“Venice is a city that has to be seen to be believed.” – Will McDonough

Here we go again for Venice Italy Part 2! We LOVED Venice when we went in 2023, so of course we had to go back! Here is some information on traveling around Venice and the best places we found to eat!

Transportation

It can definitely be overwhelming trying to figure out how to get around Venice via water taxis. There are no cars or buses, the only way to get around is by walking or by boats. I should also mention that Venice is not stroller or wheelchair friendly because there are so many bridges with stairs that cross the canals and very small walkways. When you first walk out of the train station there will be different little huts for the different boat stops. You can hire a private water taxi but these can be very expensive. It’s very affordable to use the public water taxi but it can be confusing which one you need to get onto. The hotel we stayed at sent us directions and told us which water taxi to take. So make sure to figure out which one you need before you get there. We were able to purchase the tickets at the kiosk and wait for our water taxi. Make sure your tickets are validated. You can check by scanning it at the machines before you get on the water taxi. Once aboard make sure you keep your eye on the stops because it can be difficult to see which stop you are at if you are seated down in the boat.

Places to Eat

Pastas

Our favorite restaurant in all of Venice (so far) is Ristorante Hostaria al Cavallo. Every time we eat here the food is to die for! They have super good carbonara and pastas! We ate here multiple times (both trips) and it’s definitely worth it!

Pastries

When in Venice you MUST visit Pasticceria Rizzardini for all your bakery desires! It is the oldest pastry shop in Venice, established is 1742 and you can tell they focus on making authentic Venetian baked goods. We ate here multiple times (both trips) and can never get enough of how good it is!

Breakfast

We really struggled with breakfast in Italy because we love savory breakfast but Italians love sweet breakfast. We mostly ate breakfast at our hotel but one day we did venture out and got breakfast at Brunch Cafe. It was super busy and we got there at the perfect time. I don’t totally remember what I ordered but it was an avocado toast with a poached egg and fresh squeezed orange juice. It was nice to have a savory breakfast and the ambiance was fun and different inside with Asian fusion vibes.

Food Tour

We have done the Eat Like a Local: 3 Hour Venice Small Group Food Tasting Walking Tour twice now and it is seriously SO much fun! I think it is the highlight of both our trips to Venice. The small group setting makes the experience more intimate. They take you to the most authentic Venetian restaurants, bars, coffee and pastry shops Venice has to offer. You learn SO much about the history of Venice, wine, food and the Venetian culture. Our first stop was to Cantina Do Mori which is the oldest wine bar in all of Venice, dating back to 1462. Along the way we stopped at multiple restaurants and shops to have sandwiches, wines, meats and cheeses before we sat down for our main course at Antica Osteria Ruga Rialto. We had lots of different sea food here and we still dream about how good the food was here! After our main course we continued walking and had some more street foods, pastries, espresso and finally ended with some real gelato. You know it’s real gelato when it is covered, don’t get scammed by getting gelato that is in huge piles with super bright colors. Make sure to book this experience with Savory Italy Tours when you’re in Venice next! Both times I have booked it on TripAdvisor.

Coffee

It is seriously so intimidating to order coffee in Italy. There culture around getting a coffee is not how it is in America. In America we love to go to a coffee shop and lowly sip our coffee (at anytime during the day) and read our book or be on our phones. In Italy it is the complete opposite. They drink their coffee as quick as they can and are on their way. Most places you go you will see people getting their coffee and they just stand at the bar or counter, drink it and then leave. And they only drink coffee in the morning. I ordered this coffee pretty close to 11 and it was so stressful. So good luck getting your coffee!

Pizza

We have had some pretty good pizza in Venice! I’m not sure where Nic ordered this one (with a Hugo Spritz, always) but it was pretty yummy! We got this while we were waiting for our clothes to be washed at the laundry mat.

Produce Stands

There are so many little fruit stands as you walk around Venice. I got these strawberries and they were super yummy and pretty cheap! I would recommend getting out of your comfort zone and getting more local produce when given the chance!

Grocery Stores (COOP)

It is SO affordable to go to the grocery store! As you can see in the picture above we got a bottle of wine, two waters, a huge block of cheese, meat tray and a huge box of crackers for 16.95 euros. We shopped so much more at grocery stores this trip and it saved us so much money! The wine at the grocery store is so cheap and it’s so much better than our wine here!

Truffles

There are so many truffle shops around Venice and you can smell them when you are getting close! It is super affordable to buy truffles there and highly recommended it! We got the truffle salt and a box of different types of truffles and have been using them in so many recipes!

Water

Water bottles are very cheap in Italy. You can get massive bottles for 1 euro or under. But if you don’t want to buy water there are these fountains around Venice that you can refill your water bottle at. There is a button on the side of it that you press and then the water will come out. We knew there were fountains but struggled to find them so we were buying water. Once we figured out where one was by our hotel, we used the fountain.

I hope this was informative and that you will be able to visit some of these places the next time you’re in Venice! Arrivederci!