My husband & I will be spending 4 nights in Venice & 5 nights in Rome. We would prefer to rent a nice appartment; something other than staying in hotels. Not only can we save on the cost of a few meals, but we enjoy shopping where locals do & purchase fresh food of the region to cook. I have checked out a web site called HomeAway but would appreciate any other trusted sites. Some of the things we are wanting in the location:
Places with good reviews. Nice neighborhoods & safe one's. Appartments that are within walking distance of sights (We don't mind walking a little ways.). Places that have markets, cafes, & some resturants close.
Any recommendations?

In Venice:
http://www.rosadivenezia.com/en/index.htm
Perfect for two people. We LOVED the apt. the location, the views, the owner, the person who met us at the train station. Just perfect. It is very popular and books far in advance. If you decide you like it, it's never to early to put down a deposit. Not an agency. It's just a guy who rents his vacation apartment when he's not in Venice.

In Rome:
http://www.sleepinitaly.com/en/show-...id_appartam=81
Perfect, convenient, adorable location. Has TERRACE!
One of many apartments from this huge, well-reviewed agency.
This one is 150€/night. They also have a small studio in the same bldg. for 90€/night if price is the only driving factor in your decision.

A second vote for La Rosa di Venezia.

You may want to look into http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...odistricts.cfm and http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...comodation.cfm, respectively.

Thank you. I'm looking into each of these today. We travel this October to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary!

This past April I stayed at the Minerva Apartment right next to the Pantheon. It was a truly delightful apartment (one flight up) with wonderful french doors overlooking the Pantheon. The bedroom was in back so it was quietly insulated from any noise from the piazza. It was near to EVERYTHING and was a fantastic place to stay!

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/en/show-...id_appartam=70

In Venice I always stay at the Al Ponte Mocenigo. Walter and Sandro always make me feel like family and give me a great deal on my favorite room (Number 5) whic has a balconyon the canal. It is steps from the San Stae vaporetto stop and is easy walking distance from everything!
http://www.alpontemocenigo.com/rooms.htm

You can also look on VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner). You can sort for location and then list in order of price, number of bedrooms, etc. Look for reviews on slowtrav.com as well as TripAdvisor.

We were there in November and like you only rent apts no matter how short the stay. One great new site we have used repeatedly is homeaway.com. We had excellent apts in all the cities we traveled to with them. jk

I have stayed several times at this apartment in Venice which is well located (Dorsoduro) and lovely. It is near Campo Santa Margherita, where there is a fresh produce and fish morning outdoor market. There are also two grocery stores nearby. It is in a nice location for exploring Venice.

http://www.palazzofoscarini.com/pf/en/