San Marco / Calle Larga XXII Marzo

Hotel Flora

★★★★★

Hotel Flora is one of those small Venetian hotels that regulars return to for decades. It occupies a seventeenth-century palazzo at the end of a short lane off Calle Larga XXII Marzo, the broad shopping street that runs west from Piazza San Marco toward La Fenice and the Gritti, so it is just a few minutes on foot from the Basilica and yet set back from the crowds. Family-run, it has around forty rooms, each decorated individually with period furniture, damask fabrics and Murano glass chandeliers, in a style that is classic rather than fashionable. The real treasure is the internal garden, a green, quiet courtyard where breakfast is served in the warmer months and where guests retreat in the afternoon with a book and a drink, a rare luxury in the stone city. Next door stands the Palazzo Contarini Fasan, the small Gothic palace with lacy balconies that tradition calls the House of Desdemona, after Shakespeare's Othello, and the Grand Canal is just beyond. The atmosphere is warm and personal, the kind of place where the staff remember your name and give good advice on restaurants and routes. Rooms vary in size and outlook, as they always do in an old Venetian building, with some opening onto the garden and others onto the lanes, and the smallest are compact, so choose a larger category if you are staying several nights or travelling with a lot of luggage. For a first trip, it puts the whole of the San Marco district on your doorstep, with the Accademia Bridge and Dorsoduro's museums a short walk away.

Location math: from the Flora it is about five minutes to Piazza San Marco, three to La Fenice and ten to the Accademia Bridge, and the Santa Maria del Giglio and San Marco vaporetto stops are close. That makes it ideal for a short break focused on the big sights: you can visit the Basilica and the Doge's Palace at opening time and return to the garden for a break in the heat of the afternoon. Restaurants in the immediate area are expensive and aimed at visitors, so ask the staff for recommendations a little further afield.

What to expect: this is a traditional, family-run hotel rather than a design hotel, and its charms are old-fashioned ones — the garden, the antiques, the personal service and the location. Some rooms are small, there are stairs in parts of the building, and the decor will feel dated to some, but for many guests that is exactly the appeal. Book early for spring and autumn, when it fills with returning guests, and request a garden-facing room for quiet.

Who it suits: first-timers, couples and culture-focused travellers who want to stay in San Marco without paying grand-hotel prices, and anyone who values a quiet garden in the middle of the city. It is less suited to families who need large connecting rooms, and to travellers who prefer contemporary design. Arriving: the nearest vaporetto landings are Santa Maria del Giglio on line 1 and San Marco, and from either it is a few minutes' walk through the lanes; as with most hotels in San Marco, the last stretch is on foot, so pack light or arrange help with luggage. The Gritti Palace's terrace and the Bovolo staircase are within an easy stroll for a drink or a view.