Want to visit Italy but don’t know where to stay in Venice? This article is for you. We’ll give you tips on the best areas of the city to spend your trip, as well as a great website to book your hotel.
Everything you need to know about the regions of Venice
The image below shows the entire island of Venice. At the top, towards the left, is the Santa Lucia Terminal (Stazione di Santa Lucia), which is where you will arrive if you travel by train. Our tip is to always buy your ticket for this station, as the other one is further away.
Depending on where you’re staying, you may need to take a vaporetto, which are a kind of “boat cab” with lines and stations all over the city. For those who don’t know, there are no streets to drive on in Venice, so you can only get to your hotel on foot or by boat – which are quite expensive.
Where is the best area to stay in Venice?
We started this list with the center, which is the best area to stay in Venice. There, you’ll be close to many other tourist attractions, such as Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, as well as having easy access to almost every other part of the city.
However, the center of Venice is also the most expensive area to stay, both because of the sights and the fact that you may need to use the boat if you have a lot of luggage. That’s why our tip is to do a lot of research to save money.
If you want to check out where the city center is and also see which hotels are there, click here. We’ve put together a map that shows all the hotels in the center and we’ve added a filter that only shows hotels with a rating of 8 or above, which will guarantee you excellent accommodation.
From there, just enter the date of your trip, check the prices and choose your hotel. If you stay within the orange line below, you can’t go wrong.
Other excellent areas to stay in Venice
Castello and San Polo: these are also excellent options for staying in the city on a budget. Both areas border San Marco and are very popular with tourists, as they are full of restaurants and shops. Our tip for those who want to stay in one of these two areas is to stay as close as possible to Piazza San Marco.
Dorsoduro area: this is very close to the tourist area of Venice, but on the other side of the Grand Canal. Although you’ll need to cross the bridge or take a vaporetto, the area is a very good place to stay. The coolest thing is that this super charming neighborhood is next to the Ponte Dell’Accademia, the Dell’Accademia museum and the Peggy Guggenheim.
Cannaregio area: one of the advantages of staying in Cannaregio is that it’s right next to the train station and the hotels are cheaper. On the other hand, the area isn’t as beautiful and is also further away from the tourist attractions. But since you can do everything on foot in Venice, as long as you’re willing to walk, it’s worth staying here if you’re looking to save money.
Santa Croce area: this part of Venice is considered one of the most remote, as well as being the entrance to and/or exit from Venice. However, this area is very good for those looking for options to get around the city, as it is home to the bus station (shuttles), and Piazzale Roma, which is connected to the airport and other points, mainly where the vaporetto lines leave.
There you’ll also find the starting point for the People Mover, the city’s monorail, which is the means of getting to the cruise terminal. Despite all these facilities and the fact that hotels are cheaper, it’s worth noting that Santa Croce is further away from the tourist attractions.
Top tip for finding good hotels at incredible prices in Venice
To find the best hotels in any part of the city, our tip is to use this Venice Hotel Finder. We always use it because it’s the largest hotel booking site in the world, super reliable and safe. Plus, it has the opinions of tourists who have already stayed in the hotels, which helps a lot when evaluating each one.
When making your purchase, after a search, the tip is to filter by “Neighborhood” (to select the regions you are looking for), and by “Guest reviews”, putting “Very good upwards”. In addition, the search engine offers free cancellation for most hotels.
The tip is to check, in the search, the hotels that have “Free cancellation” written on them. That way, you can book your hotel on the spot to guarantee the price (since they change from one day to the next and the best hotels sell out quickly), and if you later find a better one or don’t want to stay there, just cancel.
Save money on your trip to Venice:
Saving money: do you want to plan your trip while making the most of your budget? Be sure to read our article on how to travel to Venice cheap, with all the tips to save the most, while still enjoying it!
Tickets: find out where to buy your Venice tickets in the cheapest and safest way. You can save up to 40%!
Mobile chip: we always use this chip. It’s electronic (eSIM), you install it instantly and you can use your cell phone’s Internet anywhere in the world.
Travel insurance: medical care in another country is very expensive and it is extremely important to take out travel insurance for any trip abroad. This is the website we always take out our insurance on. Reliable and at a good price.
