My husband and I just returned from Venice. I would highly recommend staying in Venice itself. We stayed in the Sant'Elena neighborhood and I would highly recommend it. It is at the eastern tip of Venice and, while within about a 20 minute walk (or three vaporetto stops) away from San Marco, it is much quieter and less touristy.

There are even parks and trees. It is also the only part of Venice where most of the people we met were locals.

There is just one hotel -- the Hotel Sant 'Elena -- and it's extremely nice -- light, airy, large rooms and an outdoor swimming pool (obviously not in use when we were there). If you try to make reservations directly with the hotel, they will quote you 130 Euro as their lowest rate. However, you should be able to get a room for around 70-80 Euros if you go through one of the online hotel reservation services.

There are three restaurants in the area -- a very nice pizzeria and two quite acceptable osterias frequented by the locals. There's also a pharmacy and a fruit and vegetable store.

Landra New York State