Venice Phone Calls

Telephone access is readily available in Venice, be it from your hotel, a public telephone kiosk or even a bar. Bear in mind though that you will require a telephone card to use a public telephone, which can be purchased from newsagents or tabacchi shops. Your hotel is also likely to charge a steep surcharge, particularly for international calls so check up front what the charging rate is.

Mobile (‘cellulare’) phones are everywhere in Italy and are a way of life the same as most places these days. UK and other tri-band mobiles should work normally in Venice although you may wish to contact your service provider regards ‘global roaming’ prior to leaving. The local operators use GSM coverage although reception in central Venice is up and down depending on where you are.

The international dialling code for Italy is 00 (or ‘+’) 39 followed by the local area code (041 for Venice) followed by the number. The same process should be followed for dialling out to your respective country and locale. The code for Venice should be used at all times whether calling from inside or outside the city.

There are a few internet cafes in and around Venice should the need to surf the net arise during your stay. Most decent hotels provide access as well as wireless coverage in some cases. Surfing in cafes can be quite expensive compared to rates you may be used to though so again, check in advance what the going rate is.

Venice also happens to be host to the ‘Telecom Italia Future Centre’ - a modern museum of technology which is intended as the centrepiece of Italian Telecommunications. The centre has had thousands of visitors since its opening and is a worthwhile attraction with interesting and interactive features and limited free internet access.

Dial ‘12’ locally for Italian directory enquiries or ‘176’ for international directory enquiries.

www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/phrases/italian/data/telephone.html also provides some useful information and phrases surrounding telephones and making calls from Italy.

Did you Know?!?

Try to avoid calling directory enquiries if possible as the system is a maze with charges steep for this type of information.