Venice "Cicchetti" Tour: Food, Wine, Rialto Market & Gondola Transfer

About the Tour:

Finding authentic, non-touristy cuisine in Venice isn't hard if you know where to look. On this tour, you'll get to learn local secrets: how to buy the finest cooking ingredients, where to sample delicious wines and cichetti (small-plate dishes), and and the best spots for enjoying traditional trattoria specialties like handmade pastas. A local, English-speaking food expert will accompany your journey—from farmers' market to wine bars and restaurants to a short gondola ride across the Grand Canal—ensuring that every stop is delicious.

 
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 bàcari (wine bars) of the Cannereggio district
• Romancing through the Grand Canal onboard one of the famous Gondola's. 

Tour Itinerary:

Stop 1: Wine and Cichetti Tastings

You'll be introduced to one of Venice's most popular eating traditions in Venice: bàcari (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 bàcari 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 2: 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.

What’s Included: 

• Cicchetti (small-plate specialties) and wine at traditional neighborhood bàcari's.
• Authentic Gondola ferry to cross the Grand Canal
• Ancient Palace rooftop terrace access

Not Included:

• Hotel pick-up and drop-off
• Gratuities

Important to Know:

• Minimum of 2 participants required for this tour.  
• 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.
  

Important to Bring:

• Good walking shoes. This tour may include stairs and bridges.