Florence and Venice questions
 

Globespan just bumped our return flight to 3 days later so we now have 3 more days to explore. Of course, this means we are going over budget so I need to find cheap but not gross places to stay. We are considering going to Florence and/or Venice with our extra time. Problem is I don't know anything about these places. Where should we stay and do you have any places you could recommend. When looking at a map of Venice it looks like everything is so spread out and far apart. If we go we really just plan to walk a lot and take in the sights but I don't want to spean a ton of money on transport which it looks like is easy to do in Venice.

Venice is really quite small. If you want to take the vaporettos, get a 72-hour pass, which you can also use for bus transport outside of Venice.

Take a look at these sites:
www.hostelworld.com
www.hostelbookers.com (despite the name, these two sites have more than hostels)
www.hotelscombined.com (looks at several hotel sites and finds the cheapest price for any given hotel)
www.kayak.com (also an aggregator)
www.cross-pollinate.com (cheap rentals and B&Bs)

The first thing you need to know is that Florence and Venice (especially) are not cheap destinations. That said, they are easily walked.

What time of year is this? Both cities can be quite hot and humid in summer months. And jam-packed.

Almost always, the cheapest thing to do is to stay put. Where is the rest of your trip?

We will be coming from Rome and then going to London. So we could either just stay in Rome longer and then head to London or we could go to Florence and/or Venice then to London. Is there a particular area in both that you would recommend staying in that would allow us to walk most of the time? (and still have somewhat inexpensive accomodation).

As Will Travel said, Venice is quite small and the historic area of Firenze is quite small. There are lots of recommendations on this website and others for hotels in all price ranges.

The Santa Croce area of Florence has some nice and less expensive accommodations.

And yes, there are a lot of recommendations for both cities on this board.

Venice is my favorite place on the planet, so that gets my vote. Small - very easy to cover on foot. I was 6 months out from major reconstruction on my right foot and did just fine. I recommend the Locanda Ca' Le Vele for lodging. www.locandalevele.com On a side canal, it's a bargain for Venice. Starting at 70 euros in low season (which this isn't.) Located near the Ca D'Oro, a major vaporetto stop. The two hoteliers have fantstic suggestions for places to eat, areas to explore, and neat little bits of history. Had the best pizza EVER on the North side of the city but could never find it again. St Mark's is astounding. Best time to go is on a sunny day, when the interior (gold mosaic) glows from within.

We've visited Venice 4 or 5 times, and rarely ride the vaporetto, just to get to the train station. So you could easily just walk everywhere and not spend a dime on public transportation in Venice. Same with Florence, though I will say there are few better places in the world to walk than Venice.

We just returned from Venice. What a fabulous city! It is very walkable with lots of places to explore. I also recommend buying the vaporetto pass. We started our stay by walking to the Piazza de Roma (close to our hotel) and catching the #1 vaporetto at the beginning of the route. We sat on the outside of the boat and watched the fantastic scenery as we traveled down the Grand Canal. We got off at Piazza San Marco and walked back to our hotel getting lost a million times (maps are useless in Venice). I also recommend taking the boat to Murano and to Burano - probably the most picturesque place I've ever seen. Venice is unbelievable! Don't miss it!

If you are in Rome, you could go to Orvieto, which can be a pretty cheap destination.

How many days will you be in Rome? Perhaps staying put would be your best. I also like WillTravel's suggestion of visiting Orvieto.

I just returned from Florence where I found a gem of a hotel facing the gorgeous church Santa Maria della Novella. The Hotel Universo at $90/night double, breakfast included, we had a great room with huge balcony. Walking distance to the Firenze SMN Main train station, the best however, is having this amazing church be the first Florence sight when you step out and before going to bed.

I have stayed at these 2 places in Venice and
these 2 places in Florence.

http://anticocapon.altervista.org
and
http://www.knowital.com/veneto/venic...partment1.html

***
www.sanlorenzohotel.it
and
www.albergoconcordia.it

In Venice it is fun to have ombre e cicchetti.
http://tiny.cc/EBAFz
We liked Cantina de Mori near Rialto.

IMO...
Venice deserves all the time you can give her.
Seeing David is a MUST.

Check out these places in Venice. Both are well located and rooms are fine.

www.locandacorrer.com

http://www.hoteldianavenice.com/

Byrd

Oh gosh, my husband and I had pretty much decided to try to cancel these original flights as staying 3 extra days was going to be too costly with hotels and transportation between cities. But after reading your posts about Venice I am left wondering if I can live with missing it. We've never been to Europe and I'm not sure how many years it will be before we make it back....oh it's so hard to decide.

Nicbur, You should NOT miss Venice!

Buon Viaggio!

Just go to Venice.

Venice is definitely walkable and we found that eating wasn't all that expensive, especially if you find a hotel with breakfast included and then have a fairly early dinner. We often ate just two meals a day, snacks in the middle, mostly gelato!
I went with 6 friends and we stayed in the Hotel Abazzia very near the train station. Not one bit of train noise, though there are bells ringing a lot. I can't remember exactly, but in a previous life it was maybe a monastery or housed nuns. The rooms are tiny but the staff is very friendly, it is quiet, lots of places to eat nearby and no more than a 5 minute walk from the train station. Friends stayed there earlier this month and were very satisfied.

Don't miss Venice.

Pizzas in Venice are huge, you can share one easily; we paid a low of 6 euros to a high of 16. Most hover around 9-10 euros. I don't know about hotels, as we stay in apartments, but it looks as if you've got many good suggestions here.

Don't shortchange your Venice experience by staying on the mainland, though, where there are cheaper hotels. You have to wake up in the morning to the sound of the bells in the campaniles, and walk around a fascinating place with no cars and shimmering water.

Be sure to walk in areas like Cannaregio, which is less touristy than St. Mark's Square, also the Zattere on Dorsoduro, which is where we enjoyed the 6 euro pizza overlooking the Giudecca Canal. I agree with the suggestion of taking at least one ride on the #1 vaporetto to experience the Grand Canal. You can start at Piazzale Roma, near the train station, and go to Giardini or St. Elena for I think 6 euros, get off and walk around. You can walk everywhere, and you always get lost, but not seriously.

I think you should go to Venice. It is tiny - you can walk from one end to the other - the railway station to San Elena at the western end - in about an hour and a half. You can eat cheaply - breakfast as the Venetians do, which is a coffee and a croissant. It will cost you about 3 Euro each. Venice CAN be expensive, but it does not have to be. The ferry trip down the Grand Canal, at about 6 Euro, is the same cost as a ride at an amusement park - but a rather more fine experience.

A drink at a bar - a spritz - will cost you about 2 Euro, and in the evening there is often free finger food. The Arancina (the décor is orange), calle Foscari, Dorsoduro 5255, just behind the Ca' Foscari, a campus of the University. Happy Hour – Spritz Hour – is from 6:00 to 9:00, when 2 Euro spritzes (Prosecco, soda and a generous slug of Campari, if you like it dry, or Aperol, if you like it sweet) cost only 1.50. Finger food is complimentary, a good place to unwind after doing the Ca' Rezzonico, which is 100 yards away.