Busabout Adventures

How it works
A Busabout Flexitrip Pass (6 or more flexistops) will give you access to the entire Busabout coach network. A flexistop is any time you jump off the coach overnight - compulsory overnight stops are indicated with red dots on the map below.

Flexitrip Passes are perfect for travellers who are looking to go from point A to point B without wanting to get the whole "Loop". Your Flexistops are valid for the entire operating season giving you maximum flexibility (thus the clever name). Break away from the network and explore destinations like Greece or Morocco. Start and finish anywhere - just keep travelling until you run out of stops, or buy more as you go.

For example : Start in Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich, Venice and finish in Rome - all with only 8 'flexistops'. Stay in each city as long as you like. If you'd like to make an extra 'stop' in say Salzburg, simply buy an extra 'flexistop' from your On-board Guide.

The Flexitrip Pass is valid for the entire 2008 operating season (May to October). Each "sector" may be travelled once and departures from each city are every other day.

• Start and finish anywhere.
• Travel at your own pace.
• No 'time-limit'
• Minimum recommended travel time: 18 days
• Break your loop - make it into more than one trip.
• Door to door.
• Every other day service.
• Travel Dates and Accommodation

We recommend that you utilise the "MyBusabout" feature on the website, so you can make confirmed seat reservations and pre-book you budget accommodation. Once you have booked your Busabout pass you can just log-on to the website with your booking reference number and start planning and booking your trip.

Venice is built on 117 islands with 150-odd canals and 400 bridges. Only three bridges cross the Canal Grande (Grand Canal): the Rialto, the Accademia and the Scalzi near the railway.

The city is divided into six sestieri (quarters): Cannaregio, Castello, San Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce. A street can be a calle, ruga or salizzada; beside a canal it’s a fondamenta, a canal is a rio, a filled
canal-turned-street is a rio terra. The only square in Venice called a piazza is San Marco; the others are called campo. Venice’s street numbering is unique, too. Instead of a system based on individual streets, each sestiere has a series of numbers; addresses are virtually meaningless unless you are a Venetian postie. Getting lost is inevitable, so enjoy!

There are no cars. All public transport is via the canals, on vaporetti (water buses) or with ‘Shanks’ Pony’ (your feet). Walking from the train station to San Marco along the main drag, Lista di Spagna (whose name changes often), takes about 30 minutes, follow the signs to San Marco. From San Marco the Rialto, the Accademia and the train station are signposted but sometimes confusingly, particularly in Dorsoduro and San Polo.

Before you visit Venice’s churches, museums and monuments,  take vaporetto (water bus) No 1 along the Grand Canal, lined with rococo, Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance palaces. Then, stretch your legs with a decent walk: start at San Marco and either delve into the tiny lanes of tranquil Castello or head for the Ponte dell’Accademia to reach the narrow streets and squares of Dorsoduro and San Polo. Most museums are closed Monday.

PIAZZA & BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
San Marco’s dreamy quality stuns, first time or fiftieth. The piazza is enclosed by the basilica and the elegant arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove. While you’re standing gob-smacked you might view the bronze mori (Moors) strike the bell of the 15th-century Torre dell’Orologio (clock tower).

From a distance, it looks like some sort of glorious ice-cream cake, but the Basilica di San Marco (St Mark’s Basilica) was the Western counterpart of Constantinople’s Santa Sophia, built to house the body of St Mark. Stolen from his Egyptian burial place and smuggled to Venice in a barrel of pork, the saint has been reburied several times (at least twice poor St Mark was ‘lost’), his body now resting under the high altar. The present basilica, with its spangled spires, Byzantine domes and façade of mosaics and marble, is the result of centur­ies of redesigning and post-disaster renovations and was finished in (approximately) its current form in 1071. The interior is richly decorated with mo­saics, as well as looted embellishments from the ensuing five centuries. The bronze horses above the entrance are replicas of statues ‘liberated’ from Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade (1204). The originals are in the basilica’s Galleria (admission €1.55). You’ll never forget you’re in a ‘floating’ city; the 12th-century floor undulates, wavelike, after centuries of tidal shifts affecting the foundation. Don’t miss the Pala d’Oro (adult/child €1.50/1), a stunning gold altarpiece decorated with countless priceless jewels.

The 99m freestanding campanile (bell tower; adult/child €6/3; h9am-9pm late Jun-Aug, 9am-7pm  Apr-Jun & Sep-Oct, 9am-4pm Nov-Mar) dates from the 10th century, although it suddenly collapsed on 14 July 1902 and had to be rebuilt.
Feeding the pigeons is a ‘cheep’ thrill (about €1). Don’t encourage them.

PALAZZO DUCALE
The official residence of the doges and seat of the republic’s government, the Palazzo Ducale (admission €9.50; h9am-7pm Apr-Oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar, ticket office to 4.30pm) also housed municipal officials and Venice’s prisons. The Sala del Maggior Consiglio features paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese. Tickets also cover entry to the Museo Correr, Biblioteca Marciana and Museo Archeologico. A surcharge (€6) covers the Palazzo Mocenigo (San Stae area), and Burano and Murano museums.

The famous Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) connects the palace to the dungeons, and evokes a romantic image, possibly through association with former prisoner Casanova (a Venetian native). Far bleaker is the real reason for the sighing; the sadness of condemned prisoners en route to their executions, seeing Venice for the last time.

GALLERIA DELL’ACCADEMIA
The Academy of Fine Arts (%041 522 22 47; adult/EU citizens 18-25 years/child under 12 & EU citizens under 18 & over 65 €6.50/3.25/free; h8.15am-2pm Mon, 8.15am-7.15pm Tue-Sun) traces the development of Venetian art, including masterpieces by Bellini, Titian, Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Giorg­ione and Veronese.

Don’t miss the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim (%041 240 54 11; www.Guggenheim-venice.it; Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Dorsoduro 701; adult/student & child €8/5; h10am-6pm Wed-Fri & Sun-Mon, 10am-10pm Sat) displayed in the American heiress’ former home. The brilliant, anachronistic collection runs the gamut of modern art (Bacon, Pollock, Picasso, Dalí, Magritte and more) and the palace is in a sculpture garden where Peggy and her dogs are buried. Aww.

CHURCHES
Venice has hundreds of churches but don’t investigate them without a Chorus Pass. The Chiesa del Redentore (Church of the Re­deemer) on Giudecca was built by Palladio to commemorate the end of the Great Plague (1576) and is the scene of the annual Festa del Redentore. Longhena’s Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute ‘guards’ the Grand Canal’s entrance and contains works by Tintoretto and Titian. Definitely visit the great Gothic churches SS Giovanni e Paolo, with its glorious stained-glass windows, and the Frari, home to Titian’s tomb and his uplifting
Assumption.

THE LIDO
This thin strip of land separating Venice from the Adriatic is easily accessible by vaporetto Nos 1, 6, 14, 61 and 82. Once the most fashionable resort – still very popular – it’s near impossible to find space in summer.

ISLANDS
The island of Murano is the home of Venetian glass. Tour a factory for a behind-the-scenes look at production. Burano, still a relatively sleepy fishing village, is renowned for its lace and colourful houses. Torcello, the republic’s original island settlement, was abandoned due to malaria. Little remains on the hauntingly deserted island, besides the Byzantine cath­edral, with its mosaics intact. Vaporetto No 12 services all three.

GONDOLAS
Ring-tones have supplanted serenades, but if you must, you must… And it’ll cost you –
before/after 8pm €62/78, for 50 minutes. These fixed/official rates are per-gondola (licensed for six people).

Cars must be parked on Tronchetto or at Piazzale Roma (Lido allows cars – take car ferry No 17 from Tronchetto). The car parks aren’t cheap (€18 per day); an option is leaving the car at Fusina, near Mestre, taking vaporetto No 16 to Zattere, and then No 82  to Piazza San Marco or the train station.

As Venice is carless, vaporetti (single/return €3.10/5.20, 24-/72-hour unlimited use ticket €19/31) are the city’s mode of public transport. Full timetables are available at ticket offices (€0.50). The most useful vaporetti are:
No 1 – From Piazzale Roma, the No 1 zigzags along the Grand Canal to San Marco, then to the Lido.
No 12 – Departs from Fondamenta Nuove for the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.
No 82 – Faster than the No 1 if you’re anxious to get to San Marco. Also services Giudecca.

Traghetti (the public gondolas used for crossing the Grand Canal; per crossing €0.50) get you a less romanticised ‘gondola’ experience. Use them; they’re quick, cheap, fun and authentically Venetian.

INTERNET ACCESS
There are tonnes of Internet cafés but none of them are cheap. The airport is a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Casanova (%041 524 06 64; Rio Tera Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio 158/a; per hr €7; h9am-11.30pm) A cheesy club and a combined webcafé in one, close to the station.
Netgate (%041 244 02 13; Calle dei Preti Crosera 3812, Dorsoduro; per hr €6; h10.15am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10.15am-10pm Sat, 2.15-10pm Sun)
Nethouse (%041 277 11 90; Campo Santo Stefano, San Marco 2967; per 20min/1hr €3/9; h24hr) Nethouse has tonnes of screens, plus printing and fax services.
Planet Internet (%041 524 41 88; Rio Terrà San Leonardo, Cannaregio 1520; per hr €7; h8am-11pm) Good central location; the perfect place to surf while doing laundry.

LAUNDRY
Speedy Wash (Rio Terrà San Leonardo, Cannaregio 1520; 8kg wash/dry €4.50/3; h9am-10pm)

MEDICAL & EMERGENCY SERVICES
For emergency services responses in foreign languages, call %112.
Ospedale Civile (%041 529 41 11; Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo)
Police Headquarters (%041 271 55 11; Fondamenta di San Lorenzo, Castello 5053) Handles thefts etc

MONEY
Ouch. Venice is Italy’s expensive city. Prepare yourself for paying nearly double here for things of similar standard elsewhere in Italy.
American Express (%041 520 08 44; Salizzada San Moisè 1471; h9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-12.30pm Sat & Sun)
Change office (h7am- 9pm) At the train station.
Travelex (Thomas Cook; %041 522 47 51; Piazza San Marco 141; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 9.30am-5pm Sun)

POST
Post office (Salizzada del Fontego dei Tedeschi; h8.10am-7pm Mon-Sat) In an atmospheric former trading house near the Rialto.

TOURIST INFORMATION
Central Venice has three tourist offices (%041 529 87 11) train station (h8am-8pm) Piazza San Marco 71f (h9.45am-3.15pm Mon-Sat) Venice Pavilion (h10am-6pm), the latter on the waterfront. Further offices are at Piazzale Roma (h8am-8pm), the Lido and the airport.

Visitors aged 14 to 29 can buy a Rolling Venice card (%041 241 39 08; €3), offering dis­counts on food, accommodation, shop­ping, transport and museums. Available from various outlets, you’ll need your passport and a colour photograph. The excellent Chorus Pass (adult/child/student €8/5/5) gets you into 15 of Venice’s most beautiful churches, many boasting a masterpiece or two. For both passes, ask at the tourist offices.

The Venice Card (%041 24 24; www.venicecard.it; blue card under 29 years 1/3/7 days €9/22/49, over 29 years €14/29/51, orange card under 29 years €18/35/61, over 29 years €28/47/68) isn’t always a saving, but could be, depending on your itinerary; check its coverage before spending.

Festivals & Events
Venice knows how to party. Carnevale (trans­lated as ‘truth in/of flesh) is the city’s famed last-knees-up-before-Lent (late February, early March). Everyone dons spectacular masks and costumes for a 10-day street party. At its 18th-century peak, the drinking, dancing and debauchery lasted six months!

At Feste del’ Laure, students lampoon their graduating comrades (getting their PhDs) by putting up caricatured posters all over town, and singing many verses of a decidedly anatomical ditty while parading drunkenly through the streets. It’s held mainly in March and November.

Held on the third weekend in July, Festa del Redentore (Festival of the Redeemer) celebrates the Great Plague’s end; it features a spectacular fireworks display.

The Regata Storica is a wildly colourful gondola race held on the Grand Canal the first Sunday in September.

Venice Biennale is the major, year-long exhibition of international visual arts held every even-numbered year, while the Venice International Film Festival is Italy’s take on Cannes; programmed by the Biennale organisers, it’s held every September.

Eating in Venice is generally expensive. Value lies lurking away from big landmarks though, and affordable self-catering/snack options abound. Staples of Venetian cuisine are rice, beans and seafood. Try risotto con piselli (risotto with peas) followed by a glass of fragolino, a fragrant strawberry wine. Around 4pm you’ll notice everyone drinking sprizze – an apéritif of prosecco (Venetian sparkling white), soda and a bitter mixer, usually Aperol, giving the drink its trademark colour. Delicious!

CAFÉS & BARS
Venetian café culture isn’t limited to de rigueur string sections and extortionate dollars in San Marco’s.

Torrefazione Costarica (%041 71 63 71; Strada Nuovo, Cannaregio 1337; h8am-6.30pm) Serves Venice’s best (and cheapest) coffee. Unassuming purveyors, Camillo Marchi and family, make wonderful espresso for €0.65 (cappuccinos €1.05). You can even watch him roasting tomorrow’s beans, comforted in the knowledge he’s supplying the cafés across town charging 10 times as much.

Barbanera (%041 541 07 17; Calle de le Bande, Castello 5356; h11am-midnight) A birreria/enoteca (wine and beer bar) which does good food. The fish soup is cheap (€5) and authentic, the deep-fried olives (€3) pure salty deliciousness.

GELATI & PASTRIES
There’s no shortage of great pastries and gelato in Venice.

Il Doge (%041 523 46 07; Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3058/a; small/large gelato €1.50/3; h10am-2am Feb-Nov) The finest gelato on the sweetest piazza.

Rosa Salva (%041 522 79 49; rsalva@doge.it; Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo, Castello 6779; h7.30am-8.30pm Thu-Tue) One hundred years after launching as a ‘travelling kitchen’, delivering hot meals by gondola, Rosa Salva’s reputation is lofty. Enjoy some of the best coffee and pastries in Venice while perusing local art exhibits.

RESTAURANTS
Sahara (%041 72 10 77; Fondamenta della Misericordia, Cannaregio 2519; mains €10, set menu without drinks €20; hlunch & dinner Tue-Sun) In what passes for a nightlife district in Cannaregio, Sahara is an excellent Arabic alternative to Italian food. The Syrian cooking is delicious, and there’s belly dancing every Saturday night.

Iguana (%041 71 35 61; Fondamenta della Miser
icordia, Cannaregio 2521; meals €9-11, happy hr sprizze €1; h6pm-1am Tue-Sun, happy hr 6.30-8pm) If Tex-Mex is your thing, hit Iguana for Americano flavours, or simply swing by at happy hour for 1½ hours of cheap sprizzing!

Vino Vino (%041 523 70 27; www.vinovino.co.it; Ponte delle Veste, 2007/a, San Marco; mains €10; h10.30am-midnight Wed-Mon) At Ponte Veste near Teatro La Fenice, this fantastic wine bar also does excellent food. Typical Venetian specialities abound; a moodily evocative place to try some polenta or pasta con nero di seppia (pasta in shellfish ink). There is a choice of 350 wines by the bottle/glass.

Cip Ciap (%041 523 66 21; Calle del Mondo Nuovo, Castello, 5799; pizza slice €2.30) Cip Ciap is cheap and cheerful, just right for a simple snack. Near buzzy Campo Santa Maria Formosa.

Ae Oche (Three Geese; %041 524 11 61; Calle del
Tintor, Santa Croce 1552a/b; pizza €7; hlunch & dinner) Venice’s best pizzeria is worth the extra cost. Choose from 90 (!) pizzas or excellent pastas in the inviting, saloon-style dining room, then chase it all with sgroppino. This cool, creamy, alcoholic lemon sorbet is heavenly after a meal, a little-known Venetian treat.

La Zucca (The Pumpkin; %041 524 15 70; San Giacomo dell’Orio, Santa Croce 1762; mains €10-16; hlunch & dinner Mon-Sat) This is a smashing, tiny osteria purveying innovative dishes using seasonal vegetables. The vegetarian lasagne is stunning, the fennel in spicy olive sauce transcendent. Rabbit, wild fowl and horse are also offered. Rustic ambience and magnificent service. Book ahead.

Osteria ai 4 Ferri (%041 520 69 78; Calle Lunga San Barnaba, Dorsoduro 2754/a; mains €12-17; hlunch & dinner) Splash out at this briny osteria off Campo San Barnaba, respected for its seafood delights (especially shellfish). The combination of young owners and traditional outlook is working; booking is required.

Cantina do Mori (%041 522 54 01; Sottoportego dei do Mori, San Polo 429; light meals €4-8; h8.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat) A small, very popular wine bar also serving great sandwiches and cicchetti (Venetian ‘tapas’, or light snacks). Two centuries of superb snacks mean it’s usually packed with dedicated locals. Great for a light meal or aperitivo.

Pizza Al Volo (%041 522 54 30; Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 2944; slice €1.50, whole pizzas €4-6; hlunch & dinner) Venice’s favourite cheapie pizza takeaway serves tasty slices the size of sheets. Don’t miss this bargain beauty.

SELF-CATERING
For fruit, vegetables, and deli items, head for the markets in the streets on the San Polo side of the Rialto, or the Rio Terrà San Leonardo in Cannaregio. There are also supermarkets: Mega 1, just off Campo Santa Margherita, and Standa (Strada Nova).

Teatro La Fenice (%041 78 65 11; www.teatrolafenice
.it, Campo San Fantin, San Marco 1970; admission varies; hvaries) Fire damage in 1996 saw the city’s grandest theatre closed for repairs for seven years, only to re-emerge from the ashes, like the phoenix it’s named after. The nexus of high (performance) art in Venice.

Palazzo Grassi (www.palazzograssi.it; San Samuele, San Marco 3231; tickets adult/concession €9/6.50; h10am-
7pm) Backed by the financial clout of automotive giant FIAT, Palazzo Grassi is the schmick venue for major art exhibitions, from ancient to modern.

Shopping
Venice is synonymous with elaborate decorative work and craftworks, primarily Murano’s glassware and Burano’s lace. Marbled paper and luscious velvet fabrics are other famous items. There are several workshops and showrooms in Venice, but the quality is inconsistent – there are many knockoffs.

The holy trinity for late drinks are the three ‘coloured’ cafés: Blue, Noir and Rosso.

Il Caffè (%041 528 79 98; Campo San Margherita, Dorsoduro 2963; huntil late) Better known as Café Rosso for its big red sign, this fantastic hub is heavingly popular. The cool staff make the best sprizze in Venice, and might even let you assault their piano – student-fuelled jams aren’t uncommon. A slice of Venetian heaven.

Café Blue (%041 71 02 27; cafébluevenezia@hotmail
.com; Salizzada San Pantalon, Dorsoduro 3778; huntil late Mon-Sat; i) A pub-like den not far from Santa Margherita, Café Blue usually figures in any Dorsoduro giro d’ombra (Venetian-style low-key pub crawl). Dark and atmospheric, it’s a slightly shabby option, but still warm and inviting. Free Internet access.

Café Noir (%041 71 09 25; Calle San Pantalon 3805; h7am-2am Mon-Sat, 9am-2am Sun) A laid-back, more studenty hang-out, occupied night and day with locals catching up on gossip, flirting, drinking, eating and enjoying the casual atmosphere.

Paradiso Perduto (Paradise Lost; %041 72 05 81; Fonda­menta della Misericordia, Cannaregio 2540; h7pm-late, happy hr 6.30-7.30pm Thu-Mon, lunch Sat & Sun) Popular, dim, faux-Bohemian bar/eatery/club with live and DJ-fuelled music. It’s queer-friendly, self-consciously outré and does an awesome quasi-buffet lunch at weekends.

Inishark (%041 523 53 00; Calle Mondo Nuovo, Castello 5787; h5.30pm-2am Tue-Sun, closed Aug) A fun Irish bar so low-lit you’ll need the light from the TV screens showing football games to even see your Guinness.

Bar Du Champ (%041 528 62 55; Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3019; h10am-2am) Hip bar considered studenty because of the location, but really pulling a mixed crowd. It has panini for €1 to €2 and Tetley’s on tap. It’s more swish than it sounds, and a real Venetian hot spot