Venice - I'm sure the Gritti Palace and Danieli are wonderful, but if you want to consider a more affordable option, you might look into the Hotel Metropole . We stayed there a few years ago and really liked it. The location is good - close to Piazza San Marco and on the Grand Canal. We had a large room with a nice marble bathroom, and the included breakfast was good. The hotel has a private dock which is convenient if you use a water taxi. Best of all, our room had a large rooftop terrace with a wonderful view. We were there in March and it was too cold to really enjoy it, but in the summer it would have been wonderful. I can't recall exactly but I think we paid 150 - 170 euro for a standard room. It was low season (March) and I think we got very lucky - I have a feeling this room was an upgrade from standard.

Here's Grant on our terrace. The picture doesn't show how large it was or that there was a view to the lagoon in the other direction.

Dena