Car Rental Venice

As you might expect in the City of Bridges, where canals are the main thoroughfares and there are no actual roads, you can’t drive in Venice itself.

However, you can drive to and from Venice, use a parking lot or garage, then navigate the city by canal. You can also use Venice as a base to explore the nearby towns and cities of the north-east of Italy.

The main road leading to and from Venice is the A4 autostrada, which covers the entire east-west span of Northern Italy. It’s part of the wider E70 European route (and will appear as the E70 on many maps).

Drive east to get to the far north-eastern city of Trieste, near the border with Slovenia – it’s a gorgeous place overlooking the Adriatic, and widely known for its café culture.

Head west, initially on the A57, then on the A4, and you’ll pass through Padua, Vicenza and Verona before skirting Lake Garda. You can continue on to Brescia, Bergamo, Milan, before finishing the most memorable of road trips in Turin.

If you’d rather head south, take the A57 west from Venice, before joining the A13 for Bologna, and then the E35 for Florence and Rome.

Most of the autostrada in Italy are toll-charging roads. Speed limits are usually clearly signed, and typically range from 50km/h (31mph) in built-up areas, to a maximum of 130km/h (80mph) on major freeways, with reduced limits in wet weather. 

Venice is a one-of-a-kind. A testament to human ingenuity and survival, it’s a man-made marvel that is always at the mercy of nature. You can see why artists and architects have gravitated here for centuries, hypnotized by its mystery.

Row your boat

Follow in the tracks of many other visitors and explore the Grand Canal, with a gondolier doing the hard work for you. Pre-book a tour that will take you to all the main sights, past the famous bridges, while you relax on the water. You can even be serenaded.

If you’d like to take your turn at the helm, you can try rowing a batellina coda di gambero boat with rowing lessons. In the summer heat, you should opt for the 90-minute evening lesson and navigate the waterways in the relative cool of dusk.

You may even pass under the famous Bridge of Sighs over the Rio di Palazzo, where prisoners used to pass from the new prison to the Doge’s Palace.

And you must see the Doge’s Palace up close – sitting on the Piazza San Marco, it’s a fine Venetian Gothic construction that’s been added to and amended over many centuries. Look out also for the Rialto Bridge, the oldest canal-crossing bridge in the city, completed in 1591.

The bold Basilica

Opposite the Doge’s Palace, on what is widely known as St. Mark’s Square, is the Basilica di San Marco – also known as Saint Mark’s Basilica. It’s one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring places, having been built in the 9^th century.

The building became the official cathedral of Venice only in 1807 (before that it was a chapel purely for private use by the Doge). It’s packed with stunning mosaics (those on the ceiling picked out in 24-carat gold leaf), frescoes and statues – and you can see it for free.

There is a loose dress code, however, as befits a place of worship – with knees and shoulders needing to be covered. The bell tower on the square – the Campanile di San Marco – was finished in the 12^th century, adapted in the 16^th, before it collapsed in 1902. The current tower dates from 1912 and is open to tourists.

The city of floating art

The city has functioned as an artist’s muse for many centuries, and while a large proportion of the masterpieces inspired by Venice – or in fact made here – are spread around the world, you can still find many in situ. Let’s take a whistle-stop tour of the main works.

In the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, located on Campo San Rocco, Tintoretto’s ceiling panels of the life of Mary will take your breath away.

The Old Testament scenes here were painted at a time when Venice was riven with plague, already accounting for the death of Titian. He also has work in the Gallerie dell’Accademia, in the company of Titian himself, as well as Canaletto and Veronese.

Head then for the I Frari church, a Gothic building consecrated in the late 15^th century. Titian’s altarpiece Assumption is worth the visit alone, and you’ll find the artist himself buried nearby.

There’s yet more Tintoretto and Veronese in the Palazzo Ducale, once housing the Doge. The pink marble of the outside catches the sunshine, while the lavish inside includes the aforementioned art, plus an incredible golden staircase.

To sample some more recent art, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Dorsudoro gathers together pieces from Salvador Dali, Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Magritte, Klee and Jackson Pollock.

A city you’re never likely to forget, Venice is still one of the wonders of the world. Car rental in Venice will help you explore the rest of this alluring corner of Italy.