Thank you for the many replies. We have already booked the trip. This is the info I received from the hotel in Mestre regarding transportation to Venice.

To reach Venice from the hotel you got 2 options.

1) Our shuttle service, € 5.00 per person per trip, schedule available at your arrival, aprox. 15 min to reach the City.
2)n Public transport, stop is 200 mt from Hotel, you need to catch tram and bus, € 1.30 per person per trip, aprox. 25 min to reach the City.

I can probably upgrade our hotel to one in Venice but do not know the cost to do so. I will check on that. One person said all of the hotels are in terrible locations which worries me. I have been reading reviews of the hotels and had not seen that the locations were terrible.

We did not plan to do any tours but did think we might use some of the hop on hop off buses. Hopefully that is not a bad idea as well. Thoughts?

Also I have scoliosis and we are a little concerned for my back pain for long walks. I am going to try a cane to see if it helps. Is there availability of wheelchairs in any locations or too difficult to use?

Thank you again.

At the top of this thread, are several responses about the HOHO busses, including what to expect in different cities, such as Venice has none and Florence is too small to need any. So, lots of thoughts already for you about the HOHO bussess.

IMHO, just about any place in Venice (except Lido) would be better than Mestre. Actually, I would even prefer Lido, but it would not save you any time. Post some of the hotels they are offering as an upgrade.

Unfortunately, for you, Venice and Florence are made for walking. At least, you do not have to hurry in either city, so you can take it slow. In Venice, use the vaporetto as much as you can for getting around. Take a ride down the Grand Canal and probably, for you, a gondola ride, so you can see as much as possible without so much walking. Use your cane. In Venice, a wheel chair would be limiting, if not impossible, because of the bridges everywhere. There are some straight walking passages, then bridges. Look at the map and kind of plan ahead to go from campo to campo or piazza to piazza, etc. for places to sit and rest for a minute.

Cafes often charge more for sitting, but you might need to do that in Florence and Rome to get a break. However, right near the Duomo in Florence, there is a cafeteria style place that does not charge extra (as I remember). They are crowded and super busy, but the food is pretty good. There are also some low walls near the Duomo where you could sit.

I very strongly urge you to upgrade to a hotel in Venice. It is a magical city and staying in Mestre is a terrible idea.If I had to stay in Meatre, I would skip the trip.
I think a wheelchair would be almost impossible in Venice though with many bridges that have steps and down them. You can take vaporetto rides all around ; it is a small city so you limit your walking distances with those rides.

Both Venice and Florence are walking cities. Yes, vaporetto is available for longer distances - but there is still a lot of walking once you're off the boat. Wherever you go in Venice there are bridges to be climbed to get over the various smaller canals. Most are not steep stairs but more like a number of long steps - perhaps 6 or 7 in each direction. But walking is the only way between them.

There might be wheelchairs available for use/rent in the larger museums - but I would find out in advance and reserve them - and be sure there are elevators to get them to upper floors. Am sure this is possible in Vatican museums - but not sure about other places.

If you have mobility issues -- especially Venice will be a problem. Bridges/steps/uneven pavement everywhere (EVERYWHERE). Add to that you hotel being in Mestre . . . this will be a very difficult part of your trip.

According to Google maps, your Barcelona hotel is near the El Puxtet stop on Line 7 of a suburban metro commuter line that will take you to Plaça Catalunya in the heart of the city. The train actually begins or ends there. The trip takes 15 minutes. The hotel should be able to give you information about fares and schedules.

In Paris, your hotel is estimated by Google maps to be a 5-6 minute walk to Nation Métro station on Line 1 (and RER A). It will get you to the Châtelet station near Notre Dame in 10 minutes.

So there may not be too much difficulty in those cities with easily reaching the sights you want to see.

I hope you have a wonderful and memorable trip with your family. When are you going?

>>In Paris, your hotel is estimated by Google maps to be a 5-6 minute walk to Nation Métro station on Line 1 (and RER A). It will get you to the Châtelet station near Notre Dame in 10 minutes.<<

The Metro in general will be tough. Lots and lots of walking and steps. You may want to study the bus routes -- buses will be much easier if you can't walk far or manage stairs.

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/cartebus.php?lang=uk

I have actually seen a visitor in a wheel chair in Venice (waiting for an elevator in the Doge's palace), and last fall there were ramps on some of the main bridges, but it would be very limiting. I have visited Venice with foot issues and had to two foot the bridges, and while possible it did slow me down a lot.

Last time I was in Venice I stayed out of the center in Sant'Elena (at least it was convenient for the Bienniale), but I would not consider staying in Mestre. Or on the Lido, unless I had kids.

The bus might be easier for you in Paris. Hard to say. We use the bus a lot when we're there but have encountered packed buses here and there. Of course, the Métro is packed sometimes too. If you want to look at both possibilities for getting from your hotel to another place in the city, go to this site and plug in your hotel's address and an address or Métro station near your destination. Then you can choose the means of transport and get the details of the route and the time involved.

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_20527/getting-around/

The 86 bus goes to the Latin Quarter and St.-Germain On its route is Bastille where you could connect to other bus routes to the Eiffel Tower or Opera areas, for example. By using the interactive map janisj gave you a link to, you can easily see the options.

If you have trouble walking or with flights of stairs then the Paris Metro is NOT the way to go. the correspondences (transfers) between different lines are often multiple flights of stairs in different directions and there can be a couple of block of walking. I have no knowledge of elevators - they may be everywhere, although I never noticed one. But would not enter without full information for the stops you wil be using.

Since you are already committed to this trip ( paid for) then I would at least try to make the best of it. And that might mean switching some hotels if that is possible.

For example - the Paris hotel is not in a 'terrible' location for someone with no mobility issues and who is staying a fairly long time. 5 minute walk to Nation Metro + 5 minutes down the stairs and along corridors to the platform + frequently a 10-15 minute wait for a train + 5 minutes walk including up stairs to exit Châtelet station + 5-10 minutes walk (across a bridge and a busy street) to Notre Dame. So figure at least a half hour from your hotel to Notre Dame each way including lots of stairs and walking. Reverse it to get back to the hotel. Is this how you want to spend your time? If I had limited time and energy I'd certainly want to be closer to the things I was going to see. Have you looked at a map and figured out what's on your 'list'? I would do that for each city and then decide if it was worth it to stay in the hotels they are including.

I guess you could figure you saved some money with the groupon so now spend it on better locations. Everything takes longer than you think it will.

I have been offered these hotels in Venice to stay instead of Mestre. Would you recommend that we change to one of these? There will be a charge as shown to select one of these hotels. I did not read back through all of the replies but one of you was kind enough to offer to review for me. I will also review their websites.

Hotel Al Sole- additional $126 for the two nights, but it would be a triple and a double room
Hotel Scandinavia- additional $246 for the three rooms for the two nights
Hotel Carlton Capri- additional $252 for the three rooms for the two nights
Hotel Pausania- additional $447 for all three rooms for the two nights

Thank you for all of your assistance.

Hi Jones37
I looked up the hotels and the reviews are nice. Based on the maps you will have to some walking once you get of the vaporetto, which will include some bridges and stairs.

If stairs are difficult for you it appears that Hotel Al Sole has an elevator, but Hotel Scandanavia does not. I would confirm with hotels whether or not they have elevators and about the possibilty of getting a room on the ground floor or 1st floor (equivalent to 1st and 2nd in the US) if that is your preference.

Also ask for early check-in before you leave. They won't guarantee it, but if it is an advanced request they will try to accommodate you.

I didn't research the other hotels.

Thanks so much for the advice on asking for early check-in. I wondered if that was a good idea. I am ok with walking up stairs. It is more long periods of walking that are difficult. I really appreciate your response.