Bearbear

It turns out I will need 1,000 Euro in cash upon arrival or shortly thereafter for my apartment. Plus I will need cash for water taxi and incidentals. Any recomendations on the most cost effective ways to do this?

I'm travelling via SFO and LHR.

If a local ATM is the recomendation, I will still need an alternative. I won't be able to withrawl enough the first couple of days to meet my needs.

slawecki

You will probably need 4 ATM cards. my personal idiot bank has a $270 daily max. The nasty bank up the street from them has a $550 max. My wife and I have cards from the 4. I have never hit the machine max, as the cards are so short.

The ATM machines from different banks in Venice do not seem to talk to each other. so you can go from one machine to the next. You can pay for water taxi with credit card at the booth in VCE. there is also ATM machines in VCE and at the train station. the one at the train station has always had a long line when I observed it. Venice seems to me to have very few ATM machines overall, given the tourist traffic. ask to find them.

Bank rates for cash conversion were not that bad in Italy, although I have not done that for a few years. The wait time can be considerable to get to a teller, but I converted $2000 or $3000 at a time at a single bank. cost was usually 1-1.5% plus 10 euro or so. was cheaper than the card, just did not like carrying all that cash from home. the rates are posted in the window of most banks, just the fee is not.

ChgoBob

Other than using multiple credit cards, your only other 2 options are to use the currency exchange booths, or get the � here. There are several exchanges in VCE airport, with one (maybe 2) by the luggage carousels. They are not cheap.

The other option is to get the Euro in advance from Wells Fargo, or a local bank. http://tinyurl.com/2e5lgu

Bearbear

This looks like a good suggestion. (and a good link) There is a branch with a currency desk near my house and I have a Wells account. It must be cheaper than several seperate ATM transactions.

damon88

Last time we were at the Danieli they told us this had been discontinued. Although I still think there is some arrangement for guests at the Cipriani Hotel.

Locanda Cipriani was one of our magical experiences. We're returning again next October.

Fornebufox

My home bank (Citibank) charges no commission for currency exchanges of $1000 or more. I don't like carrying a lot of cash but if I'm getting rid of most of it on arrival I don't mind traveling with the bills in a money belt. This has worked fine on my last couple of apartment stays, and locating an ATM doesn't have to be an immediate worry.

There are lots of Venice suggestions on the Slow Travel website, http://www.slowtrav.com.

Bearbear

I found the Slow Travel website recomended on a different Flyertalk thread. I'm using one of their recomendations for my apartment. Otherwise I would be pretty nervous about giving someone 1K Euro in cash upon arrival.

slawecki

Why? it is a very standard request at many of the smaller establishments in my experience in both italy and france. my last set of payments was for 1360 euro, but they let me pay in 500 euro chuncks, as that was my daily limit without problems using my atm cards.

dealing with locals in italy is not like dealing with starwood.

slawecki

there are at least two parts to a typical currency transaction. the commission, and the exchange rate. I recently saw a NO COMMISSION ad in the dallas newspaper offering euro exchange. buy at 1.41 dollar for euro. sell at 1.21 dollar for euro. a $0.20 spread. cost per euro is 8% or so.

think about it a bit.

in my commercial dealings, I usually get a $0.03 spread, plus $10.00 commission.

FMH1964

For the children, may I suggest the Museo Storico Navale, the Naval History Museum. It has the advantages of being cheap and fascinating. Your kids will love it. It is near the Arsenale stop and is open from 8:45 to 1:30 weekdays, 8:45 to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays and Holidays. The Naval History Museum stood out as the one true bargain in Venice.

I second the suggestion for Torcello. Torcello is wonderfully peaceful and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is generally regarded as having the finest mosaics in Italy (or at least that was drummed into me during Fine Art History class from over a decade ago).

bdemaria

Your landlord should give you time to do banking on the day of your arrival. Check w/your booking agent to be sure. If you have an American Express Card go to the AE Office (located near the Campo San Moise) where they will cash personal checks drawn on US banks. Check out their website for more information, esp. the max. amount which varies depending on the type of card you have.

To get into the city, you'll need 90-110 Euro. When you leave customs/immigrants and enter the public airport area, there's an ATM located on the far right wall. You'll get a FAR better exchange rate than at the Travelex etc.... Also, the water taxi drivers do not expect - or usually receive tips.

obscure2k

This is excellent advice. You should have the landlord's cell # with you. Call upon arrival.
When we rented an apartment in VCE, we called the number provided when our wheel s touched the runway. Our host/concierge greeted us at the water landing of our villa on the Grand Canal. It was quite magical.

brownery

For eating, I recommend "Paradiso Perduto" on Calle Misericordia. If you get there early enough, they will have some of their amazing fish stew left.

PUCCI GALORE

You have had some excellent advice. Personally I would add one or two things and I am happy to give you one or two really good and really authentic restaurants to try. PM me if you want them as I do not intend to post them here as they are a little special in that they are authentic, they are fairly well removed from the tourist tat and they serve really good food as opposed to the overpriced filth that they serve to tourists knowing that they are here today and gone tomorrow.

The recommendation for the Locanda Cipriani is very good - do not go on the weekend if you can avoid it as everyone else does that. Remember that 1st May is a public holiday and lots of things will be shut. Go by all means to Padua but book the Giotto collection first on line. Do not buy Murnao glass and have it shipped home as what you get will not be what you chose in the shop. Buy it, pay cash and insist on at least a 20% discount (the VAT) if you pay cash as they will not declare it. Be prepared to walk and let them run after you. Do go to the Lido one afternoon as it is a break from the cement of the city. You might like a trip in the boat down to Chioggia - a delightful little town across the Lagoon.

Above all forget the horror stories and prepare to be dazzled there is no other city like Venezia.

arcetrax

Hello, i'm italian and have been so many times in venice; here are my advisory for enjoying local food without spending a fortune

1) Trattoria Da Pampo in the area of Sant'Elena: simple, not crowded, very good fish and wine
2) Paradiso Perduto: very traditional in the area of "the ghetto"; you share the tables with the other and food is great; however wine is not as good as the food
3) Bacaro Alla Botte, near by the Rialto Bridge: great local "cicchetti" based on fish and vegetables, as well as wonderfull meatballs. Similar great place is "Osteria Alla Vedova" not far from the Ca' Doro

then, if you want something more sofisticated,expensive, yes, but great food, then choose "Da Fiore" in the area of San Polo square, or "Acqua pazza" in campo sant'angelo.

AVOID, PLEASE AVOID any restaurants along the Canal Grande next by the Rialto Bridge!

Enjoy your staying!!!