Hotels
Hotels in Venice: nine places to stay without losing your way
At half past six in the morning St Mark's Square is almost empty. A caretaker hoses down the flagstones, the gulls have the place to themselves and the lagoon lies as flat as bathwater. Three hours later there are a thousand people here. Choosing a hotel in Venice comes down to one question: where are you when the city is yours, and where are you when it is not?
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Venice has no cars, no buses and no taxis on wheels. Everything that moves from A to B, including you and your luggage, goes on foot over stepped bridges or by boat. That makes the choice of hotel matter more than in any other European city. A hotel "ten minutes from St Mark's" can mean ten minutes over seven bridges with a suitcase, or ten minutes on a vaporetto, the waterbus, that comes every twenty minutes. The city is small enough that everything is close, and large enough that you will get lost every single day.
We have chosen nine hotels in four areas, from the grand palazzi along the Grand Canal to a converted flour mill on Giudecca. From the island, the whole of Venice lies across the water. Some cost as much as a week's holiday elsewhere; others are here because they offer calm and quality at a rate you can justify. For each one we say who it suits, and who should sleep somewhere else. Links go to Hotels.com, and the hotel is always chosen before the link.
In short: where to stay in Venice
Stay around San Marco and the Riva degli Schiavoni on a first visit. St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace and waterbuses to everywhere are then a few minutes away. Dorsoduro suits travellers who want quiet, art and student cafés a couple of bridges from the crowds. Cannaregio and Santa Croce along the Grand Canal are the choice if you arrive by train and want to carry your bag as little as possible. Giudecca offers views, silence and a boat to everything.
Our first choice: Hotel Londra Palace. Check availability and prices
Best for romance: Ca' Maria Adele
Best for families: Hilton Molino Stucky Venice
Best for a first visit: Hotel Londra Palace
Best for value: Hotel Ai Reali
Best for design: Palazzo Venart
How to choose a hotel in Venice
Count bridges, not metres: Every bridge in Venice is a flight of steps up and another down, and there are more than 400 of them. Check how many lie between the hotel and the nearest vaporetto stop, and pack a bag you can carry.
Ask whether the hotel has its own water entrance: The grandest hotels have a landing stage on the canal, so a water taxi from the airport delivers you to the door. Without one, you navigate on foot from the nearest stop, and that can take a while on the first evening.
St Mark's is the dearest and the busiest: Hotels around the square have the location, but also the rates and the crowds from ten in the morning until seven at night. For the same Venice without the crush, stay in Dorsoduro or Castello, a couple of bridges away.
A canal view is not always the best room: Water-facing rooms cost more, and the narrow canals can be shaded and loud once the delivery boats start in the morning. A courtyard room is often quieter and brighter than you expect.
High water happens, and the hotel knows when: Acqua alta, the seasonal flooding that covers the lowest parts of the city in autumn and winter, is forecast in advance. Ask whether the hotel is in an exposed spot, and whether it provides raised walkways and boots for guests.
The terrace
The terrace at The Gritti Palace.
San Marco and the Riva degli Schiavoni: where everyone wants to be
The sestiere, or district, of San Marco is the area around St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace and the campanile. The Riva degli Schiavoni is the broad promenade along the lagoon east of the palace where the waterbuses dock and the gondolas rock at their moorings. This is where the great historic hotels are, and where the crowds are thickest. Early in the morning and late at night, though, it remains the most beautiful place in Venice to wake up.
The Gritti Palace: breakfast a metre from the Grand Canal
The Gritti Palace stands on the Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute directly across the water. Its canalside terrace is where guests eat breakfast as the gondolas slide past at arm's length. The building was once a doge's residence, and the rooms have silk wall coverings, Murano chandeliers and antiques that really are old.
This is Venice as it appears in old films, and it is priced accordingly. It is ideal for couples marking an occasion who want the classic version, with staff who remember your name. The Giglio vaporetto stop is beside the hotel, and St Mark's Square is five minutes on foot. It is not for anyone after modern design or a relaxed crowd, nor for families with children who want to run about the lobby.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at The Gritti Palace
The terrace
The terrace at Baglioni Hotel Luna.
Baglioni Hotel Luna: the back door to St Mark's Square
The Baglioni Luna sits in a narrow lane running from St Mark's Square down to the water at San Marco Vallaresso, where waterbuses and water taxis tie up. You can enter from the landing stage on the canal side, and the breakfast room has painted ceilings and windows onto the lagoon.
This is the hotel for travellers who want to sleep twenty paces from St Mark's without paying Gritti rates. Who like classic Venetian style with brocade, mirrors and dark wood. The location makes it easy to drop back to the hotel in the middle of the day when the square is at its most crowded. To head out again once it has calmed. The lane-facing rooms are dark, so ask for one on the lagoon or the courtyard.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Baglioni Hotel Luna
The terrace
The terrace at Hotel Londra Palace.
Hotel Londra Palace: a hundred windows on the lagoon
The Londra Palace stands directly on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a couple of hundred metres east of the Doge's Palace, and its façade is almost all glass. Water-facing rooms look across to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, and the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop, with boats to the Lido, Murano and everywhere else, is right outside.
We recommend it for a first visit because it makes everything simple. You step off the waterbus and you are home, St Mark's is three minutes away and the quiet lanes of Castello begin behind the hotel. The mood is hushed and elegant, with a restaurant that serves dinner out on the promenade. The Riva is busy by day with tour groups and hawkers, so courtyard rooms are calmer, but then you lose the view.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Londra Palace
The rooms
One of the rooms at Hotel Ai Reali.
Hotel Ai Reali: the quiet palazzo between the Rialto and St Mark's
Ai Reali occupies a palazzo on a small canal in Castello, roughly midway between the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square. It sits beside a bridge where you can watch gondolas pass beneath your window. The hotel has a small spa of its own, which is rare for a property of this size in the heart of the old centre.
This is the hotel for travellers who want four stars, a good breakfast and a central address without paying for a famous name. The lanes around it are full of bacari, the Venetian wine bars that serve small plates, and the Rialto is five minutes on foot. The lobby is small and the surrounding canals are narrow, so it is not the choice for anyone who wants a grand hotel feeling or a view over the lagoon.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Ai Reali
The lounge
The lounge at Ca' Maria Adele.
Dorsoduro: art, students and the calm side of the Grand Canal
Dorsoduro lies south of the Grand Canal, with the Accademia galleries, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Salute church on its tip towards the lagoon. The university is based here, and you notice it in the cafés around Campo Santa Margherita. On the Zattere, the long promenade facing the Giudecca Canal, you get sun all afternoon and the best gelato in the city right by the water.
Ca' Maria Adele: a handful of rooms beside the Salute
Ca' Maria Adele is a small hotel with only a few rooms at the very tip of Dorsoduro. It stands beside Santa Maria della Salute, the domed church you see from St Mark's Square. From the little first-floor terrace you look at the church's marble façade at an angle, and the Grand Canal opens into the lagoon a hundred metres away.
This is our pick for romance: each room is decorated differently, with dark damask, Murano glass and low lamps. It stays quiet even in high season because few tourists walk all the way out to the point. The Salute vaporetto stop is beside the hotel, and St Mark's is two minutes away by traghetto, the gondola ferry that crosses the canal. It is not the place for families or for anyone who wants a restaurant and bar in the hotel.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Ca' Maria Adele
The building
Hotel Palazzo Stern from the outside.
Hotel Palazzo Stern: the landing stage beside Ca' Rezzonico
Palazzo Stern sits on the Grand Canal next to Ca' Rezzonico, the museum of eighteenth-century Venice. Has its own garden terrace running down to the water where breakfast is served. The Ca' Rezzonico vaporetto stop faces the Accademia across the canal, and the hotel has a private landing for water taxis.
It is right for travellers who want the Grand Canal in view without San Marco rates, and who like a neighbourhood with grocery shops and bars for locals. Inside it is Gothic and mosaic-clad, with a staircase and details that look like a museum, and rooms vary a great deal in size. Ask for a canal view, since that is the reason to stay here, and expect a small lobby that gets crowded at check-in.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Palazzo Stern
The building
Ca' Sagredo Hotel from the outside.
Cannaregio and Santa Croce: close to the station, along the Grand Canal
Cannaregio is the district north of the Grand Canal, running from Santa Lucia station east towards the Rialto. It has the old Jewish Ghetto, long straight canals and some of the most relaxed evenings in the city along the Fondamenta della Misericordia. Santa Croce, across the canal, is quiet and lived-in, with small squares where children play football after school. Both are near enough the station to wheel a suitcase.
Ca' Sagredo Hotel: the frescoes on the staircase
Ca' Sagredo is a palazzo that belonged to the noble Sagredo family, right on the Grand Canal in Cannaregio. The Ca' d'Oro vaporetto stop is a few steps away and the Rialto ten minutes on foot. The great staircase and the ballroom have original frescoes and stucco filling the walls from floor to ceiling.
This is the palazzo hotel for travellers who want the lavish version without staying in the middle of San Marco. Who like that Cannaregio's evening life along the Strada Nova and the Misericordia canal begins outside the door. Rooms on the Grand Canal look across to the Rialto fish market. The hotel is large and formal, and the Strada Nova is the city's busiest shopping street by day, so it is not for anyone seeking the small and intimate.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Ca' Sagredo Hotel
The courtyard
The courtyard at Palazzo Venart.
Palazzo Venart: the garden on the canal in Santa Croce
Palazzo Venart stands on the Grand Canal in Santa Croce, a couple of canals from the station. Is one of very few hotels in Venice with a proper garden running all the way down to the water. The restaurant, Glam, is counted among the best in the city, and in summer the garden tables look straight onto the canal traffic.
We recommend it to travellers who want design, food and quiet, and who arrive by train and want to carry the suitcase as short a distance as possible. Rooms are individually furnished with old timber floors, frescoes and modern bathrooms, and the feel is more private villa than hotel. Santa Croce is silent in the evening, and you should allow twenty minutes on foot or a waterbus to St Mark's. So it does not suit anyone who wants the sights right outside.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Palazzo Venart
The pool
The pool at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice.
Giudecca: the whole city in view from the other side
Giudecca is the long, thin island directly south of Dorsoduro, separated from the rest of Venice by the Giudecca Canal, wide enough that cruise ships once passed through it. Venetians live here, there are few tourists and no sights to speak of. But the view back towards the Zattere, the Salute and St Mark's is the finest in the city. The vaporetto takes five minutes across and runs through the night.
Hilton Molino Stucky Venice: the flour mill with the rooftop pool
The Hilton Molino Stucky occupies a vast red-brick flour mill on the western tip of Giudecca, with its own shuttle boat running to St Mark's and the Zattere. The rooftop pool is one of very few in Venice, with a view over the whole city. The Skyline Bar beside it has the same outlook as the sun drops behind Dorsoduro.
This is the hotel for families and for anyone who wants space, a pool and a quiet evening after a day in the crowds. Rooms are large and modern, breakfast is generous, and you never carry a suitcase over a single bridge because the hotel boat leaves from the landing stage. The drawback is distance: every trip into town needs a boat, and it feels more like visiting Venice than living in it. If you want to step out of the door straight into the lanes, stay elsewhere.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hilton Molino Stucky Venice
When to book
April to October is high season: Venice is full from Easter to mid-October, and hotels in San Marco and Dorsoduro sell out three to four months ahead. May and late September are the sweet spots, with light and warmth but less of the crush.
Carnival, the Biennale and the Redentore fill the city: Carnival in February, the opening weeks of the art and architecture Biennale in May and the Redentore festival in July fill hotels across the whole city well in advance. Check the dates before you book.
November to February is quiet, with one caveat: Winter brings empty squares, fog on the lagoon and lower rates, but also acqua alta, the high water that can cover St Mark's Square for a few hours. Christmas week and Carnival are the exceptions, when prices climb again.
Our first choice in Venice
Hotel Londra Palace
We recommend the Londra Palace because it makes everything simple: you step off the waterbus and you are home, with St Mark's three minutes away. It stands on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a couple of hundred metres east of the Doge's Palace, behind a facade that is almost all windows. The quiet lanes of Castello begin behind it.
Frequently asked questions about hotels in Venice
Where should I stay in Venice?
San Marco and the Riva degli Schiavoni suit a first visit, and Dorsoduro suits quiet and art. Choose Cannaregio or Santa Croce if you arrive by train and want to carry your bag as little as possible. Giudecca offers views and silence but needs a boat for everything.
Should I stay in Mestre on the mainland to save money?
Only if the budget demands it. Mestre is an ordinary suburb, and the train in takes ten minutes, but you lose the evenings and early mornings in Venice, which are the reason to come. A simpler hotel in Cannaregio or Castello is often just as affordable.
How do I get from Venice airport to my hotel?
The Alilaguna waterbus runs from Marco Polo airport directly to San Marco, the Zattere and other stops in around an hour and a quarter. A water taxi takes half an hour and delivers you to the hotel's own landing if it has one, but costs many times more.
How many nights do I need in Venice?
Two nights cover St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto and an evening in Dorsoduro. Three or four leave room for Murano, Burano and the Accademia, and for the early mornings when the city is yours. The mornings before the day-trippers arrive are the best hours in the city, so choose a hotel you can step straight out of.
Do hotel guests have to pay the Venice access fee?
No. Venice charges an entry fee to day visitors on selected dates in high season, but it does not apply to anyone staying overnight in the city. Hotel guests pay the standard tourist tax per night instead, which is added to the bill at the hotel. Check the dates on the city's website before you travel.