Venice has always been a place I had dreamed of visiting however I didn't think it would be possible knowing the number of bridges and wheelchair accessible hurdles the city has.
I have put together my experience of Venice, Italy as a wheelchair user which I hope will encourage you to visit this beautiful and unique city!
Journey
We flew from East Midlands Airport to Venice Treviso with Ryanair. As always I had pre-booked the assistance at East Midlands Airport. As me and Adrian know the drill with how to reach the boarding gate, we were left to find our own way there. If you are able to I would definitely recommend this as waiting for an assistant to take you through security can be lengthy, especially at busier times.
Once we had landed in Venice, we hadn't arranged any wheelchair accessible transfers from the airport to our hotel but had read that there were buses from the airport to Venice-Mestre. Once arriving at the airport we discovered that the majority of the transfers were by inaccessible coaches. However after asking around and a bit of a wait we caught a public transport bus into Venice that stopped at Venice-Mestre Train Station, the closest stop to our hotel.
Stay
We decided to stay outside of Venice at the Hotel Campanile Venice-Mestre for 3 nights as it worked out cheaper. The hotel was lovely, clean and modern. We booked an accessible room which was really spacious but was missing a seat in the shower. This was quickly resolved by us borrowing one of the plastic chairs from the bar downstairs. We particularly liked the buffet breakfast as it had a great selection, the croissants were bellisimo!!
Transport
Venice-Mestre train station is only a 4 minute walk away from the hotel and the train took about 20 minutes to reach Venice Station Terrace. The Trenitalia trains have wheelchair accessible entrances that were almost level with the station platform. The trains were really easy to use and we didn't need any ramps or assistance to board them. This gave us the flexibility to go in and out of Venice when we wanted to, a luxury I would love to have in the UK!
There are sooo many bridges in Venice, over 400 in total! There are some accessible bridges which before coming to Venice I thought would be an issue but we were able to easily get to the places we wanted to on the Vaporetto.
The Vaporetto (water bus) runs along the Grand Canal with stops at all of the key tourist spots. We bought our tickets for it from the ticketing office only a short walk from the train station entrance. We were able to get free companion travel tickets and so travelling worked out to be really cheap! When we were in Venice (May 2022) the charge for one return journey was 1.50EURO.
There was a small step to get onto the Vaporetto but we could easily manage it, they also had ramps on board for stops where the step was larger. Not all stops were accessible but this map tells you this information.
As there are no roads in Venice it is a much easier place to explore as there are no kerbs and bumpy pavements to negotiate.
Visit
Before arriving in Italy we wrote lists of the places we most wanted to visit, marked them on maps and planned when we arrived what areas we would visit each day. However on day one in Venice we hadn't planned anything!
The view when leaving Venice Station Terrace is stunning, probably the best view i've ever had from a train station entrance. It's like you have entered into a new world! We firstly went for a walk along the canal and stopped off for an all important Aperol Spritz to start the holiday!
Walking around Venice is a bit like being Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2, you walk down the narrow streets only to find a bridge so you end up wandering around trying to find alternative exits! In hindsight, it's best not to stray too far away from the Vaporetto stops!
Our first trip on the Vaporetto was from Station Terrace to Piazza San Marco. The views from the Vaporetto are amazing, there are some beautiful murals on the buildings you pass and of course a lot of gondolas on the same route! On the Grand Canal route you can also pass underneath the Rialto Bridge, there is a stop here but the bridge itself has steps and isn't accessible however I think you get just as good a view from the Vaporetto.
Piazza San Marco is beautiful and is where you will find San Marco Basilica, The Doge Palace and St Mark's Campanile.
St Mark's Campanile
As we arrived quite late in the afternoon there wasn't time to go into San Marco Basilica and The Doge Palace so we decided we'd come back the next day to see these. We did go and visit St Mark's Campanile however there are 4 or 5 wide steps to get up to the entrance. Once up these there is a lift inside the Campanile so it's worth visiting if you're able to navigate the steps.
It is the tallest tower in Venice and you can see amazing 360 degree views right across the city and beyond. It was a great first place to visit on our trip to begin being immersed into the beauty of Venice!
St Marks Basilica
The next day we went back to St Marks Square to visit St Marks Basilica. The building is amazing from the outside decorated with beautiful paintings and sculptures to the intricate mosaic detail inside the basilica. Definitely take some time to stop and take it all in!
The queue to get into the basilica was massive! So we went to the front and were allowed to jump the queue and get in for free. We went through a different entrance to the rest of the visitors which had been made accessible.
The inside of the Basilica was breathtaking and I was speechless! The walls and ceilings are covered in tiny golden mosaic squares which depict biblical scenes. Take a very slow roll round to take it all in. Whilst we were walking around I noticed a balcony opposite the alter and wondered if we would be able to get up to it as we couldn't see any signage. We asked a couple of security guards who said yes and so began a mini backstage adventure of the Basilica!
As neither of us speak Italian we didn't know where they were taking us so we just kept following the guards! It wasn't a straightforward single lift up but a series of lifts and stair lifts to finally make it up to the museum. The stair lifts were pretty slow and I held up a few queues of people who were wanting to use the stairs. I always cringe a little when i'm travelling at 0.002mph with a crowd of people staring at me!
Once at the top we could go into the museum where numerous artifacts, paintings, sculptures and tapestries from the Basilica were on show. Also whilst on this level you can reach the balcony which looks down onto the alter. It was definitely worth doing as you could really see the detail of the mosaic walls and appreciate the amount of time it must have taken to decorate.
If you're able to you can also access the outside balcony which looks out onto St Marks Square. Unfortunately we weren't able to get my chair up these steps but Adrian was able to go outside whilst I spent more time admiring the beauty of the Basilica,
Once we were finished looking around, we notified a member of staff who then helped us to get back out the building. It was a bit of a relay of multiple people on walkie talkies to finally get us out!
The Doge Palace
Before coming to Venice I knew nothing about The Doge Palace and didn't know what to expect. We were able to get free tickets for me and Adrian into the palace from the ticket office on the day. Most of it is accessible through various alternative routes with a member of staff but unfortunately the Bridge of Sighs and prison are not.
The Palace is big and has room upon room of absolutely stunning ceilings and is filled with art. Photographs do not do it justice and it's a place that has to be experienced in person to fully appreciate it's beauty.
Eat
Near to our hotel was a restaurant called Da Michele which also had a takeaway. Their ordering process was different to any other restaurant we’ve been to and was done using an iPad so you could easily swipe through and see images of the food without needing to use Google Translate! I had the most amazing lasagne! Usually me and Adrian share our meals but I couldn’t share this one, it was so so good. The pasta just melted in my mouth! I was in heaven!
The next night we decided to try their pizzas by getting a takeaway to take back to the hotel. These were also amazing!
Overall our experience in Venice was magical. I was concerned before we left about getting around Venice and how much we would be able to see. However I was surprised, the water vaporetto is really great. It's so cheap and even just sitting on the boat and looking out you can see the beauty of Venice. We visited some incredible places too, the art is amazing and breathtaking! Please don't be put off visiting Venice as a wheelchair user. With a bit of planning you can have a really great trip!
Now onto our next stop... Milan...
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