Planning a trip in July to Paris and Venice with my 2 teens. Looking for a cheap but nice hotel near Venice.?

Question

We will be traveling the end of June into July. I know Venice is very expensive. Not sure weather to fly in and out of Paris and take the train to Venice area and back to Paris or if I should fly into Venice for a few days and then take the train to Paris where we would spend the most time sightseeing and then fly home from there. Which would be the best financially? I am on a tight budget. I check airline prices daily. Just not sure where to stay that is close enough to Venice to not be too expensive getting back and forth from hotel and yet reasonably priced and safe. Also how to get to a train station in Venice. Is there a subway system in Italy?

Answer 1

We were in Paris and Venice in June of 2002. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Montecarlo in Venice. It was very conveniently located near San Marco square. I would definitely stay there again. I don't recall the name of the Best Western in Paris, but there are dozens of them to choose from. You will want to stay in Venice proper, as there is no transportation (except boat) once you get there. Venice is best by early morning (we had San Marco square and the Rialto bridge all to ourselves one morning), and by night when it is very still and all you hear is music and the lapping of the water against the ancient bridges. Paris was nice to see, but Venice made my soul sing.

Answer 2

I  would buy and open jaw ticket  and fly into Venice ; spend time there at least 2 days. I would stay in the city of Mestre and take the train into Venice If you cannot find a reasonable price in Venice.

Taken from Rick Steves' ITALY 2002

Places to stay in Venice

Sleeping in Venice:

Sleeping on the waterfront east of St. Mark's Square

Hotel Fontana

(2 star) lots of stairs, two bridges behind Piazza St. Marco.

Credit cards accepted VISA/Mastercard

Campo San Provolo, Castello,4701

tel: [phone]

fax: [phone]

website: www.hotelfontana.it

Sleeping near the Rialto Bridge

Albergo Guerrato

Overlooks a handy and colorful produce market. It

is not far the Rialto action.

Comes witha map of venice(it will be given to

us)

Cash only

Calle drio Scimia, 240a 30125 San Polo

Tel e Fax: [phone] or 528-5927

Email: [e-mail]

SE. speaks English

Call first, books fast.

Hotel Caneva

Has big, bright rooms.

Credit cards accepted Visa/Mastercard (but price increases wth credit card.)

Ramo Dietro La Fava, 5515, 30122 Venezia

Tel:[phone]

Fax:[phone]

Sleeping Northwest/West of St. Mark's Square

Alloggi Alla Scala

A comfy and tidy five room place run by Senora

Andriena della Fiorentina, is homey, central and

tucked away on a quiet square that features a

famous spiral stairway called Scala Contarini del

Bovolo.

Breakfast

Credit cards accepted VISA/MASTERCARD

Campo Manin, 4306, San Marco

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

SE...daughter

Sleeping near the Accademia

Hotel Galleria

It is a compact and velvety little 10 room place.

Credit cards accepted Visa/Mastercard

fans, includes breakfast in room, views overlooking

the Grand Canal, near Accademia Gallery.

Dorsoduro 878a, 30123 Venezia.

Tel: [phone]

tel and fax: [phone]

E-mail : [e-mail]

website: www.galleria.it

SE speaks English

Sleeping near the Train station

Hotel Marin

Pay cash. It can cost more with a credit card.

The owners speak English

www.hotelmarin.it

It is near the train station and the canal.

There is an Internet cafe there, and laundrymat

nearby.

Near St.Mark's Square

Locanda Piava :

www.elmore.com/alpiave

CC accepted

Near the Waterfront

Hotel Campiello:

www.hcampiello.it

CC accepted

Albergo Paganelli:

www.hotelpaganelli

CC accepted

Near Rialto Bridge

Hotel Locanda Ovidius :

www.hotelovidius.com

CC accepted

Locanda Nuovo Venezia

www.locandanouvo.com

CC accepted

Hotel Giorgione :

www.hotelgiorgione.com

CC accepted Check website for discounts

Near Accademia

Pensione Accademia:

www.pensioneaccademia.it

CC accepted

Hotel Agli Alboretti:

www.aglialboretti.com

CC credit card accepted

Hotel Belle Arti:

www.hotelbellearti.com

CC accepted

Locanda San Trovaso:

www.locandosantrovaso.com

CC accepted

**Most have English speaking clerks.

** Often the hotels will give you a discount if you pay in cash. Using credit cards at times can cost you a little more. Always ask ...

Places in Mestre:  Check these links.  I am not sure what your price range is. http://www.travelplan.it/en/world_europe...

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Veneto/Prov...

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-380431-c...

*** This site has star ratings, but the star system is not like that in the US. The star system is based on what it has around near to the hotel  not the quality of the service given to the patrons.  However, you will be very happy with a lot of 2 star places.

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Veneto/Prov...

You can take the train in Mestre to Venice

http://www.trenitalia.com

Venice Transportation site (Mestre is a 7 minute train ride to and from Venice) There are trains every 15 minutes going to and from Venice and Mestre

www.actv.it.

From http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/arti...

Venice has two major stations: the Venezia Mestre station on the mainland, and the Venezia Santa Lucia station in the city itself.

Some trains cross the causeway from Mestre to the Santa Lucia station; others require passengers to disembark in Mestre and catch a local train into the city. It's wise to check your train's timetable before departing for Venice, just so you'll know where to get off the train.

Santa Lucia Station

From Mestre, a causeway built in the time of Napoleon crosses the Lagoon to central Venice. Trains dead-end in the Stazione Ferroviaría Santa Lucia, a glaringly modern structure that looks out of place in a city where most buildings are hundreds of years old.

When you arrive at Santa Lucia, your train will pull into one of two sheds:

The main train shed is directly behind the station. Most long-distance trains arrive here.

Another set of railway platforms is to the right of the station as you arrive from the mainland; this is used mainly by local and regional trains. To reach the station building, bear left as you leave the train platform.

From the station building, exit via the main doors. Steps lead down to a broad terrace alongside the Grand Canal, where you'll find the vaporetto landing and water taxis.

If you're traveling with wheeled luggage, a stroller, or a wheelchair, you may find it easier to bypass the station building and head directly to the water. (In the main train shed, head toward the toilets near the left end of the station and go through the passage at the corner. Then turn right and follow the ramp down to the canal.)

Read the link above for other important information.

Santa Lucia Station is about 30 minutes walking to S. Marco, which I think is the goal of a short term visit to Venice- I don't advise you to take a waterbus, it's really expensive and you don't shorten your time of arrival, the only pro is that you don't have any other way to take a look on Canal Grande buildings, as all the other ways are from the inside, which is where you can feel the real Venetian atmosphere.

In Mestre, be sure to take a walk on the city centre for shopping affairs and enjoy some good local pubs and restaurants, which certainly are cheaper than in the historical centre

http://www.trenitalia.com

Here is the train timetable from Venice to Mestre  at night  . In addition , the bus schedules

Venice S.Lucia 22.22 22.47 22.52 22.56 23.37

Mestre station 22.33 22.58 23.02 23.07 23.48

If you decide to take a bus, from venice piazzale roma (you have to do a coupple of bridges from the train station santa lucia) to mestre station:

Linea 2

Venezia piazzale roma every h.15 h.45 23.15 23.45 0.20 0.40

Mestre station every h.26 h.56 23.26 23.56 0.31 0.51

Linea 2 Notturno

Venezia piazzale roma 23.15 23.45 0.20 0.40

Mestre station 23.27 23.57 0.32 0.52

The train from Venice to Paris

From Rick Steves' website: http://www.ricksteves.com

On the Metro in Paris, there are signs that tell you, "Conservez votre billet" (keep your ticket),

(They only mean keep your metro tickets while you're underground. Once you're outside of the station, you can throw it away. The controllers just want to make sure you don't jump over the turnstiles and get on the train for free.)

The difference between 2nd class and 1st class from Venezia to Paris is that a couchette in 2nd sleeps 6 people (top, middle, and bottom bunks on each side of the cabin), but 1st class sleeps only 4. We did have reservations for a specific car and cabin for our trip from Venezia to Paris. The conductor CAN CHANGE THE ARRANGEMENTS ON THE TRAIN -- Get to the  train station early.

Check out this link for information on buying your overnight train ride to Paris

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussi...

Check out this link for transportation  from San Marco Airport to Mestre

http://www.veniceairport.it/page/servizi...

Check out this map to locate the cities that you want to visit

http://www.big-italy-map.co.uk/...

Information on sights to see places to stay, etc. in Italy

http://www.initaly.com/regions/regions.h...

Extra notes:

**ALWAYS confirm your train departure time upon arrival at the train station by talking to a ticket agent. Day-strikes by train workers are frequent in some countries. The resultant train cancellations are not always posted**  ALWAYS VALIDATE YOUR TICKETS

*** In Italy :Reserve your seats in 1st and 2nd class, at all times, on all the trains (Eurostar and regular).