What this is
Most Venice content online is either a recycled "top 10 attractions" list or a half-built itinerary blog. Neither tells you whether the vaporetto 4.1 from San Zaccaria is faster than walking past Rymanor, or what a coperto at 14:30 means, or how to read an acqua alta forecast. This is a toolkit for the city as it actually works in 2026 — line-by-line ferries, neighborhood-by-neighborhood cicchetti, ticket logic for the Basilica, and seasonal planning around the lagoon.
There is no itinerary for you to "buy". Each tool is a small calculator, lookup, or score-sheet you can run with your own data. They are written for people who are already going — and want to stop guessing.
Transport & getting around
Vaporetto line selector
Origin → destination across the lagoon, with line number, ride time, and cost vs gondola traghetto.
Vaporetto pass optimizer
24 / 48 / 72-hour pass vs single rides. Tells you which breakeven fits your plan.
Marco Polo arrival selector
Alilaguna vs ATVO bus vs water taxi vs private — with luggage math and which line you arrive on.
Last vaporetto home
Night lines N1 / N2 only run after midnight. Look up the last boat back per route.
Traghetto crossing finder
Grand Canal traghetto (gondola ferry) stops, hours, €2 fare, which ones are still operating.
Gondola fare decoder
Official tariff, surge windows, serenata surcharges, and what to negotiate (and what not to).
Money & practical
Venezia Unica pass optimizer
City pass with transport + museums bundled. Is it worth it for your stay?
Tourist tax calculator
Contributo di soggiorno by hotel type, season, and length of stay.
Coperto decoder
Cover charge rules, when it's mandatory, and bar-vs-menu pricing math.
ATM fee optimizer
Italian bank ATMs vs Euronet at tourist spots vs Revolut / N26 withdrawal math.
Cash vs card by neighborhood
Where you'll get away with contactless only, where you still need €20 in small bills.
Spritz price comparator
Bacaro vs piazza vs hotel rooftop. Find the overpriced vs the counterfeit.
Food & drink
Cicchetti + bacari route planner
A 4-stop crawl plan with neighborhood picks and timing between calls.
Spritz style selector
Aperol vs Select vs Campari vs Cynar vs white peach Bellini — which fits your taste.
Seafood seasonality calendar
Moleche vs moeche vs canocchie vs castraure — when each is honest to order.
Risi e bisi seasonality
Spring-only dish. Find the right month, the right ratio, and what's a tourist version.
Venice bakery selector
Baicoli vs pinza vs zaletti vs fugassa — what to buy at which stop, and what's stale.
Gelato quality meter
Pistachio color, mound height, display case — six signals to spot the tourist gelato.
Culture & sites
Basilica San Marco skip-line math
Queue times by hour, dress code rules, Pala d'Oro + museum combo break-even.
Doge's Palace ticket optimizer
Secret Itineraries vs full palace vs combined circuit. Which tier fits.
Acqua alta tide decoder
By month, by area, by tide level. Whether you need boots or can wait it out.
Dress code decoder
What you actually need for San Marco, San Giorgio, Redentore, the Biennale.
Walking pace estimator
Calle vs fondamenta vs ponte vs campo. Steps, bridges, and detour time built in.
Mask quality check
Papier-mâché vs resin vs souvenir vs authentic artisan. Price bands + signals.
Seasonal & events
Carnevale date + costume calendar
2026-2030 dates, costume price bands, when to book vs show up.
Redentore fireworks viewing
Saturday in mid-July. Find the best fondamenta before the barges book out.
Vogalonga timing + logistics
Pentecost Sunday. Row, paddle, or watch — with the boat-class rules.
Festa della Salute bridge boats
November 21. The temporary pontoon across the Grand Canal — when to cross.
Regata Storica viewing
First Sunday of September. Tribune vs free spots by bridge, time of parade.
Outdoors & lagoon
Murano / Burano / Torcello hop optimizer
Multi-island vaporetto line math. Skip the line that doesn't make sense.
Lido beach club selector
Stabilimento vs free beach by date, with vaporetto line in.
San Giorgio Maggiore sunset calculator
Bell tower vs free fondamenta, sun angle by month, when the tower is open.
Lagoon kayak feasibility
License, tide, and wind window by month. Where you can and cannot paddle.
Sant'Erasmo + vineyards trip
Off-grid vegetable island. ACTV ferry + which vineyard is open for tasting.
Forte Marghera + M9 day trip
When to leave Venice for the mainland. Tram line + museum + park timing.
About this site
Venice Compass is a single-purpose toolkit for traveling Venice. There is no itinerary sales pitch, no "best of" listicle, no affiliate funnel. Each tool is meant to be opened once for a specific decision — pick a vaporetto line, decode a coperto, pick the right fondamenta for Redentore — and closed. If you do not find a tool for a particular decision, the limitation is documented on the individual page; we would rather say "we don't have a model for that" than guess.
Who it is for: travelers who already have a hotel and an arrival time, and who want to stop guessing about the practical side of the city. Specifically: vaporetto math, museum tickets, food seasonality, weather/tide, and event timing.
Who it is not for: people looking for a packaged itinerary, a restaurant reservation service, a hotel booking tool, or a travel agency. We do not sell anything and we do not earn referral commissions. The site may carry contextual advertising via Google AdSense on individual pages — see Privacy below.
Scope and limitations: Tools use 2026 reference data — fares, line numbers, opening hours, event dates. ACTV periodically adjusts line numbers, tariffs, and museum tickets can change between publication and your visit. Each tool has a "Limitations" block where the assumptions and known failure modes are listed; please read those before relying on a result.
Privacy policy
Data we collect: Nothing personal. Venice Compass runs entirely client-side. The pages do not contain account forms, sign-up, or user-submitted data. We do not run any analytics of our own.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not professional advice — legal, medical, financial, or otherwise. Specifically: