Where to stay in Venice?

In Venice you have no choice but to be on foot. Cars can't float.
Any of the six 'sestieri' (districts) is good, since Venice is rather small and you can walk it very easily. The sestiere of Giudecca is less convenient, but all others are good. Just find the accommodations that suit you.

I like Cannaregio; it's about half-way between the station one way and Rialto the other - about 20 minutes walk to either. I have had two enjoyable stays at Casa del Melograno near the San Marcuola vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal. It is also a lot cheaper than other areas nearer San Marco. If you want views you are looking at big bucks for something on the Grand Canal, otherwise the most view you will get will be looking over one of the smaller canals or a piazza. But that is fine - its Venice! Another hotel I've seen recommended, is Hotel Calcina in Dorsodura. This overlooks the Guideccia Canal. The area is the other side of the Grand Canal from San Marco - is interesting to wander around and is not so busy. But also not so many restaurants etc.

We stayed in the Dorsoduro area near the Accademia Bridge and really liked it. A nice mixture of restaurants, shops, bars, piazzas and whole convenient to St. mark's, it wasn't as crowded.

I like the Cannaregio area along the northern side, it's much more quiet than most of San Marco, for example, and overall less expensive.

Thanks for all of the helpful tips!
Katherine

This past August, we stayed at Locanda Orseolo which is between St. Mark's Square & the Rialto bridge area. We loved the hotel & the location. It was a 5-minute walk to St. Mark's Square & 10 minutes to the Rialto Bridge but it was far enough away from both areas to be on the quiet side. It was central to everything and I liked the area because we didn't have to walk far to find shops, restaurants, etc. We ended every night with a gelato and a stroll through St. Mark's Square to listen to the orchestras and we liked being so close to our hotel. The hotel is on the Orseolo canal and the room rate was very reasonable and we even got a room with a view of the canal.

We are planning our fourth trip to Venice for October, and each time we stay at the Hotel Abbazia, which is a hop, skip and jump from both the train station and a vaporetto stop. It's an old monastery and we just love it. We highly recommend it. Anywhere in that neighborhood would also be good -- lots of shops, restaurants, etc. plus easy access elsewhere. I can't say it's terribly cheap, but this is Venice!