Mestre or Padova??

Mestre is a working class industrial port town. You won't have charming old buildings or tourist activities and it is certainly not as beautiful as Venice or other parts of Italy. I have not been to Padova, but since it does have some tourism I would assume it would be a little nicer place to stay. Make sure to include the cost of trains (money and time spent) when comparing to staying in Venice. We found that renting an apartment in Venice was more economical for 2 couples than staying in a hotel.

One thing to consider is how you'll spend your evenings. If you're based in Padova, you'll be able to take a walk, have a gelato, a coffee, or a glass of wine, or just amble around in a wonderful historic city. Not so much in Mestre. What I've seen of it is industrial and unattractive modern. One vote for Padova.

I've been to both, and if you can't afford Venice my vote is for Padova. It has charm in it's own right and you might easily spend a day or two seeing the sites there. (Check the guidebook for details.)

What's your budget, in euros? You might be surprised at what you can find in Venice, especially if you consider apartments in neighborhoods such as Castello or Cannaregio.

We once stayed on Venice Lido to save a lot of money and really regretted it. There's nothing like the charm of wandering around Venice in the evening without having to worry about when the last train/vaporetto leaves.

If you do have to choose between Padova and Mestre, Padova is a much more attractive town. You don't have to take our word for it. Use Google Maps Streetview to take a look at Mestre for yourself. Yuck.

(And to save pedants the trouble of weighing in, Mestre is technically within the city limits of Venice, even though it's on the mainland.)

Just home from Italy trip which included a couple days in Padova after a few days in Venice. If you need to choose between Mestre and Padova, I'd definitely opt for Padova, for all the reasons given above. It's a relatively quick and easy train ride between Venice and Padova and not that expensive. Padova is a lovely small town with gorgeous Botanic Gardens, St. Anthony Basilica and then there's the Scrovengi Chapel......and wonderful gelato at Pretto.

How many days do you anticipate traveling into Venice (when you could have been sleeping there) and how many do you think would be spent in Padova itself and other towns?

I know you're planning this trip more than a year in advance and wonder whether that is affecting which properties show space available. For instance, if you do a fake search for dates this November, not in high season, does it reveal any cheaper properties with whom you can follow up?

Thanks for all your helpful replies. Padua definitely seems to be the better choice and I appreciate the input on various aspects of my question.

We've been to Venice twice for several days, and we've been to Padova. I would recommend shortening your stay to just a few nights in Venice and stay in actual Venice vs. either choice you're mentioning. The evenings are wonderful in Venice, and you would be missing out on some of the best of Venice when it's quieter & lovely.

When we stayed in Padova, we took the train to/from Venice for the Regatta (later in the same trip ended the time with 4 nights in Venice). Trust me when I say you will kick yourself if you have to leave each evening and waste your time heading back to Padova or Mestre. And the 15 or 30 minutes mentioned doesn't count for all of the time to get back to the train station or boat to even head out of Venice - easily double or triple that amount.

I have sent you a PM

Susan

We are staying in Venice and Florence for 5 nights each and the Rome for 4 nights. Our Venice apartment is only about 10-15% more than our other apartments - and much less than getting two 2-3 star hotel rooms. We are spending a little on the high-side for 2 bedroom apartments because we require 2 bed/2Bath apartments in building with a lift. I saw MANY 2 bed/1 bath apartments and/or apartments in buildings without a lift for much less per night.

I booked all of our apartments through TripAdvisor. So far, everything has been smooth and the apartment handlers have bent over backwards to assist.

I would NOT stay in either Mestre or Padua to visit Venice. The hassle factor is just too great for the perceived savings. Padua is a beautiful city but the added time and transportation expenses are not worth missing Venice early in the morning and late in the evening. We are staying in Venice and day-tripping to Padua and Vicenza.

Good luck,
Todd

Susan, my input on your question:
1. Why ruin a perfectly wonderful visit to Venice by staying in Mestre?
2. If you want to visit Padova, then visit Padova, it is a nice and interesting place to visit, with lots of good sites. But don't stay there as a bedroom community for Venice.
3. Some of the best times in Venice are walking and exploring very early in the morning and in the evening, after the day trippers and cruisers have left, and after the temperatures have gone down, especially in summer. Why become one of the day trippers if you can avoid that?
4. If a week in Venice might be too long, then a couple nights in Padova, Verona, or some other nearby towns could be a great idea. Verona is a lovely, walkable and livable ancient city, a wonderful place to spend a couple of days.

Stayed in Mestre a couple of times. Have been to Padova and stayed in Venice one time. Padova is definitely a more attractive town but if your main goal is to see Venice I would opt for Mestre as it's a lot quicker/easier/cheaper getting to Venice from there. However you can find much cheaper and reasonable places in Venice. We stayed in a great place the time we stayed in Venice and I'm sorry but can't remember the name of the place now but I do remember getting the recommend from a regular poster on the Lonely Planet travel forum so you might try there. The stay overnight in Venice is much more fun with being able to get out before the crowds in the morning and seeing things and just wandering around with little to no crowds at night. It's definitely worth a little more. If I happen to recall the name of the place we stayed I'll put it up here

Typically when I read about people staying in Mestre because they can't possibly afford the exorbitant rates on Venice Island this is what I find:

1) You've never been to Venice or you would NEVER consider staying in Mestre
2) You don't know how to find decently priced places
3) You'll return to the USA telling people how you really didn't love Venice (but what you really mean is Mestre)
4) If all you can truly afford is Mestre then postpone your trip until you can save a bit more and actually stay in Venice

Just a few weeks ago using points, I booked a trip this August to Italy with my 2 children (ages 13 & 15). We are flying into Venice and out of Rome. I decided that we would stay in Padova the first 4 nights. Booking this late, in peak season for 3 people was just out of my price range for our 3 week trip. I also didn't want to have to move after a night or two. I have had the good fortune through several work trips to spend time in Venice previously and I knew I didn't want to stay in Mestre for 4 nights so for us Padova was a good choice. We have a great room with lots of space for the three of us, breakfast, free wifi (a teen must have), bicycles to use, laundry if needed and easy access to the train station. I know that we will have to commute into Venice but for us the trade off, I think will be worth and although my teens want to 'see' Venice, it was not at the top of their list of things to do and places to see.I will have to post later, I guess too! We are going to use Padova as a base for exploring the area including Verona if that's what we decide once we arrive.. We can also take a late train back from Venice at night. I don't think you should miss out on Venice just because its too expensive to sleep in Venice. Now for sorting out our week in Sicily....which is for another post.

we stayed in a lovely apartment in Padova and loved it. I chose Padova because I, too, I could not afford comfortable lodgings for a family of 4 in Venice. After we arrived, I was delighted that we did not stay in Venice. I know everyone on the forum will think I'm crazy, but Venice was so hyper crowded and so commercialized, I really did not enjoy it. I felt like I was escaping to Padova, yet I could go to Venice during the day, 22 minutes, affordable, easy, and the town of Padova has tons to do. Very clean, very quaint, flat/walkable/ancient walls and squares.

Now, if I had been staying in Venice itself, I probably would have enjoyed being in Venice before all the daytrippers, like myself, arrived in the city or after they left. for my budget, I chose Padova, and truly we had a terrific time. But Padova is not Venice, so think carefully as to what is most important to your trip.