Hotel Ai Due Fanali

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Directions from the Piazzale Roma

The Piazzale Roma is the main car and bus gateway to Venice's historic center. It's served by airport buses, city buses, land taxis, and automated People Mover trains from the Marittima cruise terminals and the Tronchetto parking garage.

Here are directions for reaching the Hotel Ai Due Fanali from the Piazzale Roma. The walk shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, or 15 if you're a leisurely walker.

Tips:

• These directions below also apply to the four-star Ca' Nigra Lagoon Resort and Hotel Canal Grande, which--like the Ai Due Fanali--are on the Campo San Simeon Grande (a.k.a. the Campo San Simeon Profeta).

• Be sure to see our aerial-photo maps, which show the hotel and its location.

When you arrive at the Piazzale Roma, follow the crowd away from the parking garages toward the Rio Nuovo, a canal beyond several clumps of trees.

Look for this pedestrian path between two rows of news, food, and souvenir stalls. Continue walking toward the low stone footbridge that crosses the canal, and take the bridge to the other side.

After crossing the bridge, you'll see a public park and the four-star Hotel Papadopoli ahead of you. Turn left immediately as you leave the bridge. (Do not continue toward the hotel).

Walk along the fondamenta (the sidewalk that borders the canal), which curves around the Papadopoli Gardens. When you reach the low bridge just beyond the brick wall in the photo above, cross it.

Continue walking on the fondamenta after you've crossed the bridge.

Soon, you'll reach a Burger King (just before the building in the photo), which faces the large Ponte dei Scalzi bridge from the railroad station. Turn right immediately after the Burger King and walk down the narrow pedestrian street.

After walking past several shops and restaurants, you'll see a street going off to your left. Turn left at the corner and keep walking.

In a few seconds, you'll reach a footbridge across a small canal. 

Cross the bridge, which is shorter than it looks in this wide-angle photo.

At the Chiesa di San Simeone Profeta, veer left (like the couple in the photo).

Immediately after passing the church, you'll reach an arcaded passage that leads to the Campo San Simeon Grande. The Hotel Ai Due Fanali's entrance is to the left of the covered passage, just beyond the man in the purple shirt above. 

Note: Another way to reach the Hotel Ai Due Fanali is to cross the modern Ponte di Calatrava bridge from the Piazzale Roma and continue a short distance to the train station. From there, follow our directions from the Venice railroad station.  This won't save you any time, though, and you'll need to cross two large bridges instead of two small ones.

Next page: Aerial-photo maps of the hotel and its location

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.