Unless you have attended the Venice festival a couple of times, you might need a helping hand to guide you through the maze. So, just before you land on the Lido, here are some pointers in the right direction. Venice regular Edna Fainaru takes you round the city. Follow the guide
The first place for you to go to, once you've settled into your room, is the Municipal Casino (if you're a journalist), or to the Palazzo del Cinema, first floor (if you are in a profession associated with films). Those are the places to get your accreditation, that piece of cardboard with your picture on it which confirms your existence to the world at large and more specifically to festival authorities. Careful, the accreditation does not mean you can enter all theatres at all times, far from it. Among the many papers you will be handed with your accreditation, will be daily schedules mentioning next to each screening the type of accreditation accepted for the occasion. There are several types (daily press, periodical press, professionals) and if you miss the screening intended for you, you might very well find yourself stuck in front of a closed door, the ushers having been instructed that leniency is not one of their prerogatives.
Press boxes (if you're press) are located in a large tent in front of the Municipal Casino. Catalogues are on sale in the lobby of the Palazzo del Cinema. They are large, heavy and voluminous but contain plenty of information on all the films screened during the festival. The theatres are easy to find, Sala Grande is the main one in the Palazzo, Sala Volpi is on the right side of the lobby as you walk in, Sala Excelsior is on the third floor of the very posh Excelsior Hotel. Two small screenings rooms, sometimes used in case of emergencies, Sala Pasinetti and Sala Zorzi, are in the basement of the Palazzo.
Now to the really important things, like food and hotels, for instance. For rooms, let's hope you have reserved early enough, for there is nothing available on the Lido, unless somebody else cancelled at the last moment. To stay in Venice itself means one hour in the morning and another hour in the evening before you get to the festival, the public boats not being tuned for races and the water taxis charging shameless rates at any hour of night or day. For public transportation, the “mottoscafi” (water buses) charge 4,000 lire (US$2.60), the land taxis on the Lido charge a minimum of 7,500 lire (US$5), the trip from the Debarcadero to the festival centre is about 8,500 lire (about US$5.6). However, there is one water bus in the afternoon and all through the night, going from Venice directly to the Municipal Casino, saving you the trip from the Debarcadero to the festival.
If you can afford it, the buffet lunch menu at the Hotel des Bains (the location used by Luchino Visconti in Death in Venice) is 70,000 lira (US$47). If you venture into the hotel restaurant itself for a full meal, the sky is the limit. If you're looking for something more reasonable, you might try the Belvedere, in front of the Debarcadero, the landing spot for all boats coming from Venice, and you might pay half as much, maybe even with a glass of wine. If it's late at night, and you're hungry after the last screening, stop on the way to the Debarcadero at the Bar Maleti, the only place on the Lido open till 4am, serving great snacks and drinks.
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