Venice

[bednobs]

how does it work? i gather the structure of it is built on "islands" (from wiki) and that the buildings are piled. does this mean its essentially floating? these islands - are they permanent land masses?
for people who live there - are there ANY pavements - can yu walk to the shops? or do you have to get in a boat as soon as you exit your residence?
what sort of ordinary people live there?
what would be an equivalent sized city/town here?
does it just blend into the land mass of italy as you get closer to the main land?

[barry1010]

JJ, "A history of fear

In the 5th century, people fled their homes to avoid barbarian conquerors. A marshy lagoon was located just off the mainland and protected from the barbarians who would not cross the water. As invasions continued across Italy more and more people fled until eventually, they realised there was a need for a new city.
Building the city

Building a city on a marshland, however, wasn’t going to be easy. They needed more space and better foundations to build on. To largen the marsh islands they were taking refuge on, they began to dig canals and used wooden planks to shore the banks. They used a similar wooden plant technique to create foundations for their buildings.

The settlers hammered thousands of wooden piles into the mud, each one touching the next until they cut the tops off to reveal a solid wooden platform. These platforms are still below many of the buildings you see today."

https://www.venicetoursitaly.it/blog/why-was-venice-built-on-water/

[lady-janine]

It is cheapest to buy vaporetti tickets online before you travel.

I have always stayed in the Jewish Quarter. Not the poshest but the least touristy and the most interesting imo.

[jno]

you don't think you're cherrypicking a bit there, NJ? Few people visiting Venice are going to do the equivalent of travelling from Epping to West Ruislip (though if they did they'd get to Padua, which I'm assured is even more interesting than West Ruislip).

It's hard to find any recent figures, thanks to lockdowns, and anyway they may be using slightly different bases.

Still, this one (undated but does have Parliament under scaffolding) says London has the most expensive bus passes; I'm not clear if it's also saying it has the most expensive transit in general
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-most-expensive-bus-passes.html

This one, several years old, rates it fifth
https://www.therichest.com/most-expensive/the-10-most-expensive-public-transportation-systems/

This 2 year old one from Forbes, also working on the basis of season tickets (rather than day tickets, which is probably more what bednobs is asking about) places it top
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/05/21/the-worlds-most-expensive-cities-for-public-transport-infographic/

The good news for Venice is that you can actually walk most places if in reasonable health.