Judy

I'm a bit confused and I hope someone can help me out. <BR> <BR>There are two train stations in Venice--Venezia S. Lucia and Venezia Mestre. Which train station is the one we should use? (We're staying in the Dorsorduro district.) <BR> <BR>The most convenient train from Florence to Venice is a Eurostar which goes to Mestre first and then S. Lucia. But the most convenient train from Venice to Milan is from Mestre only. <BR> <BR>Which is the train station of choice in Venice? Are they pretty much equal distance from Dorsoduro (eg. vaporetto cost the same?) <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance for your help. <BR> <BR>

Book Chick

Judy, <BR>Not sure this will help, but I'd like to try. Mestre is largely known as a "through" station, which is why the train you're taking in goes there first, then onto Santa Lucia. Most trains departing from Mestre originated somewhere around the Austrian or Yugoslavian border, and are "inbound" further into Italy for places like Milan, Bologna, Florence, etc. You may not have a choice of which station you're using. Have you checked the Trenitalia web site? That should let you know if you have the option of choosing your station of departure. <BR>Buon Viaggio, <BR>BC

Judy

Thanks BC. <BR> <BR>I did check trenitalia which is how I got the information. <BR> <BR>I can use either train station in-bound and out-bound from Venice but the outbound train to Milan leaving from Mestre is definitely more convenient than the alternatives from S. Lucia. <BR> <BR>I'm assuming from your post that all things being equal, I would choose S. Lucia--is that correct? If so, would Mestre be too difficult to get to?

YS

Most likely you will need Venezia S. Lucia station. <BR>Mestre station in on the "main land" and S. Lucia is on the island and is the last stop. If you are going to "the Venice" go all the way! <BR>Note, however, if you train for whatever reason only goes to Mestre, you will need to take another train to S. Lucia, which will not be a problem since they are available at least hourly. Try www.tranitalia.com <BR>

KT

To add on to what BC said, Mestre is on the mainland, across the causeway from Venice, whereas Santa Lucia is in Venice itself. (Technically, for governmental purposes, Venice and Mestre are a single entity, but that's irrelevant from the touristic point of view.) That's why trains that stay on the mainland stop only at Mestre, though trains that begin or end in Venice will stop at both. Santa Lucia is the one you want, and where you catch the vaporetto. If you do take a train that stops only at Mestre, you can hop on one of the frequent trains that go on to Santa Lucia. It's only a matter of minutes, but you do have the incovenience of dragging your luggage with you.

Judy

Thanks everyone. I think I got it figured out now. I checked the Trenitalia site and the trains from S. Lucia to Mestre run every few minutes and is only 10 minutes in length. I'll just have to look at the times and decide whether the ES train is worth the extra hassle of the ride to Mestre. <BR> <BR>Thanks again!

claire

In August, we took the IC train (first class) from Verona to Venice. We were in a very nice air conditioned compartment. Ther crowds were in the aisle, sitting on their luggage. If you are going into Venice, definitely go to S. Lucia station. The Mestre hassle isn't worth it and the IC first class train is as nice as many of the Eurostars we took.