Courtyard garden
by tomhowardBooked on Expedia, but be careful since some of the hotels are not the bargains you immediately think. The cheaper ones are probably located on the Lido, a nearby island with restricting boat times, or the main land, an awkward taxi ride away.
If you're coming here for the first time, sacrifice the budget or quality, and stay in Venice itself. You're closer to all the attractions (obviously), but will also experience the best part of any Venetian holiday, just walking through the streets by day and by night. For those coming in the summer who've been here before, then the Lido is a better choice. Beaches by day, then hop over to Venice for the evening when strangely (???) most of the tourists have disappeared.
Few tourists venture into the residential Cannaregio district as it's pretty much the furthest area from St. Marks. Take my word for it that the trip will be worth it to escape from the crowds in the south of the island. Once we knew the route, we could walk to St. Marks in about 45 mins - and this was always one of the highlights of the day.
