Hi,

Could anyone give me advice on nice areas to look for accomodation in in the following cities:

1) Naples
2) Rome
3) Florence
4) Milan
5) Venice

We only have a short amount of time in each place so would like to be as near as possible to the attractions, or a short (easy) bus/train ride away?

Thanks!!

I cannot comment firsthand on the actual hotels, but I am traveling to Italy in September and booked many of my hotels based on their proximity to landmarks I wanted to see.
For Rome:
I am staying at Hotel Raffaello Rome which is about a 10 minute walk from Termini train station and the Colosseum/Forum (according to TripAdvisor reviews).
For the tail end of my trip I am staying at Albergo del Senato Rome which is directly across from the Pantheon and very short walk to Trevi Fountain/Spanish Steps/etc.
For Florence:
I am staying at Davanzati Hotel due to the fact that most attractions are only a few minutes away as well as the rave reviews it received on TripAdvisor.
Good luck!

What is your price range/star rating?

Rome: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...odistricts.cfm
Venice: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...comodation.cfm

We are looking for average accomodation. I was just wondering about areas really, rather than specific hotels.

For example, in Naples is it better to stay in the historic centre rather than near the station?

Of the two threads I gave you, the one about Rome is on areas ONLY, and the one about Venice to a great extent, too. I can't comment on Naples.

You really need to provide a price range in order for people to give you useful recommendations. 'Average' whether you are referring to the price, or the type of accommodation, means difference things to different people.

In Florence, the Centro Storico (historic center) is so small you can walk it in half an hour. But if you want to narrow it down, eliminate the Oltrarno, which is the opposite side of the river from the primary sites. There are plenty of "average rate" hotels and apartments available online.

I don't know what a short time is to you for your stays in these cities. If you are staying 3 days or more, I recommend you rent an apartment, so you have more room and more privacy. (You may read on travel boards about all the hotel rooms that are so small that it's hard to walk around the bed, let alone stretch out, or find a place to put your stuff.)

we'll have 2 nights in each city (3 in one but haven't decided which to have an extra night in yet)

we are looking around £50 a night, and its October so hopefully prices will be a bit lower so we will get more for our money!

"we are looking around £50 a night"

. . . for two people? I think "average" accommodations may be difficult to come by at that rate.

For all who want to offer suggestions, that's about 60 euro.

IF this is meant for two persons, you might - in Rome - be able to find a room in a monastery in that price range (not sure about that, but I suspect you may have to be Roman Catholic, and married, if mixed couples are involved). In all other places, camping may be the only solution; which is of course unavailable in Venice, so this would mean to stay a long way outside town (I think the nearest camping ground is in Cavallino-Treporti).

I think it will be impossible to find hotels at this price apart from very unattractive and risky areas. Try looking for a B&B at say - http://www.bbitalia.it/default_eng.asp

For Rome, Florence and Venice, browse www.cross-pollinate.com and www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html for lodging in your budget range.

Whoo! €60? Oh, my. That's not average, that's cheap. Remember you are going to some of the most popular cities in Europe, and the prices are going to reflect that. In addition to the convents there might be some rooms without private baths at Cafe des Artistes near the train station in Rome. And there's a place calle The Beehive which has budget accommodations, I understand.

venere.com is very good for areas - you can see which are the most central and limit your searches to them.

We were in Rome, Venice, and Florence recently and in each city stayed within a 5 minute walk of the train station. In Florence we were near the Santa Maria Novella train station and easily could walk to the Duomo, Uffizi, and Academie. In Venice we stayed near the train Santa Lucia train station. It is on the opposite end of the Grand Canal from St. Mark's square but we got a 36 hour vaporetto pass and used it well. But we didn't have to cart our luggage around. Never felt unsafe in these areas. In Rome we stayed near the Termini. It is not the most beautiful area and some say it's shady but I honestly never felt unsafe and the hotel we stayed was better than we had expected and staff wonderful. The major advantage was that we were accessible to both major metro lines so could get to the major sites easily and also the buses. If you need to get back to the airport you can also access the Leonardo Express from the Termini for about 9 euro. It will be hard to find a hotel for 50 to 60 euro in these areas in October even if it is only one or two people. You may find these prices farther out of the city center but then will have to factor in the price and time of getting back to the sites you want to see. Just my recent experience, in Florence most of the major sites are closed on Monday except the Duomo. The Duomo is closed on Sundays. Most of the museums are also closed on Mondays in Rome. Churches in general are not open to tourists on Sundays. Enjoy your trip.

Never mind the budget, but 2 nights each in 5 places is a lot of moving around in. I would drop either Naples or Milan or both, and do 3 nights each for Venice and FLorence, and 5 in Rome. If you add another city, take a night 1 night or 2 off the other cities (depending on you interests) and spend a night or 2 in either Milan or Naples.

That is a very tight budget. Monasteries is a good possibilities.

You won't find much for 60€ per night, not even convents. You are talking about major cities in Italy so no, October is not "off season". I suggest you look at hostels, but it will likely be a dorm situation at that price. If that's all you can afford, then you need to drop some train travel which is expensive.

Rome
http://www.the-beehive.com/rooms_and_rates.html

Venice
http://www.ostellosantafosca.it/Home_Page.html

For Florence, you will be able to find a room near the station by using the booking service at the station. I know people that have done this (in September) and they usually go look at the room first. they had no problem finding a nice budget room in Florence within walking distance of the station and sites.

Two nights in each? 60 euros per night during high season?
Please reconsider your itinerary. You will spend a lot of you budget on trains that could be better devoted to rooms. You will also spend way too much of your limited time traveling.