Venice

The historic centre is among the most expensive places in Italy for housing, eating out and tourist transport; residents pay reduced vaporetto fares with Venezia Unica. Mestre and the mainland have the prices of a mid-sized northern city. Goods transport by water weighs on everything bought on the islands.

The historic centre's residential market is squeezed by tourist rentals: little long-term supply, very high prices, damp homes without lifts. Since 2025 an experimental municipal regulation limits tourist lets in the old city. Castello, Cannaregio, Giudecca and Lido to stay on the islands; Mestre for the rest. Public housing through ATER and the municipality.

Municipal services online on the DiMe portal with appointment booking; registry offices at Ca' Farsetti and in Mestre; identity card through the CIE agenda. Waste collected by Veritas: door-to-door with operators and boats in the historic centre, bins and calendar on the mainland. Good tap water. The Venezia Unica card is the resident's everyday document.

To enter with a dog, cat or ferret you need a microchip, an EU pet passport or health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination. Mandatory registration in the regional pet register, lead at all times and a muzzle to hand. Pets allowed on trains under Trenitalia rules and in apartment buildings by law.

A city with low violent crime but frequent pickpocketing at crowded points (Santa Lucia station, line 1 and 2 vaporetti, San Marco, Rialto). The specific risk is acqua alta: subscribe to the Tide Centre alerts, know the sirens and the walkway routes. The municipal regulation fines swimming in canals, sitting on monuments and cycling in the historic centre.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

On the islands you walk and take the vaporetto (ACTV, AVM group): line 1 along the Grand Canal, 2 fast, 4 and 5 circular, 12 to Murano and Burano, N at night. Tickets and passes on Venezia Unica, with resident fares. Cars only as far as Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, joined by the People Mover. Marco Polo airport linked by ATVO/ACTV buses, Alilaguna boats and water taxis; Mestre is the rail hub.

Euro, cards accepted almost everywhere, a legal cash limit. Anyone living in Italy for most of the year is tax resident and taxed on worldwide income under three IRPEF brackets; specific regimes exist for the self-employed (forfettario), inbound workers, foreign pensioners and new residents. Contributions go to INPS; annual return with the 730 or Redditi form.

The municipality is split between District 1 (historic centre, islands and estuary) and District 2 (mainland) of ULSS 3 Serenissima. Hospitals are SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Castello and dell'Angelo in Mestre; single booking number 041 844 844 and the 116117 operations centre for non-urgent needs.

Non-EU pensioners enter with the elective residence visa, EU pensioners through free movement; public healthcare is accessible by compulsory or voluntary registration. Optional 7% regime on foreign income for those moving to small southern municipalities. Cheap houses in villages, services concentrated in cities.

Two economies: on the islands tourism, culture, universities and regional public administration; on the mainland the port, logistics, industry under conversion in Marghera, the airport and services. Much seasonal and fixed-term work in hospitality. Regional employment rates above the Italian average. Coworking and startups mainly in Mestre and at the VEGA science park.

A VAT number (partita IVA) from the Agenzia delle Entrate for freelancers; for businesses the Comunicazione Unica to the Registro delle Imprese, which also notifies the Agenzia, INPS, INAIL and SUAP. Main forms: sole proprietorship, SNC/SAS, SRL and SRLS, SPA. Compulsory PEC, annual chamber fee, e-invoicing. Invitalia incentives; non-EU citizens need a self-employment permit or the investor visa.

Two complementary state universities: Ca' Foscari (economics, languages, humanities, sciences, dozens of programmes in English) and Iuav (architecture, design, planning, arts and fashion), plus the Academy, the Conservatory and Venice International University. ESU Venezia runs grants, canteens and residences. Housing is expensive; students are exempt from the access fee.

The municipality is divided into six Municipalità (one for the historic city with Murano and Burano, one for Lido and Pellestrina, four on the mainland) and is the capital of Veneto and of the Metropolitan City. Italian and Venetian are spoken. Patron saint Mark, 25 April, coinciding with the national Liberation Day.

Humid lagoon climate: cold, foggy winters with bora and scirocco winds, muggy summers. High tides concentrate between October and January; since 2020 the MOSE closes the lagoon inlets at the highest tides and the municipal Tide Centre issues forecasts and alerts. The air of Mestre and Venice is among the worst of Italian provincial capitals for PM10, as in the rest of the Po basin.

San Marco with the Basilica and Palazzo Ducale, Rialto, the Accademia, the Guggenheim, the islands, the Biennale. In 2026 the municipality charged day visitors an access fee on sixty days between April and July (official portal, many exemptions); continuation must be checked. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; Carnival, Redentore, the Film Festival and the Regata Storica the peaks.

Bacari and cicchetti, lagoon cuisine (sarde in saor, baccalà mantecato, bigoli in salsa, risi e bisi, moeche), the Rialto market. Evenings at Santa Margherita, Misericordia, Rialto and in Mestre. Parks at San Giuliano and Bissuola on the mainland, beaches on the Lido, Venetian rowing. Much is free: walking, churches, the campi, the Biennale's outdoor venues.