This apartment is fabulous and we cannot recommend it highly enough. Clean, spacious, well equipped, light, very quiet and with great views of the canals around. It's on the second floor with steep steps but that only means the views are even better. We travelled in from the airport by water taxi - a great experience. The taxi drops you seconds walk from the apartment, where we were met at the door by Natasha, who is incredibly helpful. Dorsoduro is a wonderful area in Venice, still very central but it felt much less touristy than other districts. It's the student part of town and prices are more reasonable and it just feels a more authentic area. Just around the corner is Caconero, which served some of the best food we had in Venice (it's only open at lunch though). You are only a few minutes from plenty of other bars and restaurants. Also close by is the stop San Basilio (next to which is a small but good supermarket; Conad). You can catch a water bus into the centre, but don't miss out on stopping off on Giudecca island first and then on to St Giorgio Maggiore - where you get the best views of Venice from the campanile.