Apartments in Venice and Florence

We found our rental for Venice on vrbo. We are using that for our stays in Munich and Rome as well. I would just look for ones that have lots of good reviews, and I always like the owner to respond to my request promptly. Then I feel pretty good about it. Rent with vrbo all over the US and it's great!

I can recommend the apartments that are a part of Hotel American Dinesen. http://www.hotelamerican.com/
they are right next door to the hotel, very spacious plus the added bonus of having the 24 hour hotel desk at your disposal. You can take a water taxi to their front door.
It is located in the Dorsoduro area which is a great place to stay. Lots of good restaurants near by, quiet area, easy to walk to sites or get a vaporetto.

Hi Marc,
We have used Ca Francesco (www.cafrancesco.com) in Venice and Florence Holiday Homes (www.florenceholidayhomes.com) in Florence and enjoyed both. Ca Francesco has 2 apartments in the same building and is in the Cannaregio / Ghetto District. There is a vaporetti stop near by and the Alilaguna boat from the airport also stops there. It is about a 15 minute walk to the railway station or a short vaporetti ride. Florence Holiday Homes has several apartments, we stayed in Casa Santa Maria Novella which is not far from the railway station and the Santa Maria Novella church. We found both apartments well located for getting around but not in the real touristy areas, plenty of food shops and restaurants near by. The owners of both groups were very friendly and helpful.
Helen

We use airbnb, easy site to work with, lots of reviews for each unit, all transactions in the US, so no wire transfer fees or international transaction fees. Airbnb holds your funds until 24 hours after check in before releasing them to the unit owner so no risk of losing your money.

We are staying at this apartment in mid June. http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g187870-d2110775-Balcony_in_ss_giovanni_e_paolo-Venice_Veneto.html
Not sure of the availability for your dates. We have stayed a few blocks away on 2 separate occasions and love the neighborhood.

There are so many apartments in Venice you need to focus your search or you will go crazy. Have you been there before? Do you have any idea what location you prefer? What is your vision of Venice-–canal view, rooftop terrace, balcony, right on a square? Decide that and narrow your search. What is your budget hope? What about access--- do you need to be close to a vaporetto stop? Would you like to be close to historic sites or in a quieter residential neighborhood? What about decor? Some Venetian apartments are very ornate, with brocade and from-forum details. Others are modern and minimalist. Do you care? And Gould you prefer to rent from the owner ( VRBO or Air BnB) or an agency that is local and has lots of apartments?

I booked an apartment with Airbnb a few weeks ago in a nice non-busy neighborhood, pretty reasonable. There are many price points available, some tiny, some with two bathrooms, a washing machine, and full kitchen, as well as a small balcony looking out onto a canal. Stay away from San Marco, in Cannaregio or Dosudoro.

This is the apartment we rented in Florence three years ago: http://www.vrbo.com/276627#photos

It was a great place to stay, as it was next to the Ponte Vecchio (very convenient location) yet on the 5th floor, so it was up above all of the bustle and noise.