Venice Apartment - Best Location?

We have enjoyed the San Polo area very much. We have a favorite place we've stayed in 3 times now, and it is a neighborhood populated by people who live and work in Venezia, yet is a less-than-10-minute walk to the Rialto Bridge and less to a vaporetto stop. Markets are a day-time thing and can be found in many of the campi as well as at Rialto, so stop when you are out touring. Food shops are here-and-there. When you find an apartment you like, ask the proprietor about shopping nearby. You can find places to walk for gelato & meals all over the city.

Once you find some likely suspect apartments, feel free to come back and run them by us for comment on the neighborhood.

We have rented apartments on both sides of Rialto Bridge and liked both. Access to the main sights of Venice is a little easier from the Castello side, but the San Polo side puts you in more of a local neighborhood off the tourist path (once you get past the vegetable and fish market area).

Our apartment two years ago, which we had for a month, was just beyond Campo San Bartolomeo, at Campo San Lio. We could easily go in any direction from there. There was a Coop supermarket right up the street ( Salizzada San Lio) and good gelato shops within 5 minutes's walk in either direction. To get fresh fish and vegetables it was 5 minutes to Rialto and we crossed over. Best to go early in the morning before it gets crowded with spectators rather than shoppers.

This year we had an apartment on the San Polo side, a bit past the market on Calle Botteri. There were restaurants in the neighborhood and some small shops, but the nearest supermarket was very small and crowded. We preferred a Coop up on Campo San Giacomo del'Orio ( my favirie campo in Venice). And of course you are very close to the fish and fruit/vegetable market.

We loved walking around the neighborhoods, but to get to the main sights involved either (a) crossing the very crowded Rialto bridge (partially blocked because it is under restoration), (b) a traghetto ride across the grand canal to get to Strada Nuova (another good supermarket there), or (c) a long-ish but pleasant walk through San Polo, to reach Dorsoduro and the Accademia bridge to get to San Marco.

The vaporetto stop here is Rialto Mercato which is served only by the No. 1, which makes every stop and also can be very crowded. But the nice thing about the San Polo side is you are not overwhelmed by tour groups while walking around, except at the Rialto Market.

Another area you might want to consider is Dorsoduro. It is away from the St. Marks/Rialto chaos but still has lots of good restaurants, a couple of good supermarkets and a great 'floating' market on a boat in one of the canals. The two main campos are San Barnaba and Santa Margherita. Both are less crowded than in the busier areas and there is a Grom gelato in Campo San Barnaba. With 7 year old children, Campo Santa Margherita has space for them to run around a bit and they would see Venetian children doing the same thing.
Of the three areas I've stayed in Venice, Dorsoduro is my favorite.

I was going to suggest Dorsoduro like the others because of the floating market and the big market on the campo, which has less variety but much lower prices (for tourists - locals pay differently) than the Rialto markets.

Good places for the kiddoes to run off steam.

Really all of the districts in Venice have their advantages. We've stayed in San Polo and Dorsoduro and considered Cannaregio. For your requirements, I would suggest Dorsoduro near Casa Rezzonico B&B.

We stayed in Dorsoduro and it was awesome.

If this place is open, totally grab it. Amazing apartment.
http://caleonessa.com/

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. We had not previously considered the Dorsoduro area but based on the advice received here are looking into it.

Follow up questions... from Dorsoduro what is the best way to get to the St. Mark's area in the early evening and how long does it take? And roughly what kind of walk from this area to the Frari Church? Trying to get a feel for how close things are.

from Dorsoduro what is the best way to get to the St. Mark's area in the early evening and how long does it take? And roughly what kind of walk from this area to the Frari Church? Trying to get a feel for how close things are.

It depends on where in the Dorsoduro you are. Nothing is really far in Venice. It's only a few stops on the vaporetto to St. Mark's and you have the option of taking the one on the Grand Canal or the one from Zattere side. If you are 5-10 minutes walk from the Accademia, you can climb up Accademia bridge across the Grand Canal, then you're about a 10 minute walk from St. Mark's. Google maps says 7 minutes' walk from Ca' Rezzonica to Basilica dei Frari.

I've stayed in the Dorsoduro on all 3 of my visits and I love it. . . it's away from the hustle and bustle around Rialto and St. Mark's, and feels much more residential.

We stayed at an Airbnb last year in San Polo area. It was great. Only a few minutes walk to Rialto bridge. Before that, we used a traditional bed and breakfast that was only a minute walk from the San toma vaporetto stop. Actually, the b&b was only two stops (and less than a ten min walk) from the Airbnb so we really like that area.

Any "sestiere" (one of the six districts) is good. Venice is small and you are walking distance from everything. Just avoid the Giudecca, which is too isolated. The Castello, near the Giardini and the stadium, is less touristy and is largely inhabited by locals only. But as you move away from the Grand Canal, it gets less touristy.

We rented an apartment from the Pensione Guerrato (in the RS Italy book) called the Piccolo Guerrato. It was perfectly located a couple minutes from St. Mark's, a couple minutes from Rialto, and near all kinds of shops and stores, but also very easy to get to uncrowded little piazzas, in an area called San Zulian. It has one large bedroom, a full kitchen, big bathroom, and two twin beds off of the kitchen, perfect for kids. We really liked the amenities and the location, so check it out.