Vaporetto stops: which pontoon for which line

How a vaporetto stop works

A vaporetto stop is a floating pontoon, and at the busy stops several pontoons lie side by side under one name. Each carries a letter, A, B, C and onwards, and each letter serves particular lines in one direction. At Piazzale Roma line 1 to Rialto leaves from one pontoon and line 2 to the same Rialto from another, so the letter matters more than the stop name.

Line numbers also run in both directions. Line 1 toward Lido S.M.E. and line 1 toward Piazzale Roma both stop at Rialto, but at different pontoons. The tables below work as a vaporetto map in words: each hub, its letters and the lines that leave from them. The routes of every line are on vaporetto lines, the departure times on the vaporetto timetable.

Piazzale Roma

Piazzale Roma is where the buses from the mainland and the airport end, and the lines below use its pontoons B to G. Line 1 leaves from C during the day. Its first runs in the early morning and its late runs in the evening leave from F, the pontoon that line 2 uses toward Rialto. The circular lines and the boats to the Lido start from B, D and E.

Ferrovia, the railway station

Ferrovia is the stop at Santa Lucia station. Line 1 uses pontoon E in both directions during the day, so here the destination display decides whether you go down the Grand Canal or back to Piazzale Roma. In the evening line 1 toward Rialto moves to B, which line 2 uses all day.

Rialto

At Rialto the pontoons are split by direction and, for line 1, by time of day. During the day line 1 toward San Marco leaves from B and toward Piazzale Roma from A. In the evening it moves to D and C, the two pontoons that line 2 and the night line N use all day. The run down the canal is described on ACTV line 1, the faster line 2 on line 2 express.

San Zaccaria near San Marco

San Zaccaria lies on the waterfront east of the Doge's Palace and is the main stop for the lagoon on the San Marco side. For the Lido two of its pontoons count: A for line 14 and F for lines 1 and 5.1, each about a quarter of an hour to Lido S.M.E. All the ways out to the beach island are on Venice to Lido.

Fondamente Nove for the islands

Fondamente Nove, on the northern edge of the old city, is where the boats to the northern lagoon start. Line 12 to Murano, Burano and Torcello leaves from A; the circular lines 4.1 and 4.2 to Murano from B. Pontoons C and D take you back into the city or out to the Lido. Island by island the trips are on Venice to Murano, Venice to Burano and line 12.

Lido S.M.E.

Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta, shortened to Lido S.M.E. on every display, is the main stop on the Lido. Each of its pontoons points to a different part of the city: line 1 to the Grand Canal, line 14 to San Zaccaria, lines 5.1, 5.2 and 6 around the old city to Piazzale Roma.

San Marco, Murano and Burano

Three more stops have lettered pontoons that matter for visitors. San Marco Vallaresso, next to St Mark's Square, is a line 1 stop: B toward the Lido, A back up the Grand Canal. San Marco Giardinetti, a few steps away, is the end of line 2. On Murano and Burano the letters separate line 12 from the other boats.

Buying and validating at the stop

Every pontoon on this page is covered by the same ticket, from the 75-minute single journey to the seven-day pass; the whole ladder is on vaporetto tickets and passes. Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia station have staffed ticket counters, and the ticket machines across the city print a ticket booked online from its PNR code, as described on buying vaporetto tickets online.

Hold the ticket against the reader on the pontoon before you board, at every boarding and at every change of boat. A ticket that was never held against a reader counts as no ticket in a check. If you arrive with nothing, the crew sell tickets on board, by card only.