Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and easily the most romantic city in Italy. It is unique in the world, crowded and at the same time relaxing, full of energy, and you will find yourself between busy streets and quiet walks. Don’t think twice, and start your experience by booking our Venice Street Food Tour – Streaty. Your local guide will guide you off the beaten path letting you try the best of the local street food. You will learn a lot of interesting facts while getting orientated around it.
Are you coming from the airport? Take the water taxi or the vaporetto (Alilaguna) straight into Venice for a great first feeling of this floating city.
Challenge your palate. Rialto market and street food exploration
Start your day early by heading to the famous Rialto Market. A visit to the Rialto Market is a “must” when visiting Venice because it is one of the few places where you can get an intimate experience of the city’s daily life, as locals come to buy fresh produce and other ingredients. It is much smaller than it was centuries ago, but it has remained authentic. The market is divided into Pescheria (fresh fish and seafood) and Erberia (fresh fruits and vegetables).Continue by trying some of the very best street food. Stroll around the various bars called Bacari, sampling the cicchetti of the day (a kind of tapas). You can find a wide assortment of crostini (slices of crusty bread topped with local ingredients such as baccala, meats, cheeses, and vegetables), polpette (meatballs), and crispy battered artichokes. Remember, we are the expert in street food so, check this out: Food in Venice – top five bites
New flavors to try in Venice
Moeche: fried lagoon crabs (winter – early spring)
Milza alla veneziana: slice of boiled veal spleen served on a bruschetta
Walk the labyrinth
The coolest and most inspiring thing to do in Venice is to roam around the alleys with no destination. Scary Narrow passages, romantic bridges, sounds of footsteps, this is the scenario you will walk on. If you are a writer you will find inspiration for the bestseller of your life, if you are not…you will probably start writing! Venice is a unique city. Venice in the night is magic. Walk the district of Castello, a residential area where silence and calmness reign. No tourists and no tourist traps but also very few bars and restaurants.
Forget google maps and get lost. Internet connection around the alleys is very bad, so you will get lost anyway. The great thing about Venice is that even if you do go a little off-track, you’ll find a heap of gems as most of the beautiful spots are dotted all across the city
Obviously, if you are in Venice, you have to try the real Spritz, which is white. If you wanna try a rainbow of several spritz drinks, join our Spritz tour!
👉TIP: A lot of guidebooks and tourist blogs tell you all about the awesome gelato you can find in Venice. Why? We don’t know. Of course, Italian gelato is good and on a hot day, it’s refreshing to have one, but what about you stick with a Venetian dessert and try the Tiramisu instead?
Arts, history and views
Venice is a beautiful Italian gem to explore. It’s the kind of city that’s totally unique, with miles of canals, tiny alleys, and a whole heap of history, you’ll be spoilt for choice when deciding on all the best things to do in Venice whilst you’re there.Visit St.Mark’s Basilica
Its interior is completely decorated with golden mosaics. Inside the Basilica are works of immense value such as the Pala d’Oro, which is a table placed on the high altar covered with sacred images in gold and precious stones that encloses the relics of the Evangelist St. Mark, and the Treasure of St. Mark that includes various precious objects from various eras.
The Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
The Doge of Venice was the supreme magistrate and leader of Venice for over 1000 years. Doges were appointed to hold their positions for life. You can tour many elaborate rooms of the palace to learn more about the political and social history of Venice, view brilliant works of art, and see amazing architecture. If you’re interested in unearthing the secrets and history of the Doge’s Palace, you should consider taking the Secret Itineraries Tour. This is the only way to access the otherwise restricted quarters and hidden passageways such as the doges’ private chambers and the torture chambers.
👉TIP: If you are visiting Venice during high season, book your tickets in advance, we recommend the skip the line tickets to save you a lot of time Doge’s Palace
Take a gondola ride
It might seem a bit touristy and pricey thing to do (80 euros for 30 minutes ride, up to 4 people), but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a must-do in Venice. Our advice? Don’t take the gondola that goes to the gran canal (you can still go there with the Vaporetto), but it’s much better and intimate through the amazing canals. Good places to find gondolas in more peaceful and calm surroundings include the Jewish Ghetto in Cannaregio, San Polo, and the Campo San Barnaba area in Dorsoduro.
However, if you feel that the gondola ride doesn’t fit your budget or is simply not worth it, don’t worry. For a much cheaper experience, take a ride on one of the traghetti—large, unadorned gondola ferries that shuttle people from one side of the Grand Canal to the other. There are traghetto stations at eight different points along the Grand Canal where it isn’t easy to cross by bridge. A traghetto ride costs 2 EUR and is a great option if you want to ride a gondola without paying full price.
Watch local artists
Get a glimpse of local life in Venice and peep in on an artist making the Venetian masks
Happy hour
Be sure to stroll along Fondamenta degli Ormesini, home to some of Venice’s best local bars, and restaurants. If you’re here in the evening, you’ll see many locals chilling in the quayside’s sun-soaked bars and canalside restaurants.
Check out how to Avoid Tourist Traps in Venice.
Get inspired
Visit Murano in half day. Take the vaporetto from Fondamenta Nove. It only takes around 20 minutes. Wander around Murano, watch a glass-blowing demonstration, browse the glass stores on the island, pop into Murano’s Duomo, and see the exhibits at the glass museum.
The Basilica dei Frari
The beautifully elegant and majestic basilica is a must-see place in Venice. Make sure to spot the Assumption of the Virgin (by Titian) and see the stunning Choir stalls created by Marco Cozzi.
Take a sunset walk along Fondamenta Zattere
The light in Fondamenta Zattere at Sunset is quite unique. Take a moment for a slow walk and some photo shooting. This place allows you to take a deep breath out of the intricate maze of Venice, it’s a moment to reconnect with the world. Enjoy it.
Visit Burano
Visit BuranoDepart in the morning and take the direct ferry to Burano (from San Zaccaria or Fondamenta Nove it takes 45 minutes). Get fascinated by its myriad colors and colorful houses reflected in the green waters of the canals, its crooked bell tower, its tranquility, and the calm with which the old ladies embroider the original Buranello lace with their tombolo while, among themselves, laughing and chatting in the campi. It feels like being in paradise, with children whizzing free on their bicycles, colorful balconies thanks to the colors of the flowers, and fishermen hoisting freshly caught fish from their typical boats.
👉TIP: guidebooks recommended to visit Murano and Burano on the same day. From a local point of view this is totally silly because, on a hot day of the summer season, you will get stuck in Murano for a while. Beware that the ferries are typically overcrowded and incredibly hot during the summer. Lines for boarding can be extremely long. So, follow our tip and take the direct ferry from Venice.
I believe you are back from Burano by early/middle afternoon and if you’ve got some energy left visit the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection. More than 200 paintings and sculptures from almost every modern art movement of the 20th century are on display here, with particular strengths in Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism.
🚃 WOULD YOU LIKE TO ESCAPE THE CITY?
READ “4 easy and worthy excursions from Venice”
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