Looking to take the wife away for her birthday in October, and considering Venice - has anyone any recommendations on hotels etc?

Would you stay in Venice centre itself or stay on the outside and travel in every day?

We stayed on the Lido over the water (it's about 20 mins on the boat) and found it a nice resort with great beaches, nice restaurant options and all very much cheaper than Venice itself.

Was easy enough to hop over for the afternoon for a wander etc.

We stayed at the Hotel Rigel which was a three star with decent breakfast and lovely, clean rooms. Most of the rooms are very traditional in style (we might say outdated!) but the bed was comfy and we just used it to get our heads down.

You can rent beach huts for the day on the lido beach which is well worth it (think it was €35 for the day) but it had a place to sit in the shade and somewhere to lock away valuables if you went for a dip or to grab some lunch.

Can thoroughly recommend the Pensione Accademia. Well placed by the junction of the Grand Canal and another canal. Gardens front and rear. Not too expensive.

Stay in Lido di Jesolo if you going for a week. You get the best of both worlds - a nice beach location with fantastic beach and you're within 40 mins via a pleasant bus and boat service into Venice. Theres some decent family run hotels there too half board or b&b. Home cooked food and reasonably priced. Staying a week in Venice is a bit hectic and claustrophobic with all the crowds and for me, 3-4 days is plenty in Venice and the contrasting beach scene in Lido is a nice way of getting some relaxing time together away from the hustle and bustle. You're also within easy reach of Murano and Burano which are worth a day trip too.

Marriott Autograph Boscolo.
Beautiful hotel in a great position on the north side of Venice. OK it's not cheap but your wife will love it. My wife and I had a lovely stay there in 2016 for our wedding anniversary.

Hotel Dinesen - it's on the southern Grand Canal, right there next to a boat stop and right opposite, across the canal to the St Mark's Sq area, which you can get to taking one of the ferry gondolas (not the sightseeing ones). You should not be planning to stay in your hotel, just sleep there.
https://goo.gl/maps/uZNuzzzwLT622D4g8

Book the major sites before you go too - they're online. If you want to have a break from being stunned by Venice, book a dual island trip to Murano and Burano.... very cool, relaxing, and not so expensive a trip

Stay in Venice if you can. It's great at night when all the tourists and cruise passengers have left

Some cracking replies on here, really appreciate it guys. Will have a look into all of these mentioned

I recommend mosquito repellent.. although Venice might not be as bad the Lidos which were unbearable in the evenings early June. For that reason alone I would try stay in Venice. I thought Venice was good and worth the tourism chaos but also agree 3 days is probably more than enough.

Stay in Venice if you can.

Some slightly left-field tips -

Check out the rooftop at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi shopping centre. While the crowds are on the Rialto and the Bridge of Sighs, this place offers a fantastic view of the Grand Canal and it was so quiet in comparison we felt like we'd uncovered a secret while we were there. You book a fifteen minute slot here - https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/mobile/se ... op-terrace

And then... there's a Spa. Yeah, the supermarket convenience store place we have here but this one has a twist. It's inside an old theatre. Stage, rigging, upper circle, all the trimmings are still there. We stumbled across it and it was surreal. Despar Teatro.

Also - try and go to a Venezia game. They were away from home when we were there but we went past the stadium and it's one of the most unique I've seen.

Tourist tax now in force. Not ridiculously expensive but best everybody knows about it.

https://expertoitaly.com/venice-from-ja ... the%20city.

Not been since the ‘90s but plenty to do in city.
Take the island trip to Murano, Burano and get out to the Lido.
Don’t walk in the road, you’ll get your feet wet.

Try and check out the canals if you get time. I only passed through for a day and unfortunately missed them but was told they are one of the highlights of the place.

We stayed in Mori D'Oriente Hotel in Cannaregio at a similar time last year and it was lovely. 10-15mins walk to Rialto, San Marco etc.. but far enough out that there are plenty of local bars and restaurants.

we wouldnt stay bang in the centre as the crowds are overwhelming.

please stay in Venice though, not in Mestre.

Before you go, download the ‘Rick Steves Audio Europe’ app then you can add three audio guides
1. Venice - Grand Canal Cruise’ which tells you what you’re looking at whilst on the public ferry bus
2. Venice - St Mark’s Basilica
3. Venice - St Mark’s Square

All these are free, and are well presented.

We stayed in an H10 hotel palazzo Cannova on the grand canal 50m from the Rialto bridge & 100m from the Vaporetto public transport, very good in a great location, take waterproof shoes for when Venice floods.

Simps wrote: ↑

Wed May 10, 2023 5:49 pm

Looking to take the wife away for her birthday in October, and considering Venice - has anyone any recommendations on hotels etc?

Would you stay in Venice centre itself or stay on the outside and travel in every day?

Hi Simps, I've been to Venice a few times. I've always stayed in the centre, reasonably close to St Mark's and the Grande Canal. We went for a week when the children were young, the youngest was a toddler in a buggy. We rented an apartment for a week in a side street, 20 metres from the Grande Canal. Another time it was just me and Mrs PW. We booked a British Airways Holiday, flight plus hotel, the hotel was just a couple of corners from St Mark's. BA have some excellent deals. I've always found their hotel picks to be decent.

Venice has featured in both the Times, Saturday Travel section and also is mentioned in the Sunday Times Travel section this weekend. It mentions a pre-paid museum/gallery pass which sounds good value, if that's what you like to do.

If it's in your budget a water taxi from the airport into the city is the best way to arrive. I'd get the local bus back to the airport, see a little of the mainland on your return journey - and, of course, a lot cheaper than the water taxi. Water buses might also be available.

As a number of others have said, I'd recommend staying in the centre. It's being in Venice rather than being on one of the islands away from the city itself that is the reason people visit Venice. If you've time, you can always visit Murano, Lido and the rest, but Venice itself is worth several days to enjoy.

Enjoy.

Take the boat trip to Torcello - great food - and stop off in Burano on the way back.

Avoid being cajoled into a trip to see some glass blowing on Murano. Waste of a half day followed by a hard sell.
Completely agree that a water taxi from the airport (if it’s a decent day) is well worth it if it suits your budget.