Most visitors to Venice find themselves lost in the endless labyrinth of islands, bridges and canals. In order to see the best of the city, visitors are going to need a little help. Luckily, there is an app for that. There is an app for just about everything in Venice, whether it’s a shopping guide or something as simple as a Water Bus timetable. These apps save visitor's precious time and help them navigate this intricate, inspiring city.
GuidePal Venice City Travel Guide
Creativecommons.org/Alberto Carrasco Casado
The only true way to see the city is to see it like a local. The GuidePal Venice City Travel Guide is constantly updated with new information by real people who live in Venice. The app updates roughly once a month and works nearly completely offline, so users will not have to worry about racking up roaming charges. It includes insider information on attractions, hotels and restaurants, all written by local journalists within the city.
The app also features offline maps with all the attractions and other points of interest clearly marked. App users can plot travel itineraries throughout the city and share them on social media. It also includes an augmented reality feature. With this feature, app users can get a street view of wherever they are or wherever they want to be to help navigate them by site. This is great for the navigator who relies on physical landmarks rather than street names. Travellers can download this guide for free for Android and iPhone devices.
Venice Shopping Guide
Creativecommons.org/Christine Zenino
There are a large variety of shops throughout Venice and it can be a difficult deciding where to start. The Venice Shopping Guide app can help. This app features a map that shows every shopping establishment within the city. Shoppers can choose from Department Stores, Bookstores, Art and Antiques, Electronics, Fashion and Special Shop categories. The app also taps into the GPS of a smart phone to find stores that are close to the user’s location. It even adds some value for frugal shoppers, as the shops within each category are highlighted when they are having sales. However, because the app needs to update the sales, it updates almost daily, so users should watch out for roaming charges. This app is available for $0.99 for Android and iPhone devices.
Tap Venice Eating
Creativecommons.org/Lee Coursey
Tap Venice is the app edition of the Venetian's favourite food guide, Venice Osterie by Michela Scibilia. For the past 15 years, Venice Osterie has been a beloved food guide for local Venetians. The guide contains only restaurants handpicked by Michela Scibilia, who has lived in Venice for the past 20 years. The Tap Venice app showcases all of these handpicked establishments. There are around 300 different restaurants throughout Venice and the surrounding area that fit the desires of any foodie, including wine bars, pastry shops, farm outlets and chocolate shops. For visitors who like to eat on a budget, have no fear, the app is built in with a price-slider so that users can set their price limit. Users can sort through the eateries by choosing from tags like "good wines" or "breakfast" to assure foodies always get what they want. Tap Venice works completely offline and is available for $2.99 on Android and iPhone devices.
How to travel Venice on a shoestring budget
Waterbus Timetable
Creativecommons.org/David Bolton
Venice is the city of canals, so instead of buses and taxis, Venetians use boats to get around. The Water Bus is the fastest way of getting around Venice, so visitors should take advantage of it. The Water Bus Timetable app displays all the Water Bus stops around city and hosts an offline map of their routes. As this app is offline, times may be slightly skewed. However, it is nice to get a visual on what routes go where and what time they will be in the area. This app is available for Android and iPhone devices for free.
Secret Venice
Creativecommons.org/O Palsson
Would you believe that there is a hidden statue in Venice that is only visible at low tide? Or a grisly relic tucked away in a tiny museum that belonged to a saint? This fantastic little app takes visitors to hidden church cloisters, 10 quirky places to eat and drink, and special and sometimes paranormal places that are hidden all around Venice. This is the guide app for those who have grown bored with seeing all the tourist sites around Venice and want to see a part of the city that their friends definitely will not have seen. This app was developed by an independent app developer who has a passion for all the unusual places in Europe – and that shows. It is available for $4.99 for Android and iPhone devices, and it is worth every single penny.
Venice Giracitta Audio Guide
Creativecommons.org/O Palsson
Who needs a tour guide when there is an app for that? The Venice Giracitta Audio Guide app is cram packed with content to assist visitors. This offline app comes equipped with maps, a list of over 200 must-see sites and an audio guide for each one of them. Art, history, culture and interesting local characters are all detailed in the audio guides on this app. Venice Giracitta comes equipped with other useful information, such as numbers for taxis, suggestions for evening entertainment and emergency numbers. As this app works exclusively offline, visitors will not have to worry about accruing roaming charges. This app is available for Android and iPhone users for $4.99.