The best hotels in Venice from ReidsGuides.com

The Best Hotels in Venice

Map of hotels in Venice, Italy
Hotels in Venice, Italy

Venice is a monstrously expensive city—captive audience, see—and you pay a premium just to spend the night in town, listening to the canal water slap against the marble facades of Gothic palazzi.

Still, it's worth it. Venice is a city to which you should devote two to three days, and the option of staying in the landlubbing industrial suburb of Mestre is one of the worst travel decisions I see many Euro-pinching travelers make. Don't worry, though. It's just a matter of knowing where to look to find wonderful hotels in every price range—even a room overlooking the Grand Canal for less than $200.

Here are some of my favorites, in every price cateogry. I've also noted the neighborhood in which each is located; there's a full description of each on the City Layout page, but in brief: "San Marco" is the heart of downtown Venice, the area around St. Mark's Cathedral; "Castello" stretches east of San Marco along the Bacino (bay) to the Arsenale (Navy yards); "Dorsoduro" lies south across the Grand Canal from San Marco and is home to two top museums, the Accademia and Peggy Guggenheim; "Cannaregio" is the area north of San Marco, including the train station; "San Polo" and "Santa Croce" are two largely residential disctricts west across the Grand Canal from San Marco. The "Giudecca" is a separate island, accessible only by boat, curving south of the Dorsoduro.

Super-Cheap Hotels & Hostels in Venice (Under €50)

Where to Find Cheap Hotels in Venice
There are loads of inexpensive hotels near the train station, especially along the broad Lista di Spagna (and its various narrow tributary streets), which heads toward the heart of town as you turn left at the bottom of the train station steps. Hotels on the Lista itself can be a bit noisy, while a few that lie on the alleys stetching north (left as you head towards San Marco) from the Lista di Spagna are actually amazingly quiet, and many—especially toward the ends of these streets—overlook lovely tree-filled gardens. Of course, the drawback to any joint in this neighborhood is that Piazza San Marco and the central sights are a hearty 30-minute hike (or vaporetto ride) away.

Hotel Caneva (Castello)
Foresteria Valdese–Palazzo Cavagnis (Castello)
Camping Miramare (Lido di Venezia)