Walking in Venice

[ColoTrvlr]

We are cruising out of Venice on NCL's Gem on Oct. 9, but we'll be driving through northern Italy for a few days prior to the cruise, and will arrive in Venice on Oct. 8, staying one night at a hotel, hopefully close to the port. I understand that the rental car will be returned at the Piazzale Roma, which is as far into Venice as a car can go. We are wondering about how doable, practical, and safe it is to walk from P. Roma to our hotel, assuming that we can book a room close by. We'll have our luggage to carry along, but the suitcases have wheels. Are we nuts to consider this? Has anyone done it? We are in our sixties, but have always enjoyed walking. If this isn't the thing to do, what is the best and least expensive way to get to the hotel and then to the port the next day? Also, from the maps we have, it looks like the Basilica San Marco in the Piazza San Marco is not that far away. We'd like to walk there if possible on the morning of Oct. 8 before we board the ship. Any comments?

[euro cruiser]

Venice is a lovely and quite safe place to walk. The difficulty of getting to your hotel from Piazzale Roma will depend on the location, especially on the number of bridges you will need to cross in order to get there.

 

The best idea is to look for a hotel as close to Piazzale Roma as possible, and head out to tour from there. Several have been recommended by CC members, a quick search of this board will turn up the names.

 

Ca' Doge, Palazzo Odoni, and the Best Western Hotel Olimpia have all been mentioned.

[canuck.qc]

We've booked at the 'Hotel Canal Grande' close to Piazalle Roma...take a look.

[partymaker]

We are booked at Hotel Abbazia which is right near the train station and the Piazza. We will be there May 15th. Check out their website

[legaleaglegreen]

We are about 10 years younger than you and walked from P. Roma to a hotel just past the train station without too much trouble. Key is the number of bridges you have to cross and whether they have steps or ramps. Another alternative if your hotel is naer a canal is to take a vaporetto from P. Roma. There is no extra charge for trundling suitcases onto the boat and it's not hard, except maybe at rush hour when the boats are very crowded.

[woodworker&knitter]

We're booked at Ca Doge

[~Fianna]

We are booked at Hotel Abbazia which is right near the train station and the Piazza. We will be there May 15th. Check out their website

 

A bunch of our friends stayed there before our 2008 November Med cruise and it was beautiful.

 

We booked later than they did (for both the cruise and the Venice pre-cruise days) so Abbazia was booked, but we found room at Belle Epoque about 100 meters away. Fantastic hotel. Slightly pricier than the Abbazia, but so nice that we're using them for our pre-cruise Venice stay this November.

 

The restaurant that's right next door to Belle Epoque (sorry that I can remember the name) was also FABULOUS and is a place we're definitely planning on stopping by this year, too.

 

~Fianna

[RachelG]

Walking in Venice is totally safe--it is the main way to get around other than boat. But try to get a hotel near where you drop off your car. The problem, as someone else said, is all the bridges you have to go over. Carrying suitcases up and down for a long ways would not be fun, and not all bridges have ramps.