Luna Hotel Baglioni

ABOVE: A water taxi approaches the private boat landing of the Luna Hotel Baglioni.

Location

The Luna Hotel Baglioni is just to the left (west) of the Piazza San Marco. From the narrow end of the square, walk through one of the arches, turn left, and walk a few meters past the newsstand. The Luna Hotel Baglioni's main entrance is at the end of the Calle dell'Ascension, and it's marked by the red-and-gold striped pilings that you see in the photo above.

The hotel has another entrance on the street behind, the Calle Vallaresso. This street connects to the waterfront promenade that leads to the tourist office and vaporetto platforms.

From the hotel, it's only a short walk to St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Correr museum, historic caffès such as Quadri and Florian, and Venice's most expensive fashion boutiques. If you're one of the many travelers who spend only two or three days in Venice, the Luna Hotel Baglioni's central location is hard to beat.

Transportation

From Venice's Marco Polo Airport, the best way to reach the Luna Hotel Baglioni is via the Alilaguna airport boat. Get off at the San Marco Vallaresso stop, which is just to the left of the former Royal Gardens. Bear left and walk a few steps to the Calle Valaresso; the hotel's back entrance is a short distance down the street.

If you're traveling with heavy luggage or in a group, and if you don't mind paying 80 euros or more for transportation, you can take a water taxi from the airport to the Luna Hotel Baglioni's private boat landing.

From the Venice railroad station, the Piazzale Roma, or the Tronchetto parking garages, you can reach the hotel by water taxi or one of several vaporetti. See my vaporetto routes article for details.

Finally, you can ask the Luna Hotel Baglioni to arrange transportation (in which case the expense will go on your hotel bill). On request, the hotel will arrange for you to be met at the airport, driven to the Piazzale Roma, and transferred to a water taxi. This is somewhat faster than taking a water taxi or the Alilaguna boat from the airport, but it's a less scenic ride.

Next page: Booking online

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.

Photo: Baglioni Hotels.