Getting Oriented in Venice
Pin a map of Venice to a wall, stand back, and notice that the island is shaped like a fish, with the head pointed west and the tail in the east. You are not the first to realize this.
The cruise ship docks are located about where the mouth of the fish would be. Just above that you’ll find the Tronchetto parking garage. The eye is where the causeway heads off to the mainland, and is also where you’ll find Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia (the train station), and the start of the Grand Canal, which winds through the middle of the fish like a colon — in more ways than one.
Rialto Bridge crosses the Grand Canal right in the middle of the fish, and Saint Mark’s Square is on the soft underbelly, right at the exit of the colon. The tail end of the fish holds the huge public gardens and the town soccer stadium.
The body of the fish is divided into six districts, or sestiere: Cannaregio, Castello and San Marco to the north of the Grand Canal; Santa Croce, San Polo, and Dorsoduro to the south. Each has it’s own distinct flavor.