Venice's Unique Island Location

As you’ve probably heard, Venice is a cluster of many small islands located in the middle of the lagoon in the northern Adriatic Sea. Because of its island location, it’s absolutely impossible to drive directly to your hotel or to the center of Venice.

Not a single hotel in Venice has a parking lot or underground parking garage.

All visitors and residents must park their cars in a parking garage in northern Venice and walk or take a boat (vaporetto or water taxi) to the hotel. There is no other option.

As you can see from these pictures, Venice is a historic old town crisscrossed by numerous canals and alleys. There are no streets or parking spaces anywhere in the city. The only road that exists is used solely for accessing the parking garages and for the return trip.

Your trip from the „West“ or „East“

Venice.com is, as the name suggests, the original website for all German-speaking visitors. This is usually referred to as "D-A-CH": Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

All visitors from these three countries have only two options for traveling by car.
You can either come „from the west“ from the direction of Verona—for example, from the Brenner Highway—or „from the east“ from the Villach-Tarvisio border crossing. Exit the highway at Mestre and continue on to Venice (Venezia).

Driving to Venice

Venice is connected to the mainland by a 4-kilometer-long, 1-meter-high bridge: Ponte della Libertà connected. All cars and buses heading to Venice must cross this bridge. At the end of this bridge, you’ll need to decide which of the three parking garages to use to park your car. This website is designed to help you make your decision.

After passing the toll booth on the mainland near Mestre, you'll come to the 4-kilometer-long, perfectly straight bridge called the Ponte della Libertà.
The bridge has two lanes in each direction and was originally built by the Austrian government in the mid-19th century as a railroad bridge. The road bridge was added in the 1930s.

Now comes the best part of your entire journey. To the left and right of the bridge, the sun’s rays glisten on the lagoon, and Venice lies far ahead of you.
Many motorboats are cruising past you on both sides of the lagoon, seagulls are flying overhead—it’s simply beautiful. Anyone who visits Venice often looks forward to this moment in particular.

At the end of the 4-kilometer-long bridge, the road curves slightly to the right. Here, the road also widens to three lanes. The left lane goes straight ahead to the staffed parking garages at Piazzale Roma, while the right lane turns toward the unstaffed Tronchetto parking garage or the ferry to the Lido. Now you have to decide where you’ll park.
Take the parking garage at the Piazzale Roma or the parking garage on the Tronchetto. All three parking garages cost about the same. Your car will be just as well cared for and just as safe in all three parking garages.

The left lane leads to the two parking garages at Piazzale Roma (often abbreviated as P.le Roma, as shown here in the picture). The right lane leads to the Tronchetto parking garage, the ferry to the Lido, and the parking lot for large cruise ships.
Only public buses and taxis are allowed in the middle lane.
Private buses and trucks: As indicated by this traffic sign, buses and trucks must also turn right toward the Tronchetto parking garage. Private buses and trucks require an entry permit and are not allowed to drive through to Piazzale Roma without special permission.

Your decision

By the time you reach the end of the bridge, at the latest Ponte della Libertà You'll need to decide where to park. There are 3 parking garages available:

Please select from the following:

Daily rate: 29.00 euros: Tronchetto Park Island
Daily rate: 35.00 euros: The Communale Autorimessa Parking Garage
Daily rate: 45.00 euros: The San Marco Parking Garage
Expert Tip: Daily rate: 8.00 euros: Parking in Punta Sabbioni

The most important gateway for all vacationers heading to the Adriatic:
Take a boat from Punta Sabbioni right into the heart of Venice.

To open the video in a new window, click here: https://youtu.be/qF0Dx1nGtRw

Park & Ride

From each of the four parking lots described, you’ll definitely need a vaporetto ticket for the trip from the parking lot to your accommodations. To make sure a vaporetto doesn’t leave right in front of you and so you DON’T have to wait in line at the ticket window, here’s a tip: Buy your vaporetto ticket online in advance. It costs the same as buying it on-site at the ticket counter.