Thinking of renting an apartment near the Rialto bridge in September - is this a good area for a family or too busy with markets and shops? Sounds like it is close to everything

Well, anywhere in Venice is pretty close to everything. I think if the apartment fits your needs and budget, go for it.

ditto

We stayed in a hotel right near the bridge and I thought it was a good location, although I wouldn't recommend the hotel we stayed at. We were there August 2006. Does the apartment have laundry facilities? We had to go to a laundrette and could only find one. It was quite a walk, although showed us another area of the city.

Jean and ira are right on the mark. However, consider looking for a recent Venice trip report by annhig. She rented an apartment near the Rialto and discusses how she went about it. Since she also describes the immediate vicinity of Rialto, it could be a useful read for you.

I stayed right off the Campo San Bartolomeo, which is maybe 100 meters from the Ponte Rialto.

I was right off on a side street and it was quiet. To the west, you saw a canal and to the west was the Campo.

There was a restaurant right below and it did get a bit noisy around dinner time but it didn't stay open that late and I could close the windows because the apartment had AC and didn't get that hot.

I booked it at venice-holidays.com. They were okay but they only gave you one or two towels for a week and would have charged more.

Meant to add, I got a week Venice Card so I used the vaporetti a lot and the stop is right by the bridge, on both sides.

Not too much of a walk to San Marco. Close to Cannaregio, which has a nice market.

Found you could walk to Dorsoduro easily.