stay in venice arsenal or st marks
 

I was thinkin of staying at the Hotel Wildner just a few doors away from the Londra Palace but someone said that the crowds and the streetvendors are annoying.
Would I be better off staying nearer to the Arsenal? Are there still plenty of restaurants and bars at this end of the riva degli schiavoni? How far is it by foot? Lots of questions, hope youve all got lots of answers!!

what time of year are you going?
I tend to like to be central, so based on location alone I'd pick the Wildner, but do you have other choices?
The Arsenale area WILL expose you to a less-touristed, more 'real' Venice if that is one of your goals, but if you have only a few days for sightseeing...

<<How far is it by foot?>>

A mile? mile and a quarter? Half the length of Central Park? Not trivial, but not bad either. There are lots of hotels that might offer a middle ground between the hustle of centrally located, versus further down at the Arsenale end.

Consider Dorsoduro or Giudecca?

Best wishes,

Rex

Personally, I also dislike the crowds and street vendors on the Riva degli Schiavoni.

You might want to have a look at La Residenza:

http://www.venicelaresidenza.com/

It's on a quiet campo off the Riva and about 10 minutes walk to Piazza San Marco.

There are a few restaurants in the area, but avoid the one on the calle leading into the campo (unfortunately, I forget its name...); it's not very good and overpriced.

Castello is an interesting part to stay in. You get to see how Venetians live and it is much less congested than San Marco and only a ten minute walk to the San Marco Piazzo.

What time of year?

I'd reconsider Wildner.....it's wonderful to throw open the shutters to that amazing view.......plus Elisabetta is dream....she's very helpful!!!

Thanks for your answers. I'm going with my husband for our anniversary in March and I really want to stay somewhere with a view of St Marks Basin, hence the Wildner. I think we'd prefer the more venetian side rather than the touristy bit. Are the water buses frequent to get us back up the grand canal?

The vaporetti that go up and down the Grand Canal are very frequent, but one ride costs 5 Euro (with a time limit of, I think, 90 minutes).

Depending upon the length of your stay in Venice, I would suggest that you buy a one-day (24 hours; e.g., from 9:30 a.m. one day to 9:30 a.m. the next day) or a three-day (72 hours) pass. As far as I recall, the one-day pass costs 10.50 Euro; the three-day 22 Euro. (Each pass is, of course, only valid for one person.)

We stayed at La Residenza many years ago and since have stayed at the Metrople... which is near by... several times. We like the area. If you want a view you'll have to put up with the noise from the Riva. Of course, a room in back would have all the advantages of the area w/o the noise. Other than arrival and departure we've walked everyplace in the area and to San Marco. From San Marco you might want to take vaporetti to various places...depending on your stamina. I think Arsenale might be just a little far if want to wander around at nite.
(PS.. And I agree about that restaurant on the calle leading to La Residenza. 20 years ago it was very nice. But our last stop was really the pits.
Staying in Castello puts one close to Corte Sconta, our favorite restaurant... or Al Covo which gets lots of raves on this board.)

Thankyou everyone, don't want to compromise view for noise, it's more just being hassled by streetvendors etc. Had a few bad experiences last year in Paris, wont take no for an answer, grabbed by daughter etc. How are the streetvendors in Venice?? Do they hassle you?

Thanks for restaurant tips. I'm going to try and find them, should be fun.

jesse

In my experience in Venice, and I've been there many times, the street vendors are not aggressive. I have certainly never been grabbed or even touched by one.

"Not taking no for an answer" is a bit more difficult to judge. Yes, sometimes they will continue to call after you after you have walked by, but just continue walking and they'll give up. This presupposes, of course, that you never indicated the slightest interest in their wares. If you did stop to look, they may be a bit more persistent, but there's still nothing to stop you from walking away.