Vaporetto dell’Arte – Venice’s Hop-on-Hop-off Waterbus

Vaporetto dell’Arte – A Waterbus Line Connecting Visitors to the City’s Cultural Attractions:

Vaporetto dell’Arte

Venice has always been a city that’s best explored on foot. As the city is car-free and vaporetto stops are not always close to the cultural attractions, walking is the best way of getting around Venice, that is if you are a good walker and not inclined to getting lost. However, this has changed with the new Vaporetto dell’Arte, a new waterbus line that connects visitors to the main cultural attractions in Venice.

Vaporetto dell’Arte

Vaporetto dell’Arte is a new initiative by the Venice City Council, the ACTV and eleven cultural institutions to make it easier for visitors to find their way to the main Venice cultural attractions. This is a welcomed development of transportation in Venice, especially for visitors with mobility problems.  As the Venetian landscape does not allow for the common hop-on-hop-off buses that we see in most capital cities, a natural transport progression for the city on water is to have a hop-on-hop-off waterbus, much like the ones that serve the canals of Amsterdam.

Since June 1, 2012 the new Vaporetto dell’Arte has been transporting visitors to the many historic palaces and Venice’s fine museums.

Sadly, we noticed in Summer 2019 that this service is no longer operating. 

Vaporetto dell’Arte Stops

The initial eight stops planned for Vaporetto dell’Arte, and the attractions covered, include:

• Ferrovia Santa Lucia (Museo Ebraico)
• San Stae (Museo di Storia Naturale, Palazzo Mocenigo, Museo d’Arte Orientale, Ca’ Pesaro, Fondazione Prada, Casa Goldoni)
• Ca’ d’Oro (Franchetti Gallery in the Ca’ d’Oro)
• S. Samuele (Palazzo Grassi, Palazzo Fortuny)
• Accademia (Ca’Rezzonico, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection)
• Salute (Fondazione Emilio, Punta della Dogana)
• S. Marco (Teatro La Fenice, Correr Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Palazzo Ducale, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Fondazione Querini Stampalia) and
• S. Giorgio (Fondazione Giorgio Cini)

Arsenale and Giardini are included during the high season for visitors to the Biennale Art and Architecture Exhibitions.

Inside the Vaporetto dell-Arte

Vaporetto Features

The Vaporetto dell’Arte boats carrying about 80 passengers. The waterbuses are equipped with a monitor and earphone to provide route commentary for passengers. From the image above, you’ll see that the waterbuses are easily distinguishable from the other vaporetti.

The start point is the Ferrovia stop (outside the railway station) and it terminates at San Giorgio or Arsenale and Giardini when Biennale Art or the Architecture Exhibition is on.

• From Ferrovia to Giardini, the service runs at 30-minute intervals from 9:00 to 19:00.
• From Giardini to Ferrovia, the service runs at 30-minute intervals from 9:43 to 19:43.

Tickets can be purchased on site or on-line through the VeniceConnected website. The cost of a 24-hour ticket is €24. However, if you are buying a time-based vaporetto travel card, you can add on the Vaporetto dell’Arte service for only €10. Example, a 72-hr time-based travel card costs €35 and with an additional €10 you have access to the Vaporetto dell’Arte for 72 hours. The Vaporetto dell’Arte ticket also entitles customers to special concessions at some of the attractions. Your Vaporetto dell’Arte Welcome Kit will have all the information.

Website: www.vaporettoarte.com
Call Centre: +39 041 24 24

Click here to get a free PDF of this post