Rialto Market & Appetizer Tasting with Wine and Gondola Ride - Semi Private
- Duration: 3 Hours (approx.)
- Product code: PQC1QS
About the Tour:
What We Love About This Tour:
- Visiting stalls at the famed Rialto Market, where locals purchase their seafood, vegetables, fruits and herbs fresh from growers
- Sampling delicious wine and cicchetti—small-plate-specialties—among locals in the bà cari (wine bars) of the Cannereggio district
- Savoring a meal of hand-made pasta at a traditional Venetian trattoria
Tour Itinerary:
Stop 1: Rialto Market
Your first stop will the vibrant hub where Venice's chefs and home cooks have been buying their ingredients for centuries. In the Erberia (vegetable market), you'll wander among heaping piles of tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, melons, and squash; at the Pescheria (fish market), you'll marvel at the diversity of seafood on offer, all fresh-caught—including orata, anchovies, and baby octopus from the Mediterranean; and mantis shrimp, clams, scallops, mussels and crabs of seemingly every possible size and shape.
Stop 2: Wine and Cichetti Tastings
Once you've built up an appetite, you'll next be introduced to one of Venice's most popular eating traditions in Venice: bà cari (wine bars), where an array of small-plate specialties called cichetti accompany small glasses of wine. You'll want to pace yourself, because you'll be stopping into several of these cheery, atmospheric spots to sample dishes like bruschetta, fried meatballs, delicately whipped codfish spread and crisp-fried vegetables. Some bà cari will be near the market, and others in Cannaregio, better known as the Jewish Quarter—which you'll reach after crossing the Grand Canal on a gondola.
Stop 3: Dinner at an Authentic Trattoria
No exploration of Venetian cuisine would be complete without a meal of handmade pasta at a customary trattoria. These casual, family-owned restaurants are all around the city, and the best place to try some of the typical dishes here made with seafood and pasta like risotto or vermicelli al nero di sepia (with squid ink).
What’s Included:
- Wine and cicchetti (small-plate specialties) at traditional neighborhood bà cari
- Pasta and wine at an authentic trattoria
Not Included:
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Gratuities
- Please be sure to arrive at the tour departure point 15 minutes before the starting time. Guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated, and missed tours or tickets will not be refunded.
- Unfortunately, wheelchairs and strollers cannot be accommodated on this tour.
- Guests under 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
- Please note that it may not be possible to accommodate special dietary restrictions on this tour.
- Good walking shoes. This tour may include stairs and bridges.