For many years now, one of the symbols of Venice has been the “vaporetti“, the water buses that every day transport Venetians and millions of tourists along the Grand Canal or to the islands of the Lagoon. Although now all run on a diesel engine and no longer a steam engine, the ancient name of “vaporetti” (steamboat) has remained.
The founder of the first vaporetto company in Venice was the Jewish entrepreneur Amedeo Grassini, a very prominent personality: lawyer and city councilor, he formed a financial group with Giuseppe Musatti to start the transformation of the Lido into a tourist resort. The vaporetto system in Venice was created to make life easier for residents and make the city sustainable for the millions of tourists who decide to spend a few days in Venice.
After purchasing the ticket, to get on the boat you have to enter the “imbarcadero“, the landing stage or boat stop. Scattered throughout the city and present along almost all the canals that run through Venice, the “imbarcaderi” are nothing more than the docks where you can get on or off the vaporetto. The local transport company (ACTV) provides multiple navigation lines for getting around Venice by vaporetto. For a panoramic tour of the city, navigation lines 1 and 2 are indicated which cross the heart of Venice, i.e. the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal.
Vaporetti are comfortable and convenient, they are accessible to most people, they connect with all the places of interest in the city, they give an overview from a different perspective of the city, they save time by protecting from the weather. Basically, travelling by vaporetto is spectacular!
Location: Piazzale Roma, Venice




