Sometime around day three of an apartment stay in Venice, a transformation occurs. The welcoming 'buon giorno' you've been receiving at the neighborhood cheese shops, butchers, and bakeries grows more enthusiastic, with an obvious trace of recognition.

You find yourself in situations the weekend visitor never experiences--buying wine by the jug at a vineria, picking tomatoes out of crates from a greengrocer's boat moored in a canal. The evening routine you've established includes nibbling on cicchetti (appetizers) with uno spritz (Campari, soda, and white wine) at a cantina, before heading home to cook a delicious feast in your kitchen.

Ca' Bernardo (Jorg Brockmann) [enlarge photo] A WEEK IN VENICE . . . MAYBE TWO • Renting an Apartment in Venice • How the Renting Process Works • Prices and Apartment Hunting DECEMBER 2006/JANUARY 2007 ISSUE • Table of Contents • Ambergris Cay, Belize: Beach Bum Central • Renting an Apartment in Venice • 25 Reasons We Love San Antonio • 10 Best Movie Locations • Road Trip: Florida Keys • 40 Best Vacations

The fabled Italian lifestyle you've always envied is suddenly your own. You're even able to navigate the city without getting lost--though that won't stop you from wandering aimlessly every day, just because.

To try the life of a Venetian on for size, all you have to do is rent an apartment in the city. The problem is that the rental process isn't as simple as hailing a gondolier. Here are the pros and cons of the four basic approaches.

International agencies

The main benefit of booking through one of the big international agencies is ease of use. Prices are often listed in U.S. dollars, and you can always pay by credit card, rather than having to arrange bank wire transfers. Most international agencies are based in the U.S. or have representatives there, which means they'll have proven track records and Better Business Bureau ratings, and you won't have to deal with long-distance calls or a language barrier.

The apartments that larger agencies work with are often magnificent: Using Villas International, for example, you can rent a two-bedroom unit in a 14th-century building that was once the vacation home of German writer Goethe. The apartment, known as Palazzo Grevira, is located just 325 yards from Piazza San Marco and was available this past October for $1,490 per week.

The big players handle all sorts of destinations: apartments in Bangkok, ski condos in Aspen, Caribbean villas, Orlando townhouses, London flats, and more. While each company represents thousands of properties around the world, only a handful will be in Venice. We surveyed dozens of agencies, and the two offering more than 20 options in Venice are listed below.

You'll generally find more choices--and often, superior knowledge of the city--at a local agency. Also on the downside: The international agencies tend to be rigid when it comes to bookings, rarely willing to adjust the minimum-stay or other requirements. And prices tend to be higher, on average, than at smaller agencies.

Local agencies

Dimora Veneziana, a Venice-based agency that represents two dozen units in the city, knows that guests arriving past a certain time are unlikely to find any markets or restaurants open in residential neighborhoods. To help late arrivals, the agency outfits apartments with a couple essentials to get them through the night: a bottle of wine and penetta alla siciliana (all you have to do is heat it up). The personal touch is just one reason to book through a local agency.