💡 The Short Version: For a first visit, stay in San Marco or Castello: the hotels below are 210 to 820 m from St Mark’s Square in a straight line. Dorsoduro and Cannaregio are quieter and 0.6 to 1.6 km away, the Giudecca and the Lido need a boat for every trip, and Mestre is about 10 minutes by train. Danieli reopened on 26 August 2026 as a Four Seasons hotel. The tourist tax is €1 to €5 a night in the centre, for the first five nights. No access fee is in force now. Rooms fill for Carnival (23 January to 9 February 2027). Prices change with the dates, so check yours on Hotels.com. Or book a walk: the City Highlights Walking Tour with a Local Guidead is from €24 for 2 hours.
The areas, compared
Palaces on the Grand Canal in Cannaregio, at the mouth of the Rio dei Santi Apostoli. Photo: Armin Kleiner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Distances are straight lines from the hotels listed below to St Mark’s Square. A walk is longer, because the canals have fewer bridges than the map suggests. The last column counts the 32 English and Italian where-to-stay guides with area headings that name the area in a heading.
| Area | To St Mark’s Square | What it suits | Guides naming it |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marco | 210 to 820 m | The Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and the Mercerie on foot | 23 |
| Castello | 270 to 780 m | The Riva degli Schiavoni and the Arsenale | 21 |
| Cannaregio | 0.66 to 1.58 km | The Ghetto, the Strada Nova and the train station | 23 |
| San Polo and Santa Croce | 0.49 to 1.37 km | The Rialto market and bridge, and Piazzale Roma | 21 and 19 |
| Dorsoduro | 0.57 to 1.29 km | The Accademia, the Zattere and Campo Santa Margherita | 23 |
| The Giudecca | 0.8 to 3.3 km, across water | A quiet island with a boat to the Zattere | 12 |
| The Lido | 3.3 km, across the lagoon | The beach and the Film Festival | 11 |
| Mestre | On the mainland | The train, with the lowest tax rate | 18 |
The hotels
The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com, except the Danieli, Aman Venice, Orient Express Venezia and Airelles Palladio, which link to their own websites. Michelin’s Keys are the guide’s own ratings for hotels, and “Selected” means a hotel is in the guide without a Key. For the hotels within 850 m of the Square, with their distances, see hotels near St Mark’s Square.
San Marco
St Mark’s Square, the Basilica and the Mercerie, the shopping street that joins the Square to the Rialto. San Marco is the lowest ground in the city: water starts to cover the Square at about +80 cm, so read acqua alta in Venice before a stay between October and March. The tickets are in St Mark’s Basilica tickets and Doge’s Palace tickets.
The Gritti Palace
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio 2467 · 82 rooms · two Michelin Keys · about 520 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A 15th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, once the home of Doge Gritti, across the water from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Salute. The seasonal Gritti Terrace has tables at the edge of the canal, and the Gritti Epicurean School runs cooking classes and tastings.
Nolinski Venezia
Calle Larga XXII Marzo 2032 · 43 rooms · two Michelin Keys · about 340 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A five-star hotel in what the hotel calls the former Venetian Stock Exchange, with Art Nouveau and Stile Liberty interiors by Le Coadic Scotto. It has a Library Bar and a spa, and Ferragamo and Armani are its neighbours.
Violino d’Oro
Calle Larga XXII Marzo 2091 · 32 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 300 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A family-owned boutique hotel in which everything, from the Murano glass to the art, is made in Italy. The restaurant and bar, Il Piccolo, serves a modern Venetian menu with an emphasis on vegetarian cooking, according to Michelin.
Corte di Gabriela
Calle degli Avvocati 3836 · 10 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 540 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A refurbished 19th-century building between the Grand Canal, the Square and the Rialto. Breakfast is à la carte, served in the courtyard under a wisteria, and some rooms have balconies over the canals.
Palazzina Grassi
Ramo Grassi 3247 · 25 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 820 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
The hotel says it is the only five-star hotel in Italy designed by Philippe Starck. It stands on the Grand Canal in the quiet San Samuele part of San Marco, beside Palazzo Grassi, with masks on the bedside lamps, a rooftop terrace and a private water-taxi dock.
The St. Regis Venice
San Marco 2159 · 163 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 330 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
Four stately buildings on the Grand Canal that have been a hotel since 1895. Gio’s restaurant opens onto a terrace over the canal, and the Grand Salon has a chandelier by Ai Weiwei.
Splendid Venice
760 Mercerie · 165 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 210 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
An inn has stood on this site since the 16th century. The hotel has a private dock, a glass-roofed courtyard, the Le Maschere restaurant and a rooftop terrace with a view of the Campanile.
Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal
San Marco 1332 · four stars · about 230 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
In Palazzo Dandolo, where the Ridotto gambling rooms opened during Carnival, with an entrance from the water. The Ristorante Grand Canal has a terrace over the canal, and some suites have a terrace with a canal view.
Castello
East of the Square along the Riva degli Schiavoni, then the Arsenale, where the Biennale is held. The Comune’s notice for New Year’s Eve 2025 to 2026 said the midnight fireworks over the Bacino were best seen from the Arsenale vaporetto stop and along the Rive, and were not visible from the Square: see the best time to visit Venice. The Carnival’s programme includes an Arsenale Water Show.
Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel
Riva degli Schiavoni · five stars · 120 rooms and suites, 176 from 2027 · about 270 m from the Square · fourseasons.com
The Danieli reopened on 26 August 2026 after more than three years closed, no longer in Marriott’s Luxury Collection. It occupies three palaces: the 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo, the Casa Nuova and the Danieli Excelsior wing of 1950. Many rooms face the lagoon, the Terrazza Danieli restaurant and bar is on the roof, and the spa is due to open in late 2026.
Hotel Bisanzio
Calle della Pietà 3651 · four stars · about 510 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A 16th-century palazzo that was the home and workshop of the sculptor Alessandro Vittoria, on a calle behind the Riva degli Schiavoni. The suites are in a newer wing round the Ca’ Bollani court, and the loft suites, in a separate small building, sleep up to five on two floors.
Ca’ di Dio
Riva Ca’ di Dio 2181 · 66 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 780 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A house of many centuries in the Arsenale district, looking over the lagoon, round three courtyards. VeRo – Venetian Roots, a Michelin Selected restaurant, is on the premises.
Cannaregio
The Canale di Cannaregio looking towards the lagoon from the Ponte dei Tre Archi. Photo: Didier Descouens, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
North of the Grand Canal, with the Jewish Ghetto, the Strada Nova and Santa Lucia station on its edge. The Carnival Official Dinner Show is at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, which the Carnival’s site puts a 10-minute walk from the station: see Venice Carnival 2027. The Ghetto is in the Jewish Ghetto in Venice.
The Venice Venice Hotel
Cannaregio 5631 · 43 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 660 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
The 13th-century Byzantine-style Palazzo Ca’ da Mosto, on the Grand Canal facing the Rialto Bridge. The interiors are furnished with design pieces and art from modernism to the present, and Venice M’Art is a concept store, café, wine bar and restaurant in one.
Ca’ Sagredo Hotel
Campo Santa Sofia 4198/99 · 42 rooms · about 770 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A 15th-century palace and national monument with a frescoed ballroom and a marble staircase. The L’Alcova restaurant has a terrace over the Grand Canal, and the hotel looks across to the Rialto Market.
Orient Express Venezia
Strada Nova 2292 · 47 rooms and suites · one Michelin Key · about 1.06 km from the Square · orient-express.com
The 15th-century Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, which the hotel says reopened after an eight-year renovation by the architect Aline Asmar d’Amman. It has six signature suites with frescoed vaults, a spa and the Heinz Beck Venezia restaurant.
Hotel Abbazia
Calle Priuli dei Cavalletti, Cannaregio 68 · three stars · about 1.58 km from the Square, 120 m from Santa Lucia station · Hotels.comad
A hotel in the former monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, with a garden. It is 120 m from the station, which suits an early train or a late arrival with luggage.
San Polo and Santa Croce
San Polo has the Rialto market and bridge: see the Rialto Bridge and market. Santa Croce is the sestiere with Piazzale Roma, the bus station and the car parks. The Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco are in San Polo: see Venice’s churches.
Aman Venice
Calle Tiepolo 1364 · 24 rooms · three Michelin Keys · about 610 m from the Square · aman.com
A preserved Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal, Aman’s first city hotel. The best rooms look over the canal, and the spa is in an adjoining building.
H10 Palazzo Canova
Riva del Vin 744 · 61 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 490 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A restored 19th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal a few doors from the Rialto Bridge. There is no spa. La Terrazza on the roof is a bar with a view up and down the canal, and Il Caffè sulla Riva serves breakfast.
Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel
Calle Tron 1961 · 18 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 1.04 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A 16th-century palace in Santa Croce, a few yards from the Grand Canal and secluded. Glam Enrico Bartolini, which holds two Michelin stars, is the hotel’s restaurant: see where to eat in Venice.
Albergo Marin
Santa Croce 670/B · about 1.37 km from the Square, 220 m from Santa Lucia station · Hotels.comad
A family-run hotel a few steps from Santa Lucia and Piazzale Roma, with air-conditioned rooms, a bar and outdoor seating. It is the closest hotel here to the trains and buses.
Dorsoduro
South of the Grand Canal: the Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Salute and the Zattere promenade on the Giudecca Canal. See the best museums in Venice.
SINA Centurion Palace
Dorsoduro 173 · 50 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 570 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A former convent at the mouth of the Grand Canal with a late 19th-century façade. The suites with private balconies over the canal have the best views, and the Salute and the Punta della Dogana are close by.
Charming House DD.724
724 Dorsoduro · seven rooms · Michelin Selected · about 740 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A small guest house down a quiet alley with no sign on the door, near the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Accademia. Breakfast is served in a library of art books.
Ca’ Pisani Hotel
Rio Terrà Foscarini 979/a · 29 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 920 m from the Square · Hotels.comad
A merchant’s house about five centuries old with Futurist interiors of the 1930s and 1940s, a Turkish bath and a rooftop solarium terrace. The gym is off-site.
Nani Mocenigo Palace
Fondamenta Nani 960 · 30 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 1.03 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A 15th-century mansion with a private garden and La Bauta restaurant. Fondamenta Nani is also the street of two bacari, Cantinone Già Schiavi and Osteria Al Squero: see cicchetti and bacari in Venice.
Il Palazzo Experimental
Fondamenta Zattere al Ponte Lungo 1412 · 32 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 1.29 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A design hotel on the Zattere with compact rooms, some looking over the Giudecca Canal. The bar is the Experimental Cocktail Club, and the Adriatica restaurant has a garden.
The Giudecca
The Salute, the Campanile and the Doge’s Palace across the Giudecca Canal, from the Fondamenta Zitelle. Photo: Wolfgang Moroder, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The island across the Giudecca Canal from the Zattere. A boat is part of every trip. The Redentore fireworks, on Saturday 17 July 2027, light the Bacino di San Marco in front of it: see the Festa del Redentore 2027.
Airelles Palladio, Venezia
Fondamenta Zitelle 33 · 17 rooms, 28 suites and a three-bedroom villa · three Michelin Keys · about 810 m from the Square · airelles.com
The first Airelles hotel in Italy, opened in 2026 in the former Bauer Palladio, in 16th-century buildings with gardens that face St Mark’s Square across the water. The spa covers 1,700 square metres, and the restaurants include Villa Frollo by Norbert Niederkofler and Matsuhisa by Nobu.
JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa
Isola delle Rose · 266 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 3.3 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A century-old sanatorium on its own island, reached by boat and redesigned by Matteo Thun. It has a spa, two swimming pools, four restaurants and a cooking academy, according to Michelin.
The Lido
Villa Bianca, a villa of about 1909 on the canal in Via Pietro Zeno on the Lido. Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The barrier island between the lagoon and the Adriatic, served by vaporetto line 1. The Film Festival is held here in early September.
Ausonia Hungaria
Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta 28 · 60 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 3.3 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A hotel behind a Liberty-style façade of 1907, on the main street from the vaporetto stop. It has a spa with an outdoor pool, a private beach and the 28.5 rooftop restaurant and lounge.
Hotel Villa Mabapa
Riviera San Nicolò 16 · four stars · about 3.3 km from the Square · Hotels.comad
A Liberty villa on the lagoon side of the Lido with a garden, a pool and a restaurant. The hotel says guests can arrive by car on the ferry.
Mestre
On the mainland, about 10 minutes by train from Santa Lucia station. Hotels in Mestre pay the lowest tourist-tax rate. The costs are the last train back, which leaves Santa Lucia shortly after midnight with the next at about 05:00, and the time to and from the hotel at each end.
Hotel Plaza
Viale Stazione 36, Mestre · 209 rooms · four stars · Hotels.comad
Opposite Mestre station. The hotel puts the island under 10 minutes away by train and the airport 17 minutes by bus.
Murano
The glass island, 2.9 km from the Square across the water. See Murano, Burano and Torcello.
NH Collection Venezia Murano Villa
Fondamenta Andrea Navagero 29 · 104 rooms · Michelin Selected · Hotels.comad
The former De Majo glass factory, with the original furnace chimney kept at the heart of the building and the Museo del Vetro a few metres up the street. Michelin says a daily shuttle connects it to St Mark’s Square.
Before you book
- The tourist tax. The Comune charges it per person per night for the first five nights. January rates are 30% lower, and children under 10 pay nothing, ages 10 to 16 half.
| Hotel | Historic centre and the Giudecca | The Lido and the other islands | Mestre and the mainland |
|---|---|---|---|
| One star | €1.00 | €0.80 | €0.70 |
| Two stars | €2.00 | €1.60 | €1.40 |
| Three stars | €3.50 | €2.80 | €2.40 |
| Four stars | €4.50 | €3.60 | €3.10 |
| Five stars | €5.00 | €4.50 | €3.50 |
- The access fee. No Venice access fee is in force now and none is fixed for 2027. The 2026 trial ran from 3 April to 26 July: €5 or €10 for day visitors on 60 listed days, with guests staying overnight exempt once registered. See the Venice access fee.
- Dates that fill the city. Carnival runs from 23 January to 9 February 2027 with the Ballo del Doge on 6 February: see Venice Carnival 2027. Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027. The Redentore is on Saturday 17 July 2027 and the Regata Storica on Sunday 5 September 2027: see the Festa del Redentore 2027. The Film Festival is in early September, and the Architecture Biennale runs from 8 May to 21 November 2027: see the Venice Biennale 2027.
- Flooding. Water covers the lowest streets from +80 cm, and raised walkways are laid from 15 September to 30 April for tides up to about +120 cm. Pack waterproof boots for October to March: see acqua alta in Venice.
- Luggage and bridges. Almost every hotel is reached over bridges with steps. For the airport, the station and the vaporetto, see Venice airport to the city and Venice public transport.
For the sights that need booking, see what to book before you go to Venice. To fit them into days, see Venice in one or two days and 3 days in Venice. Where to eat in Venice, cicchetti and bacari and Venice food tours cover the meals, the best time to visit Venice gives the weather by month, and day trips from Venice covers the trips out.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Venice for a first visit?
San Marco or Castello. The hotels listed in San Marco are 210 to 820 m from St Mark's Square in a straight line and those in Castello 270 to 780 m, so the Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Riva degli Schiavoni are on foot. Dorsoduro and Cannaregio are quieter and 0.6 to 1.6 km away.
Is there a tourist tax in Venice?
Yes. The Comune charges it per person per night for the first five nights: in the historic centre €1 in a one-star hotel up to €5 in a five-star, 20% less on the Lido and the islands and 30% less in Mestre. Children under 10 pay nothing and ages 10 to 16 pay half. January rates are 30% lower.
Do I pay the Venice access fee if I stay overnight?
No fee is in force now and none is fixed for 2027. In the 2026 trial, which ran from 3 April to 26 July, guests staying overnight in the municipality were exempt but had to register for an exemption code.
Which Venice hotels hold Michelin Keys?
Michelin gives Three Keys to Aman Venice, Hotel Cipriani and Airelles Palladio, Two Keys to the Gritti Palace and Nolinski Venezia, and One Key to eight hotels, among them Violino d'Oro, Corte di Gabriela, Ca' di Dio, Palazzo Venart, Il Palazzo Experimental and Orient Express Venezia.
Is it cheaper to stay in Mestre?
Mestre is on the mainland, about 10 minutes by train from Santa Lucia station, and its hotels pay the lowest tourist-tax rate. Check your dates on Hotels.com for the price. The last train back to Mestre leaves Santa Lucia shortly after midnight, and the next is at about 05:00.
Which dates fill Venice hotels?
Carnival (23 January to 9 February 2027, with the Ballo del Doge on 6 February), Easter (Sunday 28 March 2027), the 8 December long weekend, the Redentore (Saturday 17 July 2027) and the Regata Storica (Sunday 5 September 2027), as well as the Film Festival in early September.
