Venice travel
waiting at Mestre station for the train to St.Lucia station
Mestre
The historical center of Venice is on an island, connected by the Liberty Bridge (5km) to the mainland.
Mestre is a large district on the mainland.
The advantage of staying in Mestre District is that the hotels are considerably cheaper.
We stayed in the Plaza Hotel****, 25 metres from the Mestre train station.
Mestre train station
We arrived with the Eurostar train from Milan at Mestre train station.
From the official site (www.veneziamestre.it) i read: "Venezia Mestre station ranks seventh among Italy’s main stations with a traffic volume averaging 85 thousand daily travellers totalling 31 million yearly".
Frankly i wouldn't thought that. Mestre station is not really big.
I guess the official numbers count also the passengers who are passing by Mestre station on its way to St Lucia station.
Mestre train station is only 8 km from St Lucia Station which is the actual end station of Venice.
Near St Lucia Station is also the Venice bus station and car terminals.
The historical part of Venice is car-free.
A single train ticket from Mestre to Santa Lucia train Station cost €1 per person, one way.
A '72hour Tourist Ticket' (€25) include not only the use of the public water buses but also the bus to Mestre.
This bus (line 2) stopped at Mestre Station, in front of our hotel.
Travel time from Metre station to the the bus station is about 12 minutes.
more links
Mestre Station - St Mark Square - Rialto Bridge - Scalzi Bridge