I am planning a trip to Venice at the end of May 2005. I am a solo female traveller. My first choice of neighborhoods to stay in is Dorsoduro but does anyone have any information about San Polo? What is the atmosphere like? What types of restaurants/shops? Will I be conspicuous eating dinner alone? I've been to Italy a few times before so I have a good grasp of the customs. Just wondering if there was anything specific or different about Venice.

Dorsoduro is where I've stayed twice. Once solo and once traveling with a friend. I love it there, sorry don't know about San Polo. I often travel alone, so eat dinner alone, and didn't feel any different in Venice than other cities.

I've stayed in San Polo and would be comfortable staying there alone. It's not real touristy, yet it's not isolated either. It's a nice area with a local feel, yet is still close to most of the tourist attractions.

Thank you for the responses. Can anyone recommend a hotel or B&B in Dorsoduro or San Polo for around 100 euros or less?

Hotel Galleria, on the Grande Canale, E98 for two, no ensuite - wonderful.

You might want to search for "Dorsoduro" in the search box above. I remember Leslie posting an excellent listing of Dorsoduro accommodations.

Cheers,
Linda

My husband and I stayed at this place last summer (2003). Marco is a lovely man who owns and runs the place. The room was spotlessly clean, bright and sunny, and nicely decorated. Our room had air conditioning, which was a godsend--since last summer was so hot.

http://www.alcampaniel.com/

I recently stayed at La Calcina in Dorsoduro with my husband and his sister. My sister-in-law had a single room with a bathroom there for 80 euros.

We loved the hotel! It is charming and right on a canal. They have a roof garden which you can reserve privately for 2 hours at a time. We found my sister-in-law up there, crying! My husband kidded her for this and she protested -- she told us that if she was walking by the hotel and looked up to see a woman (such as herself) relaxing on the roof terrace overlooking a canal in Venice (where she was) she would be so jealous! She is a wonderful person, and a single, hard-working mother, so it meant a lot to me that she was so happy here. It was a very special place! Very good location, too -- about a 3 minute walk to the Accademia Bridge.

We had a double room (38) with a terrace (and a limited view of the canal) for 125 euros. Room 37 is a single with a terrace -- not sure what the rate is, though.

La Calcina is where I've stayed, twice. As mentioned above, I love this hotel. They do have single rooms with private bathroom, but also I believe there's two that share a bath and are the least expensive.

I've posted before about Ca' della Corte. It's a great, elegant B&B in the neighborhood of Dorsodoro.
http://www.cadellacorte.com/

I agree that Ca' della Corte would be a good choice for a woman traveling alone, but I don't think it would meet the less than €100 limit. If the budget can be made to stretch, the women who work at the reception of this charming B&B are uniformly friendly and helpful. Anyone with difficulty climbing stairs will have a problem here however, as I don't think there are any ground floor rooms.

I second DogMothers suggestion for Al Campaniel. We stayed in the apartment that is attached to the guesthouse and found it to be very comfortable, clean and well located.

The San Toma vaporetto stop is about a block away.

The apartment is very basic but comfortable and Marco is very nice. He speaks English very well.

I think the apartment costs around 70 Euro per night for 2 people. It is a very good value, in my opinion.

Laurie

try for a single at La Calcina. I think it is less than $100euros.