Hotel Santa Chiara

This 4-star hotel is on the Piazzale Roma, near airport ground transportation and the People Mover tram to the Tronchetto parking island. It's a great option if you're in Venice for only a short time and have bulky luggage in tow.

ABOVE: The Hotel Santa Chiara is on the edge of Venice's Piazzale Roma, next to the Grand Canal. (This photo was taken from the Calatrava Bridge, which connects with the railroad station.)

By Durant Imboden

Venice has hundreds of hotels in all categories and price ranges, but only a handful lie directly on the Piazzale Roma (where you'll arrive if you come to Venice by airport bus, land taxi, or the People Mover tram).

These properties are the AC Hotel Venezia by Marriott, two B&Bs named Ca' Doge and Casanova FourRooms, and the Hotel Santa Chiara (shown above), a four-star hotel alongside the Grand Canal.

All of these hotels are justifably popular, but the Hotel Santa Chiara has the most appealing location and a wide selection of rooms (23 superior and standard rooms in a converted 500-year-old monastery, 19 deluxe rooms in a new addition, and 12 rooms in the Residenza Parisi annex 100 meters away).

From the Hotel Santa Chiara, you can easily reach airport ground transportation and the People Mover tram to the Marittima cruise basin and the Tronchetto parking garage without crossing any footbridges.  Just as important, it's only a very short walk to a low stone bridge that will take you across the Grand Canal and into Venice's historic center.

For more information, see:

Booking.com: Hotel Santa Chiara our partner
Europe's No. 1 secure reservations service offers guaranteed lowest rates, free cancellation, reviews by paying guests, and more.

Walking Directions: Hotel Santa Chiara veniceforvisitors.com
Our directions page includes a map that shows the location of the hotel, airport buses, the People Mover station, etc.

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.