ACTV ENQUIRIES
Piazzale Roma, daily
7.30am-8pm tel
041.528.7886.
AIRLINES
Alitalia, Salizzada S.
Moisč, 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. Moisč, 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 Terrą 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'Unitą
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 Zįttere 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.
