Feed-back please into staying in the area around Viale Garibaldi in Venice. Some people say Venice is very compact but this seems rather distant or more complicated getting around, on the map I have. Located nice possible apartment but uncertain as to how easy it is to walk/boat to s. Marco, Rialto bridge, etc. Thanks in advance for your input.

Do you mean Viale Garibaldi in Castello or in Mestre?

If Mestre, forget it--that's a different city.

If Castello, yes it is in the eastern part of the old city and would take longer to get to the major sights than staying closer to the center. It would take some time, but it's not especially complicated or difficult.

viamichelin.com estimates a 25 minute walk to P. San Marco (about 1.7 km). But on one of our trips to Venice we stayed near SL station which is even a bit farther from P. San Marco, and we didn't find it at all a problem. We enjoyed walking/exploring through the various side and back streets. And if we got tired, we just stopped for a drink or snack, or we headed to the Grand Canal and hopped a vaporetto.

It depends on your personality and what you're looking for on your vacation--and how much time you have in the city. Some people would not like being so "far" out, others would love it, and others wouldn't care one way or the other.

Venice being compact is not exactly right, because it's not as easy to get around as, say, Florence. The vaporetto (boat bus) may not stop right next to where your hotel is, and heaving bags over the curved bridges and up and down steps and alleys can be a chore, even if you don't actually cover great distances.

A) Travel light - a smallish roll-away fitting the US carry-on measurements, and a little backpack for excursions should be all you need, and even that can be a bit of a pain in Venice.

B) Look for a hotel in the area nearest to the train station, there are some fine places within walking distance (not crossing over the bridge) - addresses like Lista Spagna and thereabouts. The main hub of the vaporetti is outside the station, so if you're in walking distance of the station you're also in walking distance of all the boat lines.

WK

I personally wouldn't stay in that area, but do visit it. There's a nice park there and on via Garibaldi is a wine shop where you can have an empty bottle filled for just a few Euros.

Monica

rose - I found a charming apartment in that area as well (Castello Est) and I'm looking forward to staying there in May (based on the description of the area). However, I prefer to stay in local areas with less tourists. If you want to be in the hub as close as possible to tourist spots it is probably not a good choice. If you can post a link to your apartment you may get more specific feedback. Buon viaggio!

I'd not stay there. It's kind of Venice's working class district (still historic center, though!), which makes it a colourful, unspoiled neighbourhood absolutely worth visiting, but it's simply too far off-hand to have the apartment there (I know, it's a quarter full of rather cheap apartments, but that may be another reason not to stay there - cheap, in Venice, means cheap in every sense). Venice, in general, is compact, true, but this is the one and only quarter where it is NOT! Around there, you can visit only the Arsenal, and for everything else, you have to start out with a long walk, or a water bus ride (which is always extremely slow - the locals don't use the water buses often, since they're simply too slow - just tourists have that much time; the locals go by foot wherever possible) - and when you walk home in the evening, that long walk can be pretty exhausting. Not to mention that you have to leave again for dinner, and walk back again... in the neighbourhood, you won't find an attractive place where to eat! If you cook your own meals, the fish bought at Rialto market won't be fresh anymore till you come back to Viale Garibaldi...
I strongly disagree, too, with taking a hotel near the train station (around Lista di Spagna). That's certainly the worst possibility to live Venice - cheap AND absolutely spoiled by tourism. Compared to this proposal, I'd certainly prefer Viale Garibaldi!!!

I'll agree with franco about the area around the train station. Though we did stay in that area once and it was OK, there are a lot nicer parts of Venice.

Below is one of the links that briefly explains the areas of Venice (from SlowTrav)
http://tinyurl.com/hqu29

This is our simple (tiny) apartment.
http://www.veneziavaniglia.it/pg011.html

Since I'm a newbie to Venice I guess I will learn in May and report back!