Venice Hotel and Restaurant recommendations

What is your budget for the accommodation? Hotels in the Cannaregio area of Venice which is where the train station is located range from $200 to over $1000+ per night. Obviously hotels on the Grand Canal are the most expensive. Have a look on Booking.com to get an idea of what’s available but book direct with the hotel. Its been at least 10 years since I was in Venice and when I stayed there prior to the villages tour I stayed at Casa de Melagrano, a short walk from the San Marcuola vaporetto stop. Reasonably priced, convenient for getting to the station and a few restaurants a short walk away - it gets good reviews on Booking.com.

The 35 bus from the airport deposits you in the Piazzale Roma which is just over the Grand Canal from the train station. Private water taxis are expensive but if you want to arrive in Venice by boat there is the Alilaguna lines ferry for around $15 pp. Both bus and ferry take about 40-45 minutes.

We stayed at the Hotel Olimpia. It was a super easy walk from where the bus drops you at the station. We didn’t want to deal with water buses with luggage. I’m really glad we stayed so close to the bus station ( which is also close to the train station where you can take the train to Padua). I read about the hotel on this forum and it was highly recommended. We really liked it. It was very convenient to get the water buses from there too. Just walk back to the bus station area and hop on!

One last thing about the Hotel Olimpia. The breakfast was good and it’s a very inexpensive add on. I recommend it if you stay there. There’s a beautiful outdoor courtyard behind the hotel with gardens where you can eat your breakfast or just relax anytime.

Thank you for the tips, you are all so kind. This gives me a place to start. Happy Traveling.

Please stay more than one extra day in Venice. It's a great place to walk off jet lag, and with airline delays and cancelations, you need extra days' insurance. Plus, Venice is just so unique and charming.

We love the Hotel Ai More d'Oriente in the Cannaregio neighborhood. You can take the inexpensive Alilaguna boat from the airport to the Madonna Dell Orto stop for this hotel, a five minute walk, but there are a few bridges, with steps.
The hotel also has its own dock on the canal, so the expensive (around $150) water taxi can deliver you to the front door.
Enjoy this wonderful city and tour. Safe travels!

We enjoyed our stay at Hotel Abbazia - it's very near the train station but on a quiet alleyway. Beautiful rooms and an excellent breakfast.

Hotel Principe, it is walking distance to the Train Station where you will be going to get to Padua. I did this trip in Oct/Nov of 2025 and that is where I stayed. It has a good breakfast and decent rooms, really nice staff, and plenty of restaurants, small shops to explore just outside. I took the bus from the airport for 10 euro and it was very easy to do. The bus lot is within walking distance of the hotel too.

I stayed at the Carnival Palace hotel on the Cannaregio canal. It was about a 7-8 minute walk to the train terminal, slightly further to where the buses arrive. It was a very nice hotel, what I would call an American style hotel.

I took a bus from the airport. I get very seasick and usually avoid boats if I can get another mode of transportation. The hotel website gives you more information about transfers from the airport.

The hotel is a bit more out of the way than other hotels though so maybe not convenient for just one night.

The AC Marriott is right by the bus and train terminal. Short walking distance, no vaparetto ride to get to it. We stayed there and it was so easy to use it as a base to run around Venice. The Vaparetto ticket office is right there and most key lines start and end there. We discovered a local neighborhood gem, La Lantern. We lucked out and got a table. Those arriving later without reservations were turned away.