Hi, my famiy will be staying in Venice 3 nights in July and we can't settle on which district to stay in. I have narrowed it down to Dorsoduro, San Polo or Canneregio. I have found great apartments in each place. I prefer Dorsoduro I think but that apartment is the smallest. I worry that the San Polo location may be too crowded. The Cannaregio apartment is on the outer edge and I wonder if that will be too far to walk back to at night as it does not look like a vaporetto stop is nearby. All apartments had great reviews. Can you please chime in on pros and/or cons with these neighborhoods. We will be traveling with 2 teenagers if that makes a difference as far as location that they would also enjoy. Thanks!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
With 2 teenagers, I would think you would want something with a bit of life. The outer edges of Venice can be quiet, better nearer the Grand Canal. But that my also put up the price.
Also think about luggage. You have to carry this through the streets, so near the station or near a Vaporetta stop with a direct link to the station is an advantage.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Each of those neighborhoods is pretty large and they vary a lot within each. Generally speaking, I would put my vote for San Polo or Dorsoduro for the reasons you gave.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
The San Polo apartment is right on the Grand Canal. It its in a really neat building with lots of cool architectural elements but I worry it will be too noisy at night to sleep. I think the kids might enjoy it though. Comments?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32929 posts
You will likely have the windows shut at night to keep out the small blood sucking buzzy insects, so you won't hear a lot and, if you are like me (unlikely I know) you will rapidly find that the sounds from the Grand Canal are like water lapping on a shore and extremely relaxing and a fabulous aid to sleeping...
Posted by
San Francisco
993 posts
We loved staying in Dorsoduro, right across the canal from the fruit barge! :)
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
We've stayed in San Polo when we visited Venice - three times at Al Campaniel B&B and once in an airbnb apartment near Sant Aponal - both very quiet and just a few steps from the vaporetto stops. The airbnb was so dark (good dark - as in no street lights shining in) - and quiet - it was great, but still only a 5 min walk to Rialto, lots of restaurants nearby. I can't speak for the other neighbourhoods...
One thing that helped me in Rome when we stayed near the Colosseum and the bars on the street were noisy - I downloaded a 'white noise' app for my iPad/iPod - and set it to play rain noises or wave sounds for an hour to cover the street noise - worked great - I was asleep in no time! Or, you can pack along some earplugs.
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
355 posts
Dorsoduro is very lively in the evenings especially close to Campo Santa Margarita. The teenagers in your group might really enjoy that area. I've also stayed in Cannaregio and loved it, but it was very quiet in the evenings. With teenagers, I would vote for Dorsoduro.