Padua is one of the most important cities not only in the Veneto region, but in all of the north-east of Italy.
Near Venice, Verona and Vicenza, it’s in a well-connected location by car, train and plane.
Here’s how to get to Padua and how to move around the city, without needing a car.
How to get to Padua with the various modes of transport
Padua is conveniently located in the centre of Veneto.
The city’s train station and nearby airports of Venice, Treviso, Verona and Bologna as well as the motorway networks, guarantee the best connections to the rest of Italy and abroad.
Getting to Padua by car
Venezia – Milano (A4) Highway
If you’re coming from the West, on the A4 Milan-Venice take the Padova Ovest (Padua West) exit. From there it’s possible to reach the city centre in just a few minutes taking the bypass in the direction of Padua and following the road signs.
More information on the traffic situation can be found on the website of the Brescia-Padova highway: www.autobspd.it
If you’re coming from the East, always from the A4, exit on Padova Est (Padua East) and follow the signs for Padova centro città (Padua city centre).
Here you can find more information on the traffic-related incidents and forecasts.
Bologna – Padova (A13) Highway
If you’re coming from the South, the A13 ends at the beginning of the Tangenziale Sud (South Bypass) that will lead you towards the different parts of the city.
It’s useful that you know that the centre of Padua is a Limited Traffic Zone, with cameras on its periphery that read number plates.
Driving in this area is only granted to cars with valid permits to drive there.
More information can be found on the Padua Council website.
How to get to Padua by train
All the trains that move between Milan-Venice and Bologna-Venice stop in Padua.
There are many Italo direct trains, as well as Trenitalia services such as Frecciarossa and Frecciabianca that allow you to arrive in the city in just a few hours, departing from Milan (2-3 hours), Turin (3-4 hours), Rome (3-5 hours), Florence (1.5-2 hours) and, obviously, Venice (15-30 minutes).
When you leave Padua train station the city centre is just a short walk, tram, bus or bike ride away (more info on that later on in this article).
If you’re not in a hurry, we highly recommend the first option: after a short walk you will be close to one of the city’s most famous works of art, a Unesco heritage site
Coming to Padua by plane
How can you get to Padua if you’re coming from far away? Padua has a local airport where small tourism planes can land. It’s also possible to reach the city from other nearby airports.
From Venice Marco Polo (Tessera) airport you can get to Padua in several different ways:
- By train, with a bus service from the airport to Mestre train station and from there you can get the train to Padua (journey of around 40 minutes)
- By bus, there is a service that runs every half an hour (from 6am to 11pm on weekends with differing times on Bank Holidays). It leaves from the bus lane outside the airport and arrives at Padua’s bus station
- By taxi, calling Radiotaxi on +39 041 651333 or using AppTaxi. Or with Airservice, calling them on +39 049 8744025 or through apps
App for Android
App for iOS
Verona Valerio Catullo (Villafranca Veronese) airport is a valid alternative to reach Padua, given that it’s well-served with low cost transport.
Once you’ve landed you can take the shuttle bus Airlink (15 min journey, departure times start at 6:50, run every 40 minutes until 20:10) and arrives at the Verona train station.
From there, with a regional train for Padua, you can arrive in Padua in 58 minutes.
Treviso Canova airport is also well connected with Padua.
You can take a direct bus (no.101) or the Treviso Airport Bus Express until Mestre train station. From there, with a regional train, you can get to Padua in 15 minutes.
In Padua sustainable transport is making headway with its bike-sharing
If you’ve arrived by train, or if you prefer to leave your car in one of the parking spots on offer at your holiday home, you will be able to move around our city with ease, speed and whenever you want by hiring one of the city street bikes, choosing between the orange and red ones.
Padua offers two types of bike-sharing services:
- Mobike, the bike-sharing system that means you can leave it anywhere: (for iOS and for Android) once you’ve registered, you will be able to get straight on one of the 600 bikes spread around the city. The app will guide you to the nearest available bike and when you’re done you can leave it wherever your journey ends.
- Good-bike: there are 23 bike stations spread around the city, where you can find 250 rentable bikes, 50 that are electrically-powered. Once you’ve finished your ride, you can give the bike back at one of the designated spots.
For more information, visit the website or download the app Bicincittà.
App for Android
App for iOS
The tram in Padua, the ideal way to get around
The tram in Padua is a modern method of public transport, useful to get around in the centre and in the neighbouring areas.
Connecting the two final destinations in the north and south of the city, where you can also park your car, it’s the locals’ favourite public transport method.
Ready to get on board for a visit to our extraordinary Padua?
Photos via:
enevato.com
fsbusitalia.it