Venice Marco Polo (VCE)
Tel: (041) 260 9260.
Website: www.veniceairport.it

Located just 12km (7 miles) from Venice, Marco Polo airport is the main hub of European and national flights to the Veneto region. It is easily accessible by land or water and when occasionally blighted by fog, planes land at nearby airports in Treviso or Verona. Marco Polo is one of the busiest airports in Italy and can cater for over 6 million passengers per year.

Approximate flight times to Venice: From London is 2 hours; from New York is 9 hours 20 minutes; from Los Angeles is 13 hours 20 minutes; from Toronto is 10 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 20 hours 45 minutes.

Airport facilities: Facilities include branches of Italian banks, with ATMs (bancomat), as well as a selection of bars and eateries. A range of shops selling local handicrafts and specialist food stuffs, a post office, a 24-hour first aid service and a hotel reservation service are also available. Wi-Fi is accessible in various areas on all three floors of the terminal building. Car hire operators include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Maggiore and Hertz, Sixt and Thrifty.

Business facilities: Business-class travellers without luggage can check in at the Sala VIP Save Marco Polo Club lounge (tel: (041) 260 6577), where there are televisions and telephones at their disposal. The Travelex Italia Business Centre (tel: (041) 269 8191; www.travelex.com) is open daily and has meeting rooms, conference halls and work stations with secretarial services and other support facilities, such as translation services and mobile phone hire.

Transport to the city: The most romantic way to arrive in Venice (weather permitting) is by motorboat (motoscafo). Travellers pay for the privilege, and the ride takes a little longer than the bus, but the approach to St Mark's Square from the water is one that few will forget. The Alilaguna service (tel: (041) 240 1701; www.alilaguna.it) departs hourly and takes one hour. Water taxis, run by Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia (tel: (041) 522 2303; www.motoscafivenezia.it) are an altogether more upmarket option.

A cheaper alternative is by land, on the ATVO airbus (tel: 0421 5944; www.atvo.it) to Piazzale Roma, which departs every 20 to 40 minutes (journey time - 20 minutes). Cheaper still is the ACTV (tel: 0421 5944; www.actv.it) public bus 5, which departs every 15 to 30 minutes (journey time - 30 minutes to Piazzale Roma). Car taxis to Piazzale Roma wait outside the arrivals hall (tel: (041) 936 222).

For a bit of a treat and breathtaking scenery, helicopter transfer and tours are also available with Heliair Venice (tel: (041) 526 0215; www.heliairvenice.com). Transfers are to the Lido only, not to the centre.