Venice is, by some margin, Italy's most expensive city. The reference daily budget of €140 per person is the floor for any kind of comfort, and the reality often climbs above that in high season. The cost structure is, in a sense, baked in: the absence of cars means everything (groceries, building materials, laundry, hotel sheets) moves by boat, which feeds straight through to the bill.
Accommodation reaches eye-watering levels. A hostel dorm bed in Cannaregio or Dorsoduro runs €35-55 per night. A double room in a respectable B&B (clean, well located, view over a side canal) sits between €130 and €200 outside peak periods. A four-star hotel with a Grand Canal view starts at €280-450. Historic palazzo hotels (Gritti Palace, Danieli, Cipriani) routinely top €800-1 500. A cheaper alternative: stay in Mestre (the mainland town, 15 minutes by train), with two and three-star hotels at €60-100 — at the cost of losing the Venetian evening atmosphere.
Food comes with the classic traps. Restaurants around Piazza San Marco charge eye-watering prices for ordinary meals (€30-50 for nothing special). The authentic and far cheaper alternative is the cicchetto at a bacaro: small slices of bread topped with baccalà mantecato (creamed salt cod), sarde in saor (sardines marinated in onion and vinegar), polpette (meatballs) or cheese, each €1-3. A Spritz costs €2.50-3.50 in a Cannaregio bacaro versus €12-18 on the terrace of Caffè Florian (the oldest café in the world, going since 1720). A full meal in a good back-street osteria (risotto di mare, fritto misto, dessert) runs €35-50 per person.
Vaporetti add up: single ticket €9.50 (75 minutes), 24-hour pass €25, 48-hour pass €35, 72-hour pass €45. If you'll use the vaporetto three or more times in a day, the day pass pays. Gondolas are an indulgence (€80 for 30 minutes by day) — don't bother if you're solo and the romance isn't the point. Museum admissions: Doge's Palace €16, Accademia €12, Peggy Guggenheim €18, Ca' d'Oro €8. The Museum Pass Venezia Musei covers several civic museums for €35.
Read also
- Northern Italy: Venice, Cinque Terre and more — The region grouping the two most iconic destinations of northern Italy.
- Cinque Terre, the Ligurian Riviera villages — Five candy-coloured villages on the cliffs, 3 hours 30 from Venice by train.
- Italy — Complete country guide: entry rules, budget, regions and when to visit.
- Rome, the Eternal City — Three and a half hours from Venice by Frecciarossa: 28 centuries of history and la dolce vita.