Found outside the city and located on the mainland, arriving at Marco Polo Airport gives travellers the option of visiting the city by parking their hire car in one of the many car parks on the outskirts of the city and travelling in on a water taxi or exploring the region around Venice.
Some use the airport to get to the nearby beach resort of Lido di Jesolo or to head into Croatia. Plenty of time though should be allowed for simply ambling through the narrow streets or taking a gondola ride along the canals.
Venice Marco Polo Airport Mini Guide
Marco Polo Airport is the closest airport to Venice – an incomparably beautiful city which is surrounded by water. More than seven million people use Marco Polo every year to get to
Venice which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
Marco Polo Airport, which is the fourth busiest in
Italy in terms of passenger traffic is relatively large and has three terminals over two floors. Arrivals are located on the ground floor with departures found on the first floor. There are more than 60 check in desks as well as quite a few facilities for passengers who are in transit.
Venice Marco Polo is actually located on the Italian mainland in Tessera and once you get there Venice is then approached by boat.
The airport is named after the European explorer Marco Polo who was famous for rediscovering China during his expeditions. This modern terminal has not been around for very long but is already used by some of the biggest airplane companies in flights to and from destinations across the whole world. These include Northwest airlines, Emirates Airline, US Airways, Delta Air lines, Sky Service and Air Transat.
If you are flying from the United Kingdom there are also a number of airlines you can use. Bmi goes from Heathrow, British Airways has flights from Heathrow and Gatwick, Thomson Airways goes from Gatwick and Manchester, Jet2 goes from Leeds Bradford and Edinburgh, Aer Lingus goes from Dublin and easyJet goes from Gatwick and Belfast. To add to the great amount of traffic around Marco Polo there are also a number of cargo flights. Aeroflot Cargo, UPS Airlines and Fedex Express are some of the main transporters to use it.
Once you have picked up your hire car, one part of Venice where having a car is a good idea is at the Lido, an outcrop of land only a short boat journey away from the mainland. Lido is a good place to stay as it is cheaper and less crowded than the centre of Venice. It also has some stunning beaches that you can drive to.
From the Alilaguna Airport
you can catch a fast ferry to and from Venice or the Lido. The main airports in Venice are called the Treviso Airport which is about 20 kms from the city centre and the Marco Polo Airport which is 10 kms away by water and 12 kms by land.
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