The biggest
tourist
office - known as the
Venice Pavilion - occupies
the Palazzina del Santi, the
waterfront building on the
west side of the Giardinetti
Reali, within a minute of
the Piazza (daily 10am-6pm;
tel 041.522.5150, ); smaller
offices operate at Calle
dell'Ascension 71/c, in the
corner of the Piazza's
arcades (Mon-Sat: summer
9.45am-5.15pm; winter closes
3.15pm; tel 041.520.8964),
the train station (daily
8am-7pm; tel 041.529.8727),
in the airport arrivals area
(Mon-Sat 9am-8pm), and on
the Lido at Gran Viale S.M.
Elisabetta 6 (May-Oct daily
9.30am-3.30pm; tel
041.526.5721). The Calle
dell'Ascension 71/c office
is supposed to be the city's
main outlet for information
on the whole Veneto, but the
staff are rarely as helpful
as those in the Venice
Pavilion.
From February to October
there are also tourist
information booths in Campo
San Felice (Cannaregio),
Campo dei Frari (San Polo)
and Riva dei Sette Martiri (Castello);
these are all open from 10am
to 1pm then from 1.30 to
5pm. The free map
distributed by these offices
is fine for general
orientation, but not much
else. Far more useful is the
English-Italian magazine Un
Ospite di Venezia ,
produced weekly in summer
and monthly in winter, which
gives up-to-date information
on exhibitions, special
events and vaporetto
timetables - it's free from
the Palazzina del Santi
office, and from the
receptions of the posher
hotels.
