World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Venice  - Air
Air

Venice Marco Polo (VCE)
Tel: (041) 260 6111. Fax: (041) 260 6260.
Web site: www.veniceairport.it
Located just 12km (7.5 miles) from Venice, Marco Polo airport is the main hub for European and national flights to the Veneto region. It is easily accessible by land or water and when occasionally blighted by fog, planes can land at nearby airports in Treviso or Verona. Despite having only one terminal, the airport handled 3.4 million passengers in 1999 and is the third busiest airport in Italy.

Major airlines:
Italy's national airline, Alitalia (tel: (041) 258 1222; web site: www.alitalia.it), connects Venice to Rome, Naples and Catania in Sicily. British Airways and their 'no-frills' off-shoot Go operate daily flights to London (Heathrow and Stansted respectively), and Lufthansa, Air France and Sabena fly to other major European capitals and business centres.

Approximate flight times to Venice:
From London is 2 hours 10 minutes; from New York is 9 hours 20 minutes; from Los Angeles is 13 hours 20 minutes; from Toronto is 10 hours 30 minutes; and from Sydney is 20 hours 45 minutes.

Airport facilities:
Facilities include branches of Italian banks with ATMs (bancomat), a selection of bars and eating places. A range of shops selling local handicrafts and specialist food stuffs, a post office, a 24-hour first aid service and a hotel reservations service are also available. Car hire operators include Avis, Europcar and Hertz.

Business facilities:
Business class travellers, without luggage, can check in at the VIP lounge where there are televisions and phones at their disposal. A meeting room complete with fax, phone, overhead projector and video can also be reserved in advance (tel: (041) 260 6285).

Arrival/departure tax:
None.

Transport to the city:
The most romantic way to arrive in Venice (weather permitting) is by motorboat (motoscafo). Travellers pay a little more for the privilege (L17,000) and the ride takes a little longer, but the approach to St Mark's Square from the water is one few will forget. The Alilaguna service departs hourly and takes one hour. Water taxis (tel: (041) 541 5084) are an altogether more upmarket choice, with a price tag upwards of L100,000. Cheaper alternatives by land include the airport bus to Piazzale Roma, which departs every 20 minutes and takes 20 minutes (L5000), or bus 5, which costs just L1500 and departs every 30 minutes. Car taxis to Piazzale Roma can be found outside the arrivals hall and cost approximately L30,000 (tel: (041) 936 222).




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ENTERTAINMENT
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