Hotels in Mestre

Mestre is the mainland half of the Venice municipality, a working modern town across the lagoon that most visitors know as the cheaper place to sleep while sightseeing in the historic centre. Be honest: it has none of Venice's canals or romance, and the area around the station is plain, busy and functional rather than charming, though the old core around Piazza Ferretto has a pleasant, everyday Italian feel with cafés and a proper local market life.

Its real appeal is value and access. Trains from Venezia Mestre reach Venezia Santa Lucia in around ten minutes, and from there the Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco, St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace are a vaporetto ride or a long walk away. The trade-off is that you will commute rather than wake up in Venice, and evenings mean a trip back across the causeway. Stay near Mestre railway station for the fastest, most frequent connections into Venice and easy onward rail travel.