italy2005

Can anyone please tell me when is the best time to take the No. 1 Vaporetto along the Grand Canal to sight see? I thought of taking it around 6AM. Is this a good time?

Holly_uncasdewar

Really depends on the time of year.

maryk

Early morning is wonderful, so is late at night with all the lights.

maryk

I forgot to mention that some of the vaporettos no longer have seats out the front - which are best for sightseeing. You may want to wait for one that does. As they come along every 10 minutes it's worth the wait.

Where2Travel

I was in Venice in March and one of the highlights of my trip was taking an early morning #1 vaporetto towards Piazzale Roma.

I probably did this at about 7am when everything is fairly quiet in Venice and the vaporetto does not have many people on it. The sun was coming up from behind so it was great for getting some pictures of the Grand Canal. My main reason for being up so early was to go to St Mark's Square when it was quiet.

NYCTravelSnob

It's hard for me to imagine a bad time to ride, even if it's raining. The Grand Canal is so atmospheric, one gets a very different perspective each and every time they ride. I wouldn't fret about time. I'd just make sure I got a good seat.

italy2005

Hello all! Thanks for the response. I will be in Venice this coming August.

Where2Travel: when you took the vaporetto was there a lot of them that didnt have the seats in the front?

Where do you think is the best seat besides the front? As I would like to take pictures when not alot of people are around.

italy2005

Where2Travel: which stop did you take the no. 1? and where did you end? thanks.

ira

Hi it,

Very early morning and at dusk are the two best times.

There is no bad time.

In the morning, go all the way out to the Lido and take the vaporetto back to see Venice from the water.

italy2005

hi ira. thanks for the info. sorry to sound stupid but what time do you consider dusk? i don't want to go too early when its too dark and i cant take any pictures

i thought of my starting point in the station of Ferrovia and possibly end it at San Marco or San Zaccaria. you think i should start at lido?

Mary_B

We just returned from our trip and while in Venice, we rode the vaporettos a LOT! We took the #1 as well as several others (even one which went on the "outside circuit" - can't remember the #) - we did this just to see the sites - we thought it was probably the cheapest tour we could take!

I thought riding in the early AM (7AM or so) was neat, because it seemed that was when you got to see all the deliveries being made and that was kind of a different scene. We also rode at dusk/night (@ 9 PM) and thought it was great to see all the "waterfront" restauarants lit up and whatnot.

Buy a daily pass and whenever you want, you can hope on! Enjoy!

caroline_edinburgh

Two weeks ago we took it from Accademia at 8.40am, going north; then back from the northern terminus to the Giardini, and got seats at the front both ways. We also got seats at the front on at least 3 other occasions, at different times of day, so it didn't seem as difficult as some posters I've read seemed to find it.

caroline_edinburgh

P.S. Bear in mind that if you do sit in the front seats, you are not allowed to stand up. We saw several people trying to stand up to take photographs & getting shouted at by the driver.

Where2Travel

I got on the #1 at Valaresso and got off at Ferrovia (that wasn't far from where I was staying which is why I got off there) for my early morning trip. I recall this was the best way to go as I was never facing directly into the sun (which was just coming up).

I didn't really notice how many had the seats at the front but when it wasn't busy I found being in the middle standing area (not indoors but the covered bit nearer the front where people get on and off) very good for taking pictures because it's easy to get from one side to the other. If it's not busy, you aren't in anyone's way. You don't need to be right at the front to get pictures up the Grand Canal.

metlc

We got on the #1 at Rialto around eleven in the evening and rode it all the way out to the Lido, arriving just before midnight. Most people got off by San Marco, so we were able to get one of the eight stern seats.

Then the graveyard shift kicked in, and we took the "graveyard" #1 back to Rialto. We were just about the only people aboard. Took some nice night videos (!).

So, I would say the best times are between eleven at night and seven in the morning.