Are There Cars In Venice? Where To Park + How To Get Around

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Are there cars in Venice, Italy?

I’ve been to Venice 53 times, most of them as a trip manager bringing a group into the city.

Sometimes we roll in by coach to Tronchetto or Fusina and hop on a private boat, and sometimes we ride the train from Venezia Mestre straight into Santa Lucia station.

Either way, the last stretch is never by car.

The short answer: there are no cars in Venice’s historic center. The road ends at Piazzale Roma, and from there it’s boats and your own two feet.

The longer answer is more fun. Venice does have cars.

They’re parked on the edges of the city, driving around the mainland, and (plot twist) cruising the Lido.

Here’s exactly where the road stops, where to park and what it costs, and how to get around once you’re on foot.

Short on time?

Are there cars in Venice? Not in the historic center. Cars, scooters and bikes stop at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, at the end of the road bridge from the mainland.

Where are the cars, then? On the mainland (Mestre and Marghera), in the car parks at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, and on the Lido and Pellestrina, which have real roads, buses and a car ferry.

Where do I park? Piazzale Roma is closest (€35–€45 for 24 hours), Tronchetto is a little cheaper (up to €29 for 24 hours), and the mainland lots at Fusina and San Giuliano cost about €10 a day plus a boat ride in.

How do I get around? On foot, by vaporetto (the public water bus: €9.50 a ride or €25 for 24 hours), or by water taxi (expect €60 and up inside the city).

Do I pay to get in? Day-trippers pay a €5–€10 Access Fee on set days in spring and summer. Parking alone doesn’t trigger it.

Is Venice car-free? (Historic center vs. mainland)

Boats and gondolas travel along a wide canal in Venice under a clear blue sky as the sun shines brightly overhead.

Venice is really two places that share a name: the historic city in the lagoon (San Marco, Rialto, the Grand Canal) and the mainland districts of Mestre and Marghera.

Cars live on the mainland.

To reach the islands, they cross the Ponte della Libertà, a road bridge about 3.85 km (2.4 miles) long that runs right beside the railway bridge.

It opened in 1933 as the Ponte Littorio and was renamed Liberty Bridge in 1946. The road ends at Piazzale Roma and the man-made island of Tronchetto.

From there, the historic center is pedestrian and boat only. No cars, no scooters, and no bikes (you can’t even walk one through most of the city).

The exception that surprises people is the Lido, the long barrier island across the lagoon. It has roads, buses and cars, plus a car ferry from Tronchetto. Pellestrina, just south of it, has roads too.

If you’re staying in Mestre or road-tripping to Padua or Verona, you’ll drive as usual.

If your hotel is anywhere in the lagoon city, you’ll switch to boats and walking the moment you arrive.

So how does Venice work without cars?

A person stands in a boat moored at a canal in Venice, preparing to load luggage.

Everything a car or truck does in other cities, a boat does here.

Ambulances are boats. According to Culture Trip, two operators run them, one in yellow and orange and one in red and white.

Police patrol the canals in blue-and-white boats with sirens, firefighters have to know the tides, and moving companies haul everything from furniture to giant sculptures on barges with cranes.

Even funerals go by boat.

The mail carriers? They ride the vaporetto like everyone else.

I’ve watched a printer arrive by boat. I’ve seen the garbage boats and the fire boats, and the ambulance and police boats are the best of all, because they make the exact same siren sound you’d hear on the road.

But instead of weaving through traffic, they’re flying down the Grand Canal.

Spotting one is like winning a round of Venice bingo. (And if you’ve seen the videos of packages tumbling into the canals, you’ll understand why I’d be a little nervous of getting mail here.)

Once, my friend even saw horses being boated in through the Venetian Lagoon to one of the outer islands, if you can believe it.

And yes, some Venetians do own cars.

I know a few. They keep them parked at Piazzale Roma, which basically means paying rent for a parking spot.

When you live in the historic center and need a car, that’s an expense you plan for, but using it is an all-day affair: first you cross the city on foot or by boat to Piazzale Roma, and only then do you get to drive.

Tips for Driving to Venice, Italy

Urban intersection with apartment buildings, a red car (unlike the cars you rarely see in Venice), a red bus on the left, parked bicycles, and a few pedestrians under a clear blue sky.

Here’s my honest advice: don’t bring the car.

I’ve never driven into Venice, and I never will.

Parking is a lot of work and a lot of money for a car you won’t touch while you’re here.

If you’re road-tripping around Italy in a rental, drop it off at the rental station before Venice, then pick up a new one when you leave (or start your next leg from Venice).

You will not need it here. There’s no reason to have it.

If you do decide to drive to Venice, keep these in mind:

👉 The historic center is closed to cars, so you’ll park at the edge (Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto) or on the mainland and continue by boat, train or on foot.

👉 Book ahead for weekends, holidays and summer. The city garage at Piazzale Roma takes online bookings until midnight the day before you arrive, and booking online is the only way to guarantee a spot at Garage San Marco.

👉 Check the Access Fee calendar if you’re visiting for the day in spring or summer (more on that below).

👉 Driving a camper or tall van? The indoor garages cap height at about 2.1 to 2.2 meters. Tronchetto’s outdoor area has no height limit.

Driving to Venice is easy. Parking is the part that needs a plan.

Where to Park in Venice

View of a harbor at dusk with several boats docked and floating on the water. A large building is visible in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

Every car park sits on the edge of the city or across the water on the mainland. Your choice comes down to one trade: pay more to park close, or park cheap and ride a boat or train in.

Car park	Where	Price for a car	Getting into the city	Booking
Autorimessa Comunale	Piazzale Roma	€35 per 24 h; €15 night rate (5 p.m.–5 a.m., drive-up only)	Walk; vaporetto and train station are steps away	Online by midnight the day before
Garage San Marco	Piazzale Roma	€25 up to 5 h, €35 up to 10 h, €45 per 24 h; €20 evening (5 p.m.–5 a.m.)	Walk	Online (24 h rate only) guarantees a space
Tronchetto Parking	Tronchetto island	€6 first hour, €29 for 24 h	People Mover to Piazzale Roma (€1.50, about 4 min)	Drive up; pay at a machine before leaving
Terminal Fusina	Mainland, south of Venice	€10 for your arrival day, then €15 per extra 24 h	Line 16 boat to Zattere, 25–30 min	Online
Marive	San Giuliano, mainland (Mestre side)	€10 per day; parking + return boat packages online	Linea Rosa boat to Fondamente Nove	Online for the best rate
Mestre station lots	Mainland	Varies by lot	Regional train to Santa Lucia	Varies

Tronchetto Parking

View of boats docked at a pier with a bridge overhead, water below, and the sun setting on the horizon; a person walks along the waterfront.

Tronchetto is the big car park on a man-made island at the edge of the city, and the cheaper of the two drive-up options for a full day.

It’s open 24 hours, staffed around the clock, and has 40 EV charging stations.

To get into the city, hop on the people mover, a small shuttle that runs to Piazzale Roma in about 4 minutes for €1.50. Validate your ticket before you board.

You pay at one of six machines (cash or card) before you go back to your car, and the ticket doubles as your receipt.

Spaces fill fast on weekends, holidays and in summer. You’ll find current rates on their website.

Tronchetto is also where the car ferry to the Lido leaves, if you’re staying out there.

Tronchetto is one of the two ports where my coach drops my groups (Fusina is the other), and we take a private boat into the city from there.

Not on a private transfer? Both ports have public water bus stops too.

Piazzale Roma

Several city buses are parked at a bus terminal on a cloudy day, with a concrete barrier and a parking structure visible in the background.

Piazzale Roma is the end of the road, literally.

It’s the square where the Ponte della Libertà lands, the city’s main bus terminal, and the closest you can park to the historic center.

The Ponte della Costituzione links it to the train station and the rest of the city on foot.

The biggest garage here is the Autorimessa Comunale, run by the city transport company AVM.

It has 1,906 car spaces and 300 for motorbikes, it’s open 24 hours, and 24 hours costs €35.

You can book your parking in advance online no later than midnight the day before you arrive, and bookings get a fast lane in.

A little history while you circle for a space: the garage and the road bridge went up together in the early 1930s, both under the city’s chief engineer, Eugenio Miozzi.

Next door, Garage San Marco is a private garage with EV charging. It costs more for a full day (€45 for 24 hours) but has shorter options, like €25 for up to 5 hours, which works for a quick stop.

Venezia Mestre

Thankfully, you don’t need to park in the historic center to see it.

Mestre, the mainland side of Venice, is the budget option.

There are several car parks near Venezia Mestre train station, and regional trains run across the lagoon to Venezia Santa Lucia several times an hour for a few euros.

You’ll be farther from your car, but you’ll pay less and you’re more likely to find a space.

It’s also how I bring some of my groups in: the train from Venezia Mestre to Santa Lucia, which drops you right on the Grand Canal.

Marive Transport

Sunset view down a quiet urban street with buildings on both sides, trees in the background, and golden sunlight reflecting on the pavement.

Marive Transport runs a car park right on the lagoon at San Giuliano, on the Mestre side.

It’s guarded and video-monitored, and the Linea Rosa boat leaves from the dock next to the lot for Fondamente Nove, on the north side of Venice.

Parking is €10 a day, and online you can book parking and a return boat ride together.

The staffed car park and the boats keep daytime hours (boats into Venice run from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the last boat back leaves around 10:30 p.m.), so check the timetable before you plan a late dinner in the city.

Terminal Fusina

A wide expanse of blue water with an industrial facility and smokestacks visible on the distant shoreline under a clear blue sky.

Terminal Fusina is a car park on the mainland south of Venice with its own boat into the city.

Line 16 runs to Zattere, a short walk from the Accademia, in about 25 to 30 minutes.

You’ll be wandering around Piazza San Marco in no time!

Parking is €10 for the day you arrive, then €15 for each extra 24 hours. You can check prices and book on their website.

How expensive is car parking in Venice, Italy?

Several gondolas docked on the water with San Giorgio Maggiore church and its bell tower in the background in Venice, Italy.

Expect to pay about €29 to €45 for 24 hours at the edge of the historic center (Tronchetto is the cheapest of those, Garage San Marco the priciest) and about €10 to €15 a day on the mainland, plus your boat or train ride in.

Prices change with the season and the size of your car, and some garages have cheaper rates in the evening and at night.

The city garage at Piazzale Roma, for example, charges €15 from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Check the table above, then confirm on the garage’s website before you go.

Do you have to pay to enter Venice?

View from the bow of a wooden boat traveling through a Venice canal lined with historic brick buildings and a bell tower in the distance.

On some days, yes. Venice charges day-trippers an Access Fee to enter the historic city on its busiest days.

In 2026, it ran on 60 days between April 3 and July 26, mostly Fridays to Sundays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It cost €5 if you paid at least four days ahead and €10 after that.

Driving in doesn’t trigger it on its own.

If you only park at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto, you don’t pay, but walk into the city on a fee day and you do.

Guests staying overnight in registered accommodation, kids under 14 and Veneto residents are among those who don’t pay.

The city council has voted to expand it to 72 days in 2027, from Good Friday to mid-August, but national approval is still pending.

Check the dates on the official Access Fee website before you go.

Venetian Public Transport 101

Vaporetti, passes & routes

View of Venetian waterfront buildings, including St Mark’s Campanile, seen through a window from inside a boat with blue seats.

Once your car is parked, Venice’s public transport takes over, and it all happens on water.

The vaporetto (plural vaporetti) is the city’s water bus, run by ACTV. Boats run along the Grand Canal and out to islands like Murano, Burano and the Lido, stopping at floating docks marked with yellow signs.

What tickets cost:

Single ride: €9.50, valid for 75 minutes
1-day pass: €25
2-day pass: €35
3-day pass: €45
7-day pass: €65

The clock on a pass starts the first time you tap in, and passes don’t cover the airport bus.

Tap your ticket on the reader before you walk onto the dock, and wait for the beep and the light (the gate opening isn’t proof).

Up to three bags ride free, as long as each one’s length, width and height add up to 150 cm or less.

My favorite (free!) app to figure out where you’re going on the vaporetti is Citymapper.

Top routes for visitors:

Line 1: slow and scenic, stopping all the way down the Grand Canal from Piazzale Roma to San Marco, then out to the Lido.
Line 2: the faster Grand Canal route, with fewer stops.
Lagoon lines: to Murano (glass), Burano (colorful houses and lace) and Torcello (historic churches).

Trip Manager Tip: Sit near the front or back for the best views. The Grand Canal feels like an open-air museum, and Line 1 is the cheapest tour of it you’ll ever take.

Water taxis & when they’re worth it

A motorboat moves across a canal in Venice at sunset, with the Campanile di San Marco and historic buildings in the background.

If vaporetti are the buses, water taxis are the private cars of Venice, and they charge accordingly.

The city’s posted fixed fare from Piazzale Roma or the train station to anywhere in the historic center is €60, and €110 from the airport.

Private operators often quote more, especially for the airport run.

Rides between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. add €10, and extra passengers and bags can push the price up.

They’re the most comfortable option when you have heavy luggage, limited mobility or a late-night arrival.

They take up to 10 people with luggage, so splitting one with your group makes the math friendlier.

Book at an official stand (look for the TAXI sign), through your hotel concierge, or online, and always agree on the total before you step on board.

I’ve paid for both.

My private water taxi from the San Marco taxi stand to Giudecca island came to about €50, which is more than I’d love to spend when the vaporetto is €9.50, but split between a few of you, the gap shrinks fast.

I’ve made that call in the moment more than once.

Sometimes your hotel needs a closer entrance than the water bus can give you, and sometimes you just need it.

Plus, for a little while, you get to feel like a celebrity in Venice.

Luggage tips, bridges & accessibility

View from a glass bridge over a canal in Venice, Italy—where there are no cars—showing people walking, historic buildings, and a dome in the background under a cloudy sky.

The city may look flat, but one thing you should know about Venice: there are about 435 bridges in the historic center, and most of them have steps.

If you’re hauling luggage, pack light and bring a suitcase with sturdy wheels that you can also lift.

If you’re sleeping in the historic center, an overnight bag beats a big suitcase every time.

I warn every group I bring in, because otherwise it’s a nightmare.

I feel so bad for travelers bumping their suitcases up one side of a bridge and down the other, and I’ve watched more than one wheel snap clean off.

(Thankfully, we haven’t lost a suitcase to the canals. Yet.)

Many hotels near Piazzale Roma, the train station or San Marco can arrange a porter or a water taxi for your bags.

When you book, ask whether the hotel has a lift and how many bridges sit between its door and the nearest vaporetto stop.

For travelers with mobility needs, vaporetti have spaces set aside for wheelchairs, and the ACTV website lists fully accessible routes and services, including special evening boarding arrangements at Rialto.

Day trips & connections

Three modern passenger trains are parked at platforms in an outdoor train station under a clear sky, with electronic signs and tactile paving.

By train: Venezia Santa Lucia connects directly to Florence (about 2 hours on the fastest trains), Milan (about 2 hours 15 minutes) and Rome (about 3 hours 35 minutes). Trains cross the lagoon on the railway bridge beside the Ponte della Libertà, so even though you can’t drive in, you can roll right into the city by rail.

By plane: Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is on the mainland. You can reach Venice by:

Alilaguna water bus: €18 one way or €32 return, with one big bag and one carry-on included. Lines stop at Rialto and San Marco, among others.
ACTV Aerobus: €10 one way to Piazzale Roma, about 25 minutes.
ATVO express bus: about 20 minutes to Piazzale Roma or Mestre.
Private water taxi: from €110, the most scenic and direct option.

Coming from Treviso Airport (TSF)? The ATVO bus runs to Mestre and Piazzale Roma for €14 one way.

Are There Cars in Venice, Italy?: FAQs

View from a boat on a canal in Venice with people enjoying the ride, and historic buildings lining the water. Several boats gliding in the distance beneath a clear blue sky.

Are there cars in Venice?

Not in the historic center. Cars stop at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, at the end of the road bridge from the mainland. Venice as a city does have cars, though: on the mainland in Mestre and Marghera, and on the Lido and Pellestrina. In the historic center, you get around on foot or by vaporetto, the public water bus.

Are there roads in Venice?

Yes, just not where you’d expect. There are roads for cars in Mestre on the mainland, at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, and on the Lido and Pellestrina. In the historic center, the canals do the job roads do everywhere else, and the walkways are for people. Venetians have used the canals as their main streets since people first settled in the lagoon.

Can you visit Venice by car?

Yes. You can drive to Venice, park at Piazzale Roma, Tronchetto or on the mainland, and explore on foot, by boat or by public transport. You just can’t drive inside the city. If you’re coming from another Italian city or Lake Garda, decide where you’ll leave the car before you set off.

Where should I park to visit Venice?

Piazzale Roma has the closest garages (€35–€45 for 24 hours). Tronchetto is a little cheaper (€29 for 24 hours) and connects to Piazzale Roma by People Mover. Mestre, Fusina and San Giuliano on the mainland are the budget picks, with a train or boat into the city.

Are there bicycles in Venice?

Not in the historic center. Riding is banned, and you can’t even walk a bike through the city, apart from one short stretch from Piazzale Roma across the Ponte della Costituzione to the Scalzi Bridge by the train station.
Bikes are welcome on the mainland and on the Lido and Pellestrina, which have a long cycling route along the beachfront promenade. To get a bike out there, use the car ferry from Tronchetto or the Fusina boat to Alberoni; regular vaporetti only carry folding bikes packed in a bag.

Is a vaporetto pass worth it?

If you’ll ride three or more times in a day, yes. A single ride is €9.50 and the 1-day pass is €25, so the pass pays for itself on your third trip. It’s an easy yes if you’re heading out to Murano and Burano.

How do I get from the airport to the city?

For a boat the whole way, take the Alilaguna water bus from Marco Polo Airport (€18 one way). For the cheapest ride, the Aerobus goes to Piazzale Roma in about 25 minutes for €10, then you walk or take a vaporetto. A private water taxi is the splurge, from €110.

Are there cars on the Lido?

Yes. The Lido has roads, buses and private cars, and a car ferry (Line 17) runs from Tronchetto. Pellestrina, the next island south, connects to it by another car ferry (Line 11).

Is Venice walkable?

Very. Walking is how everyone gets around the historic center, and most sights are close together. Just build in extra time for bridges, crowds and the wrong turns everyone takes.

How do deliveries work in Venice?

By boat. Groceries, furniture, building materials and even ambulances all move on the water, and the last stretch to the door goes by hand cart over the bridges.

Are There Cars in Venice: Wrap-Up

Canal with boats docked along the waterfront, bordered by brick buildings and pedestrians under a blue sky.

No cars, no scooters, no bikes. Just boats, bridges and about 435 reasons to pack light.

Fifty-three visits in, my favorite Venice is the spring one, when the fog has lifted over the lagoon but the loudest noise in the city is still a boat engine, before the summer crowds kick in. Try getting that in a city with traffic.

Park on the edge, buy the pass if you’ll ride a lot, and give yourself one afternoon with no map.

Venice is the best city in the world to get purposely lost in, and nobody’s going to honk at you while you do it.

Read this next: Is Venice Worth Visiting? Everything I Wish I’d Known Before Visiting Venice, Italy

Lyndsay

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