Where to stay in Venice

Every room in Venice carries its own count of bridges to St Mark's Square, and that count changes the price more than the square footage does. Around San Marco and the Rialto you pay for that closeness, while Cannaregio, Dorsoduro and Castello offer the same city, a vaporetto ride or fifteen minutes' walk further out, for less. A hostel bed is €35–61, in the city itself, not in Mestre on the mainland.

San Marco and the Rialto: when proximity decides

Here every sight is a short walk away, and that costs — rooms are the priciest in the city, and the street under the window doesn't quiet down before ten at night. It's worth it for a night or two, when the plan is full and every walking minute counts against sleep. It's not worth it for a longer stay, since the same distance from the centre gets cheaper the moment you cross one bridge.

Getting aroundWherever you stay, this is the route into the city:Getting around Venice →

The fondamente along the canals are wider than in the centre, the houses are lower, and in the evening you hear washing flapping in the wind before you hear music from a bar. The first Jewish ghetto in the world, from 1516, holds five synagogues and a museum, and it's one of the calmest parts of the city day and night. The Rialto is about twenty minutes on foot, the station less — this is also the first quarter you reach off the train.

It suits anyone who values price and calm over distance to the square, and anyone arriving by train, since the station is practically in the quarter.

Hidden gemsWhat this quarter has that no top-ten list mentions:A spiral stair and a flooding bookshop: Venice behind the Rialto →

Across the Accademia bridge starts a part of the city that faces the Giudecca canal instead of the Grand Canal, with the Accademia gallery and the Peggy Guggenheim within the same quarter hour on foot. The Zattere, the promenade along the water, is the best place in the city to sit in the evening, without a single gondola in the frame. The Ca' Foscari student halls keep prices and pace lower than around the square.

It suits anyone coming for the art and an evening's calm, not those for whom being close to the Doge's Palace matters most.

East of the Doge's Palace the streets widen, washing hangs across them, and prices in the shops are not touristic. Fifteen minutes' walk from the square is another city — a working one, without a souvenir shop on every corner. For anyone who wants Venice without the postcard version, this is where it still stands — everyday, out of frame.

It suits travellers who aren't in a rush in the morning and don't plan late returns across the water; it suits short stays less, where every walking minute to the square counts.

BudgetHow much the room price changes the rest of a day's bill:What Venice costs →

Mestre isn't Venice

On the mainland, across the bridge, rooms are cheaper, but you lose the exact thing you came for — morning and evening without the day crowd. Anyone choosing Mestre for the price should also count the time that goes every evening on the ride there and back — the saving rarely covers that lost hour.

2 daysThe same city, day by day:Venice in 2 days →

FoodWhat to eat and where:What to eat in Venice →

When to goWhich month to pick:The best time to visit Venice →

Day tripsWhat lies beyond the city:Day trips from Venice →

MistakesWhat not to do:Mistakes everyone makes in Venice →