Another Venice one but advice welcome

[tryingsomethingnew]

Hi. Going in August. Yes I know very busy and very hot. But we're going. 4 days.

We are two adults, two young teens.

Where should we stay?
Where should we eat?

Food comes up high on the list of importance so we won't be looking for touristy places.

Never been before so although la I've searched previous posts, I would love recommendations. Some say the Lido, one hotel was near Realto.

Thank you for your never ending advice mumsnetters.

I just took my dd (14). We stayed in the Dorsodurro quarter - lovely and quiet and away from the thronging masses, and close to a lovely little square called Campo San Barnaba - which houses the da Vinci exhibition and is the church where the library scene of Indiana Jones and the last crusade was filmed. Ca'Rezzonico water bus stop is about 3/4 stops from rialto/san Marco on the number 1 line. We stayed in a modest b&b here and found it perfect

Nowhere is cheap, but some places are less expensive than others iyswim! We were very glad to have somewhere quieter to come back to, although I suspect in august everywhere will be busy. The good thing is you can get a water bud to the lido and spend the day on the beach there (you have to pay for all but 2 beaches I think) and you can book a sunlounger at bluemoon beach/swimming pool to get away from the crowds but you'd need to book early/in advance

We have stayed in the area Candy mentions and can agree it is lovely there. Without children that’s definitely the area I would go back to. Have also stayed on the Lido which was great with younger kids as we had pool/beach days but also went over to Venice itself for a couple of days. So depends how much sightseeing versus beach you want to do. If your main objective is sightseeing I wouldn’t see the point of staying on the lido really. Unless you can afford the Excelsior (we couldn’t!) as they have their own private launch point with boats to take you over to Venice!

We always stay at The Hilton Stucky on Guidecca. The main attraction being that it has a lovely rooftop pool which is a godsend to escape to from the throngs and the heat. They run water taxis constantly straight to St. Marco and back. Not a cheap option though.

I second the Dosoduro quarter. Plenty going on and close to everything, but a bit quieter. We loved the Da Vinci museum.

Hotel Serenissima is 5 mins walk from San Marco & v central - it is relatively well priced for how central it is but it is not a huge glamorous hotel - so no restaurant - breakfast quite basic but you are right in the centre . I can see why other posters have made their recommendations , but for 4 days If you are prepared to have dinner out I would look it up & see what you think. I've stayed there twice .

My favourite things in Venice are the Secret Itinerary tour and the tour of the Ghetto - plus a boat trip out to Murano and Burano.

Have just returned from staying in the Dorsoduro area. Lovely quiet air BnB with air conditioning. Close also to the piazza santa margarita which is nice and buzzy in the evenings, but still not crowded. Also not far from the Banksy. Great base.

We also stayed in Dorsoduro, with a 10 and 8 yr old, and would recommend the area. We were in an Airbnb very near the Accademia bridge which meant it was easy to get into the centre. Staying near a vaporetto stop is a good idea.

Restaurants

https://www.tavernasantrovaso.it/ this place was really excellent. Best place we ate at. Best ice cream was just down the road at Gelateria Lo Squero.

Another lovely restaurant, also in Dorsoduro. Nice outside area. https://www.facebook.com/alveciomarangon/

Do take insect repellent, there were mosquitos in May, August will be worse. Make sure you book somewhere with a/c, not everywhere has it.

Vaporetto tickets aren’t cheap (9 euros for a single journey or 25 for an all day pass) so factor those in if you are planning to stay somewhere off the main island eg Lido. Plus of course the time factor.

We went to a classical concert at Chiesa di San Vidal which was a great experience.

Look into boat transfers from the airport, we didn’t use them but wish we had!

The Dorsoduro is great. Pension Accademia is good value for money - fab location.

You can also get some good value places in the eastern bit of Santa Croce and San Polo we’ve found.

Some of our favourite places to eat in Venice:

Osteria al Squero
Bacareto da Lele
Trattoria ai Cugnai dal 1911
La Bitta Venezia
Osteria Ca del Vento