Mestre

Mestre corresponds to the mainland area of Venice , in Italy . Although administratively it is part of Venice, from a traveller's perspective it can be considered to be a distinct area. Officially the name "Mestre" corresponds to only one of the boroughs that forms Venice's mainland, but travellers typically consider Mestre as the entire Venice mainland.

Visitors to Venice are often perplexed to see so many tourists and very few locals, and wonder where do the Venetians do live. In fact, most Venetians, including many who work in Venice lagoon's cafes, restaurants, shops and even gondeliers, live in Venice's mainland, Mestre. For most part, Mestre is a normal, modern Italian city with all the conveniences and problems, but not enough to make it a destination on its own. Due to the cheaper accommodation (especially for hotels with 3 stars and above), cheaper parking facilities, and better access to Marco Polo airport, Mestre is often used as a base to explore Venice.

Whether it is a good idea to stay in Mestre when the intention is to visit central Venice is a matter of taste and convenience. Note that while it's possible to save some money by staying in Mestre instead of Venice, at least some money saved will be rather spent on transportation, public toilets and "sit-in" charges for cafes and snackbars in Venice (a traveller that stays in Venice instead may save money by taking away food and drinks back to his or her hotel instead of sitting in). Besides, due to frequent overcrowding, the San Marco and Rialto areas of Venice are often better explored during early morning or late evening, which will not be possible for those staying in Mestre. Finally, while the buses and trains from Mestre to Venice typically only take from 10 to 20 minutes, one that arrives in Venice still needs to go from either Piazzale Roma or Venezia Santa Lucia station to their final sightseeing spot, which might be either a long walk or an expensive vaporetto ride.

The opposite question is whether it makes sense for someone staying in central Venice to visit Mestre. For someone staying for 3 days or less, probably the answer is no. Those staying longer, however, may enjoy going to Mestre to have a break from tourist crowds, shop and eat at non-inflated prices, go to bars and nightclubs open until late, ride a car or a bicycle, or simple have a feeling of being in a "normal" city with normal people, rather than in a theme park or a "city of vacation homes" which Venice is increasingly turning to.

See

Mestre is a very charming city, with its canal snaking across the center. There are plenty of gorgeous little streets to explore along the way.

Mestre has several sights in the main piazza, Piazza Ferretto. There is a watchtower at the top of the piazza, and be sure to check out Teatro Toniolo, which is a beautiful theater.

• ⊙Duomo di Mestre (Duomo di San Lorenzo Martire), Corte Marin Sanudo, 2.
• ⊙Piazza Ferretto. A typically Italian piazza, with a modern water feature at the center and lots of different eateries with outside seating. It is also full of top end designer stores. 
• ⊙Torre dell'Orologio, Piazza Ferretto. ☎ +39 0412 749062, .Open: Mar-Sab 10:00-12:30 e 16:00-19:30.
• ⊙Chiesa di San Girolamo
• ⊙Chiesa di San Rocco
• ⊙Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie (cultural center), Via Alessandro Poerio, 20, 30174 Venezia VE.
• ⊙Santuario della Madonna della Salute, Via Torre Belfredo, 31, 30174 Venezia VE..

Sleep

Inside the range of 4 km:

• ⊙   Hotel Elite, Venezia, PC V