Marghera (district of Venice)

The city of Venice includes not only the old town on an island and the other tourist islands such as Murano and Lido. Also large districts on the mainland belong to the city area. 4 of the 6 official districts of Venice are on the mainland (Mestre, Marghera, Chirignago-Zelarino and Favaro Veneto). Tourists do not come to these districts for sightseeing. There is not much to see. But very many visitors of Venice stay overnight here. Hotels are about half as cheap as on the expensive old town island of Venice. Most visitors who stay overnight on the mainland then travel to Venice every day by train, car, streetcar or bus. This takes only 10 to 15 minutes. The mainland hotels are mainly in Mestre and Marghera. We have written our own article about Meste, this article is about Marghera.
 

Marghera is an area of several kmē behind the train station of Mestre. If you leave the train station at the front, you will reach Mestre. If you use the exit at the last track on the other side, you will reach Marghera.

Marghera exists only for about 100 years. Because the islands of Venice became too small, especially for industry and port, there was built on the mainland opposite. During the 2nd World War Marghera was destroyed by air raids more than almost any other city in Italy. The city was rebuilt and is still today strongly characterized by industry, shipyards, etc. However, the area behind the train station of Mestre, where today there are hundreds of hotels, is a normal residential area. Between the houses of the locals are the hotels. However, there are hardly any beaches in Marghera.

In Marghera there are many small parks, green areas and playgrounds

As a tourist you will stay overnight in a hotel in Marghera and every morning you will travel to Venice by public transport. Most pensions and hotels in Marghera are rather small, often family run. But there are also some bigger hotels.Public transport Marghera

Public transport Marghera

If you stay in Marghera to see Venice, do so to save money. The many hundreds of hotels in Venice itself are very expensive, in Marghera the prices are about the Italian average.

If the hotel is close to Meste train station, simply go to the station and take one of the approximately 10 regional trains per hour to Venice. The journey takes about 10 minutes, the fare is only about 1,50 Euro one way (in 2024). You can buy tickets at one of the many ticket machines and at the ticket office. Be careful, there are often long queues in the late morning.

If you live in Marghera further away from the train station, take one of the many bus lines to Venice. This trip takes only 10 to 15 minutes, but the buses are often overcrowded during the season.

There is also a streetcar in Marghera. However, this is hardly suitable for the trip to Venice. You first have to go to the center of Mestre, then change from line 2 to line 1 to Venice. It is a long trip, the direct buses are much better

You always have to pay extra for the train when you go to Venice (only 1,35 Euro one way). If you have a ticket for the waterbuses from Venice (more on this page), you can use all city buses and the streetcar for free. So you can go to Venice without any additional costs. The airport bus and the ferries to the airport always cost extra, though. The trains of the railroad and the airport shuttles are not part of the normal local transport of Venice of the public company ACTV.

If you have to pay for the bus to Venice from Marghera, it costs only 1.50 Euro simply. You have to buy tickets in advance. You can buy them in tobacconists, in many hotels, at the train station, etc.

If you come to Venice by car, you should know that in Marghera you will usually find a parking space. If you want to drive to Venice by car every day, you should know that parking in Venice is only possible in the parking lots. You should make a reservation in advance, and the parking garages are quite expensive.

Our tip: Reserve a parking space Parking is very difficult on the island of Venice. There are only the 4 parking garages at the entrance to the old town. These are often full. If you come by car, you should reserve in one of the parking garages in advance.     >>>   On this website you can reserve parking spaces.    (Old town island, Mestre on the mainland and airport) Corona Update Parking Venice Currently all 4 parking garages in Venice are not very full and have similar prices. We therefore recommend two parking garages right next to the Old Town at Piazalle Roma.  These are Autorimessa Comunale AVM (often good offers) and Garage San Marco.     Be sure to book online in advance!

Hotels Marghera

As I said, most tourists come to Marghera to stay overnight and to look at Venice during the day. Since Venice is expensive, many hotels have been built in Mestre in the last decades. They are scattered among the homes of the locals in the whole municipal area of Marghera.

When choosing a hotel, you should make sure that you are either near the Mestre train station or near a bus stop with a direct bus to Venice. This is the case with most hotels, as there are several such bus lines between Marghera and Venice. All buses go to Piazalle Roma, the bus station of Venice. The train station is in the same area of Venice, about 200 meters from the bus station.