From Wikitravel

Padova (English: Padua, French: Padoue, Latin: Patavium) is a city in North Eastern Italy. It is located centrally in the Veneto region, between Venezia on one side and Vicenza and Verona on the other. It counts 210,821 inhabitants (2001), about 350,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area and it's the capital of the province of the same name.

Contents 1 Get in 1.1 By train 1.2 By plane 1.3 By car 2 Get around 2.1 On foot 2.2 By bicycle 2.3 By bus 2.4 By car 3 See 3.1 Landmarks 3.2 Museums 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat 7 Drink 8 Sleep 8.1 Hostel 8.2 Mid-range 9 Get out

Get in

By train

Padova is a central railway node in the Veneto area. Many lines converge into the city central station:

• line from Venezia (Venice, Trieste, and points East)
• line from Bologna (Bologna, Ferrara, Rovigo, Rome, Florence)
• line from Milano (Milan, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza)
• line from Castelfranco (Belluno, Calalzo, Feltre)

All kind of trains pass through Padova: Eurostar, InterCity, EuroCity, InterRegionale, Regionale, InterCityNight, EuroNight, Espresso. More info on Trenitalia [1].

A 20 minute ride from Venice.

By plane

Padova has its own airport, but with no direct connections. Available for private planes. But it's conveniently located near three international airports.

• Venezia Marco Polo (VCE) [2], 50km, lot of destinations in all Europe.
  • by bus: direct and frequent connections to Padova, 1h [3]
  • by train: bus to Venezia Mestre station, then train. [4]

• Treviso (TSF) [5], 42km, low-cost airport with Ryanair and other carriers. Destinations: Dublin, London, Frankfurt, Bruxelles, Barcelona, Paris
  • by bus: direct and frequent connections to Padova, 1h10

• Verona Valerio Catullo (VRN) [6], 88km, many domestic flights and some international destinations (also low-cost)
  • by train + bus

• Other options could be:
  • Brescia Gabriele D'Annunzio (VBS) [7], 130km
  • Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGA) [8], 190km, important low cost hub
  • Bologna Guglielmo Marconi (BLQ) [9], 120km

By car

Padova is connected through the national highway network

• A4 - Torino-Milano-Venezia-Trieste
• A13 - Bologna-Padova

Many national/regional roads have origin or pass through the city:

• SS11 Padana Superiore
• SS16 Adriatica
• SS47 Valsugana
• SR516 Piovese
• SR307 del Santo

Get around

On foot

To discover the city on foot, is quite easy. The city historic center is not very big, so you can go around in the narrow streets.

By bicycle

Padova, luckily, is a quite flat city. Apart from the few roman bridges and some -not very steep- streets, you will not find any hills to hike! Especially in the city center, most of the streets are narrow and quiet and the terrain is sometimes made of pavé or cubblestones. Outside the narrow streets, sometime a bike lane is available.

By bus

APS Mobilità [10] (ex-ACAP, call center: +39 049 20111) runs a network of local transport that covers the main areas of the city as well as some suburbs.

• lines with numbers are urban and sub-urban, as well as Minibus (Diretto Piazze-Diretto Duomo-Circolare Antenore) and LIS
• lines with letters A-M-T-AM-AT are connecting Padova to the Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme Spa area.
• 1 tramway line is currently on test and estimated to begin commercial activity from next September.

Many lines run on the two main axes in the centre: North-South and East-West. Many of them have terminus at the train station which is the main node of the bus network. The more frequent are line 8, 10, 3.

Fares:

• 75 minutes urban ticket € 1,00
• 75 minutes urban tickets carnet (x12) € 10,00
• family urban ticket € 2,00

• daily ticket € 2,70
• weekly 'ticket' € 9,00

• 90 minutes sub-urban ticket € 1,10
• 90 minutes sub-ubran carnet (x12) € 12,00

• 1 zone extra-urban ticket € 1,00
• 2 zone extra-urban ticket € 1,30
• 3 zone extra-urban ticket € 1,90

By car

Getting around by car in the city center can be very difficult. During peak hours traffic jams are frequent. And if you want to see the city center, apart from the narrow streets and pedestrian zones, a traffic limited zone [11] has been established from 8am till 8pm and cameras on several entrance points control the access: those who are not authorized will get a fine. It is useful to park your car in one of several parking lots [12] or on the park areas on the streets, then take a bus or walk from there. More info can be found (in italian) on [13] website.

See

Landmarks

• Saint Anthony's cathedral (Basilica di Sant'Antonio), Piazza del Santo, (limited traffic area,parking in Prato della Valle+free shuttle,bus line n° 3-8-11-12-13-16-18-22-32-43-Minibus Piazze-A-M-T and tramway line 1 stop "Basilica del Santo"-"Santa Giustina"-"Prato della Valle"), +39 0498789722 (various info <infobasilica@santantonio.org>),[14]. Every day, 6.20 - 19.00 (DST 19.45). The Saint Anthony's Basilica is the most known touristic place in Padova, millions of pilgrims visit it every year. Free entrance

• Scrovegni's Chapel (Cappella degli Scrovegni), Corso Garibaldi, (parking near bus station, bus lines n° 3-8-9-10- (stop "Corso Garibaldi") 7-9-4-15 (stop "Piazzale Boschetti")), +39 0492010020 (www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it). Every day, 9.00-19.00. . € 12.00 full price, € 5,00 student price (including Eremitani Civic Museum and Contemporary Art Museum)

• Padova has the second oldest university in the world (founded 1222)

• Home of "Prato della Valle", a 90.000 mq square, one of the greatest square in Europe and probabily one of the most beatiful of the World.

• Roman ruins, with an Arena (although nothing much compared to others such as the Arena in Verona or those in Rome).

• Santa Giustina Basilica
  

  

  Prato della Valle and Saint Giustina Basilica

• Astronomic Observatory (La Specola), 5, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio, (bus n° 12 or 18, stop "Via P. Paoli", turn to via S. Alberto Magno to reach the Specola tower), +39 0498759840 (museo.laspecola@pd.astro.it), [15]. Sat-Sun 11.00-16.00 (18.00 May-Oct)

(Tickets must be acquired at the Oratorio S. Michele, Piazzetta S. Michele, 1 (50 meters from the Specola, going through the arcade on the right before the little bridge))

• Palazzo della Ragione

• Jewish Ghetto

• Bo' , the university building.

• Botanic Garden

• City walls

• Via Anelli Wall - a wall similiar like former Berlin wall

Museums

• Eremitani Civic Museum
• Contemporary Art Museum

Do

• A pleasant local tradition is the spritz or aperitif in one of the central piazzas (Piazza delle Erbe or Piazza della Frutta), starting between 7 and 8 in the evening. There are lots of students and young people, which makes for a very pleasant atmosphere.

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Hostel

• Ostello della Gioventù. [16]

Mid-range

• Hotel Eliseo, [17]. Hotel Eliseo, a modern wellness center in the heart of Terme Euganee at Montegrotto on the slopes of the Euganei Hills. The hotel combines the traditional therapeutic aspects of curative thermal waters with a modern wellness center for a rejuvenating vacation to get back in shape. Prices are from €57 (for a single) and €108 (for a double) on, depending on the season.

Get out

• The Colli Euganei are low hills to the west of town with some nice trails to hike on, and other equally nice restaurants to eat at after a day of walking.

• Abano Terme is a small resort town especially popular with elderly German tourists based on the thermal spas in the area.

• Arqua Petrarca is a beautifully preserved medieval town nestled in the hills, which is probably best known for being the final resting place of the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch).

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