL Venice's football team, which recently has
yo-yo'ed between Serie A and Serie B, plays in the Pierluigi Penzo
stadium, the most ramshackle ground in top-flight Italian football.
Tickets can be bought from the Banca Antoniana Popolare Veneta:
there are branches on Campo San Bartolomeo and Strada Nova.
HOSPITAL Ospedale Civile, Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo;
casualty dept tel 041.529.4517, ambulance service tel
041.523.0000
INTERNET ACCESS A number of dedicated Internet points
have opened in the last couple of years, most charging around
L10,000/€5.16 per half-hour, though rates usually drop the longer
you stay online.
San Marco : The Net House , Campo S. Stefano 2967
(24hr).
Dorsoduro : Omniservice , Fondamenta dei
Tolentini; Internet Point , Campo S. Margherita.
San Polo : Café Noir , Crosera S. Pantalon;
CreArte , Calle del Luganegher 1085 (daily 10am-8pm);
Gibo Bar , Ponte della Donna Onesta (Tues-Sat
7.30pm-midnight); Horus Explorer , Fondamenta dei Tolentini
220 (Mon-Fri 8.30-1pm & 3-7pm); Internet Point , Calle
S.Pantalon; The Netgate , Crosera S.Pantalon 3812a (Mon-Sat
11.15am-8pm, Sun 2.15-8pm).
Cannaregio : Planet Internet , Ponte delle Guglie
1519 (daily; 9am-11pm); Virtualia , Rio Terrà dei Franceschi
4563 (9.45am-1pm & 4-8pm).
Castello : Play the Game , Calle Lunga S. Maria
Formosa 6187 (daily 9.30am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm); Venetian
Navigator , Casselleria 5300 (summer 10am-10pm; winter
10am-7.30pm), with another branch nearby on Calle delle Bande 5269
(same hours); Fondazione Querini Stampalia (Mon-Sat 4pm-midnight;
free).
Eastern Districts : Internet Point , Via Garibaldi
1592; Internet Service , Corte dei Preti 3546a (daily
10am-1pm, 3-6pm & 9-11pm).
LAUNDRIES There are no self-service laundries in Venice
any more, but every parish has a dry cleaners.
LEFT LUGGAGE The desk at the end of platform 14, in the
train station, charges L5,000/€2.58 per item per 12 hours. For a
shorter stay it makes sense to use the lockers alongside platform
1, which cost L3000/€1.55 per 6 hours. Both open 24hr.
LOST PROPERTY If you lose anything on the train or at the
station, call 041.785.238; at the airport call 041.260.6436; on the
vaporetti call 041.780.310; and anywhere in the city itself call
the town hall on 041.520.8844.
NEWSPAPERS You'll find the main national newspapers on
any newsstand: La Repubblica is middle-to-left with a lot of
cultural coverage; Il Corriere della Sera is authoritative
and rather right-wing; L'Unità is the Communist Party organ;
and Il Manifesto a more radical left-wing daily. Venice's
local papers are the Gazzettino and Nuova Venezia
(good for listings). More widely read than any, however, is the
pink Gazzettino dello Sport , essential for the serious
sports fan. English and American newspapers can be found at the
train station, by the Calle dell'Ascensione post office and at
various stands throughout the city - usually a day or two late.
POLICE To notify police of a theft, report to the
Questura on Fondamenta S. Lorenzo (tel 041.528.4666); in the
event of a lost passport, notify the Questura and then your
consulate or embassy; in emergencies, ring 113.
PORTERS Porters tout for trade at Piazzale Roma and the
train station, and at places in the city where luxury hotels are
concentrated - such as Riva degli Schiavoni and Calle Larga XXII
Marzo. Their charges begin at L20,000/€10.35 for carrying one piece
of luggage between any two points in the centre of the city, with a
L10,000/€5.17 supplement for each additional item.
POST OFFICES Venice's main post office is in the Fondaco
dei Tedeschi, near the Rialto bridge. Any poste restante should be
addressed to Fermo Posta, Fondaco dei Tedeschi, 80100 Venezia; it
can be collected Mon-Sat 8.15am-6.45pm - take your passport with
you. Stamps are on sale Mon-Sat 8.15am-7pm; the telegram service
operates round the clock. The principal branch post offices are in
Calle dell'Ascensione (Mon-Sat 8.10am-6pm) and at Záttere 1406
(same hours). Stamps can also be bought in tabacchi , as
well as in some gift shops.
PUBLIC TOILETS The lack of public toilets in Venice used
to be a common complaint from tourists, but AmaV (
Azienda multiservizi ambientale Veneziana ) has now
installed facilities on or very near to most of the main squares,
and all over the city you'll see green, blue and white AmaV
signs high on the walls, directing you to the nearest toilet.
Costing L1000 (you'll need coins for the turnstiles), the main
facilities are at the train station, at Piazzale Roma, on the west
side of the Accademia bridge, by the main tourist office at the
Giardinetti Reali, off the west side of the Piazza, off Campo S.
Bartolomeo, on Campo S. Polo, Campo Rialto Nuovo, Campo S.
Leonardo, Campo San'Angelo and on Campo S. Margherita. Toilets are
to be found in most of the city's bars as well - it's diplomatic,
to say the least, to buy a drink before availing yourself.
TELEPHONES All Venice's public call-boxes accept phone
cards (the vast majority accept nothing but cards), which can be
bought from tabacchi and some other shops (look for the
Telecom Italia sticker); the less expensive type of cards
can be bought from machines by the Telecom Italia phone
booths in Strada Nova (near S. Felice), Calle S. Luca, Piazzale
Roma and adjoining the main post office building near the Rialto
Bridge. You're never far from a pay phone - every sizeable campo
has at least one, and there are phones by every vaporetto stop. For
lengthy long-distance calls, however, it might be best to go to one
of the two main Telecom Italia offices, where you can dial
direct and be charged afterwards: the office at Piazzale Roma is
open daily 8am-9.30pm, and the one at the main post office is open
Mon-Fri 8.30am-12.30pm & 4-7pm.
TIME Italy is one hour ahead of Britain, six hours ahead
of Eastern Standard Time and nine hours ahead of Pacific Standard
Time.
TRAIN ENQUIRIES tel 1478.88.088.