Welcome to this guide that looks at the some of best food tours in Venice, Italy.
One of the best ways to get to know a place is through its food. Venice counts on a millennary culinary heritage and a great choice of delicious dishes worth trying.
The street food is amazing and affordable enough for everybody. Be aware of the several tourist traps while walking around Venetian streets and piazzas. Aim to do some research beforehand, so you know what’s a Venetian food and what’s not!
At the end of the day, why would you eat a Sicilian arancino, if you’re in Venice where your taste buds can indulge in delicious cicchetti or another local delight?
But before we go too deep let’s first take a step back and find out exactly how a food tour in Venice can help you navigate the Venetian food scene… Let’s go!
Food Tours in Venice
In this guide, I would like us to explore what to expect from a food tour in Venice, such as foods that you want to try, food tour price range and extras.
I’ll also give a bunch of good reasons why it’s worth joining a tour with a local guide and finally, share some food tours in Venice you can book in advance.
What to expect from the food in Venice?
The food tours in Venice you can join are mainly focused on tasting authentic Venetian food and street food. You will get the chance to visit some of the bacari and osterie scattered around the historic centre and do some local food tastings.
These tours last around 2 to 3 hours and you can expect to try Venetian cicchetti, regional pasta and risotto dishes, desserts like tiramisù and gelato.
Not only this, but also do wine pairing with the food served and sip the iconic Spritz. Depending on the duration of the tour and inclusions (check if drinks are included) the price for a food tour costs between 50 to 120 euros per person.
Some other things that I recommend that you look out for when choosing a food tour in Venice are to see if extra activities are included such as a visit to the Rialto Market (or similar other attractions) as well as the gondola traghetto ride.
💡 Local tip: I suggest going for a street food tour in the Cannaregio neighbourhood, mainly because there you can find some of the best bacari for cicchetti in Venice.
Is it worth doing a food tour in Venice?
Let’s now dig into a few reasons why it’s worth doing a food tour while in Venice and why a tour can enhance your approach to the Venetian cuisine.
- 1. To learn more about Venice culinary heritage: Venice counts on a rich cuisine and its richness is strictly related to the history of the city and the geographical discoveries that took place over of centuries. Plus, the food tour guide has a deep knowledge of the history of each dish, its origins and curious facts that you probably wouldn’t get to know without her/him.
- 2. Thanks to your local guide you can visit the best places to eat in Venice (generally the bacari and osterie), what to order and understand the quality, seasonality and freshness of the food thanks to his/her advice.
- 3. To experience 360-degree cultural immersion. One of the best ways to delve into Venetian culture is through its food. During a food tour you can discover the significance of cicchetti ritual, or even why Venetians love their Spritz so deeply and the story behind each dish.
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Best Food Tours in Venice
Now that you have a much better idea of why a food tour in Venice can actually turn into the best experience you can have in this city, let’s see what options you have and things that I like about each tour that can help you choose the best option for you.
Food Tasting Tour with Cicchetti Dishes and Wine
This food tasting (with cicchetti dishes and wine tour) starts in Cannaregio, which as I mentioned earlier, I believe is the best neighbourhood for its food hotspots.
To get things started, you’ll stop by a couple of bacari frequented by locals and where you can sample cicchetti and drink some regional wines.
After this first part of the tour, you’ll get a gondola traghetto (the famous 2 euro gondola in Venice!) to cross the Grand Canal and reach the Rialto Market.
This buzzling area of Venice is also one of the best to sample authentic Venetian dishes, fresh seafood dishes and cicchetti.
One of your stops will be a delicatessen shop where you’ll sample some popular Venetian dishes and a bar near Rialto to try the tramezzini. The tour will conclude with a slice of creamy tiramisù!
What I liked about this tour: no food tour is complete with a bacaro tour in Cannaregio! I also like the gondola traghetto ride to get to Rialto.
Eat Like a Local: 3-hour Venice Small-Group Food Tour
If you join this eat like a local food tour, get yourself ready to immerse yourself in the incredible food scene of Venice! In total, there are 8 stops, and your guide will make sure that you feel full enough to skip both breakfast and dinner.
To kick off your day, you’ll have a nice freshly prepared coffee and try freshly made pastries from the Venetian tradition. Get yourself prepared at this point because your exploration of bacari for cicchetti paired with local drinks starts straight after.
During the bacaro tour you’ll do some food tasting of 5-6 fish varieties from the Venetian lagoon, complemented by curious information for their preparation.
You don’t like fish or seafood? No worries, cicchetti with local cured meats, cheeses and vegetables are widely available.
Move to the oldest bar in the area, and encounter places to try signature dishes. Get ready for a sweet end and taste of traditional Venetian biscuits and gelato!
What I liked about this tour: the chance to sample traditional pastries at the beginning and end of the tour and gelato stop!
Street Food Tour with a Local Guide and Tastings
Joining this street food tour with a local guide and tastings along the way, is not only a great way to learn about Venice cuisine but also about its history!
Your foodie guide will take you to the best places for cicchetti in Venice starting from the Rialto market area to Campo Santa Margherita.
Be prepared to walk a lot! Take time to take into the vibrant atmosphere around Rialto and feast your eyes on some the fresh local produce at the market.
Then continue to Campo San Polo, the largest campo in Venice, and visit the majestic Basilica dei Frari before getting to Campo San Bartolomeo.
During the walking tour you will stop several times to taste cicchetti at the bacari but also some locally made biscuits and to top it all off, some homemade tiramisù.
The tour ends in Campo Santa Margherita, in the heart of the artsy Dorsoduro district that I’ll invite you to self-explore.
What I liked about this tour: the historic insight and the fact that the tour ends in a different neighbourhood, giving you the chance to explore it by yourself.
Guided Ghetto Tour by Night, Food Tastings & Spritz
The last food tour in Venice I recommend you join is this guided Ghetto tour by night (with food tastings and Spritz). This tour is you if you’d like to gain more knowledge about this part of Venice whilst sampling cicchetti and pastries along the way!
You’ll start the tour in the heart of the Jewish Ghetto, where your expert guide will share with you its history. Stroll through its narrow calli and hear the story of Jewish Venetian families segregated here for years.
See the synagogues and indulge in traditional cicchetti at local bacari. Not only that, get a good insight into the traditional flavour of the Jewish community and how they perfectly blended with the Venice culinary culture.
This particular tour offers a blend of history, culture, and of course, street food scene in the authentic Cannaregio neighbourhood.
What I liked about this tour: the walking tour of the Jewish Ghetto and that you’ll go to eateries that are mostly frequented only by locals.
Food Tours in Venice
As you can see, food tours in Venice offer an experience where you not only taste (and learn about) Venetian dishes but also about the city, its culture and traditions.
Joining a food tour is a way to delve deeper in the Venetian cuisine. The local guide always shares precious information about Venice and its food scene and you can take a tour even with a limited time to spend in Venice.
Not a fan of guided tours? No problem, you visit my shop and get my neighbourhood bacaro walking maps which feature a list of my favourite bacari in the city!
You can learn more about Venetian street food and other things to try while here too.
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