SPRING VISIT OF VENICE

For a while we were curious about the accessibility of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the World – Venice. In advance we knew that the majority of the town is not accessible as the settlement is carved with hundreds of bridges. In the early morning we departed Ljubljana. The ride from the Slovenian capital to Venice lasts less than 3h. At the entrance to the city we turned right to the parking house – Tronchetto. The place is very spacious and we recommend you park the vehicle there.

Then we set a course towards the sea. We used the water bus, called Vaporetto. Vaporetto line 1 heads towards the San Marco’s square, the main tourist attraction in Venice. Vaporetto is adapted for wheelchair users. The only obstacle is the size of the water, which is fluctuating and at the entrance to the boat it varies between 10 and 20 centimeters. Cause of that fact the water bus is not accessible to the electric wheelchair users. Personnel in the water boat are very polite and they will help you in any way they can.

The ride from Tronchetto to the San Marco square lasts for 45 minutes. We explored the square and took a look of the main Basilica and Doge’s palace.  Both main city attractions are accessible. Doge’s palace is accessible to those who can overcome the ramp of the height of 15 centimeters. For those who can’t overcome it, there is another entrance on the left side of the building, near the Basilica.

To enter the Basilica, you do not need to wait for a long time, as there are two entrances to it. For wheelchair users to enter the Basilica they need to overcome a stair the size of only 5 centimeters. After the inspection of the Basilica we were exploring the main square and the surrounding streets until we found an obstacle in a shape of one of the old bridges, which are of course not accessible for wheelchair users.

We also found a toilette, adapted for the wheelchair users, which is located on the western part of the square. After the end of our sightseeing tour we went to Vaporetto and returned back to the Tronchetto parking house. The price for the ticket for the water bus is 1.5 euros for the disabled people, while for the assistants the ride is free of charge.

The main conclusion of our visit is that Venice is sufficiently accessible and its facilities are adapted for the wheelchair users. We suggest you join our Day Trip to Venice and explore this beautiful Italian city with NoLimits Tours.