Our tour starts today in Venice, 'The Floating City'. The bucket-list city is built across 118 islands linked by bridges and canals in the shallow Venetian lagoon. Once home to an empire, the city is now famous for its art, music and food culture; all of which we hope to experience during our stay. Our tour leader plans to meet everyone at the hotel at 6pm for a welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner afterwards for your first taste of Venetian cuisine. There are no other activities planned today, so you're free to arrive at any time. Should you miss the meeting, our tour leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE). The transfer will be by shared taxi and takes around 45 minutes with our hotel a further 5 minutes' walk. If your flight arrives earlier in the day and you'd like to explore, simply head out on foot and lose yourself among the canals and narrow passageways of the city as you soak in its unique atmosphere. With so much to see and do in Venice itself and the surrounding islands, you could easily spend several days here. If this is your first visit, we recommend arriving early and booking additional hotel nights before the trip starts. Whether arriving by included taxi transfer, or making your own way to the hotel, please note that as vehicles are unable to enter the narrow streets of the island, you'll need to make your own way on foot (around 700 metres, 10-minute walk) from the drop-off point at Piazzale Roma. Walk across the big bridge (Ponte della Costituzione) over the Grand Canal and continue straight past the Santa Lucia train station to your left. After the train station, turn left into the second street (Calle de la Misericordia). After a few minutes, you'll find Calle Pesaro and the Hotel Villa Rosa on your right-hand side. On certain dates, Venice operates an access control system for day visitors. All travellers are required to hold a valid QR code prior to entering the city. As you are staying overnight in Venice, you are exempt from paying the access fee. However, you must still register in advance to obtain an exemption QR code. Failure to present a valid QR code when requested by local authorities may result in a fine. To obtain your QR code, visit this website “ul https://cda.ve.it/en/”ulnone a nd follow the access exemptions pathway. We strongly recommend that all customers, particularly those arriving before the day the trip starts, complete the required registration ahead of travel to avoid any disruption to their visit. Please also ensure you have access to your QR code on arrival. We suggest downloading or saving a copy to your device, or printing it in advance, in case mobile data or roaming access is limited
