Travel Italy - Self-Guided Cicchetti and Prosecco Tour through Venice


Assuming you had a great weekend trip to Venice only a few months back and it would only take you a short flight of an hour and a half to go there … Would you go again? Exactly. I would be mad not to visit again. Last time I had admired all the sights which make Venice what it is. Grand Canal, Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, San Marco Square, Basilica de San Marco. This time around I felt free to do other stuff. You surely know that feeling when you go somewhere for the second time.

Have you been to the buzzing Rialto Market in the San Polo district yet? It is Saturday morning. Locals and tourists are shopping for fresh food; punters relax while chatting and drinking Prosecco and having a bite to eat. There I was, standing on sunny Campo Cesare Battisti. I am at a bar near the market and have a marvellous idea. The square is lined by delicacy stores filled to the rafters with cheese, olive oil and crusty bread. I am enjoying myself thoroughly and simply decide to go on a Prosecco-Bar-Crawl for the day. Why not? It is the weekend, enough reason to celebrate. I try to make every day of my life a celebration though …

I go to a few bars near Rialto Bridge in San Polo and after that to bars in Dorsoduro. The district is easy to reach over the Ponte dell'Accademia, with its Campo Santa Margherita and the Peggy Guggenheim collection. There are amazing views over the water along the way.

Prosecco hails from the Veneto region


Soon it becomes clear that Prosecco runs as freely as all the water surrounding the city. Prosecco hails from the Veneto region, in the northeast of Italy. Valdobbiadene and Conegliano are only a one hour drive from Venice and are the areas known for producing the finest Prosecco. Prosecco is light, (most commonly) bubbly and dry. With every Prosecco I drink, I eat a few Cicchetti or Tramezzini and I am in heaven ...

















Self-Guided Cicchetti and Prosecco Tour through Venice


Bar 1. Al Merca. Rialto 213. San Polo. The extensive choice of yummy cicchetti and the Prosecco served at just the right temperature puts the crowd in a perfect mood, the atmosphere is cheerful.

Bar 2. Bancogiro. Campo San Giacometto, 122, San Polo. You can sit down and marvel at the Canal Grande while drinking a nicely cooled glass of Prosecco. There are fewer people around and you are only a stone throw from Rialto bridge, life couldn't be better.

Bar 3. I have been at this tiny place several times already but cannot remember the name. Try to find it, it is worth it really. Turn left at Max Mara in Rialto on Merceria San Salvador and keep walking, the bar is right on that next corner. Outside there are thousands of tourists. Go inside and stay at the counter. The spinach tramezzini are mouth-watering. Peace.

Bar 4. Bar at Campo Della Carita, opposite the Galleria dell’Accademia, Dorsoduro. Sit down under one of the umbrellas and look at all the tourists searching for the sights in this area.

Bar 5. Café at Guggenheim Collection in Dorsoduro. Also do not forget to browse the collection.

Bar 6. The bar is exactly at Ponte del Formager in Dorsoduro. It is only a short walk from the Guggenheim collection and the Gallerie dell’Accademia. No crowds will make their way here; it is very likely that there are no other tourists at all.

Bar 7. Cantinone Gia' Schiavi. Fondamenta Nani in Dorsoduro. The area the bar is in is just as lovely as all the waiters. The Prosecco is cold and the choice of cicchetti is not too bad … but it is packed. You can stay outside with all the other Prosecco fans, it is fun.

Bar 8. Dorsoduro, Fondamenta Nani, walk a few steps towards the lagoon from Cantinone Gia' Schiavi to the next bar. The Prosecco is cooled nicely and the cicchetti are delicious. They must do everything right, otherwise, this place would not be packed with people carrying rucksacks. If you can’t be around other tourists, don’t go. If you are more open-minded, you will surely love this place.

Bar 9. Bar Do Draghi. Calle di Chiesa at the corner of Campo Santa Margherita. This bar is like a proper local as you would imagine it. The Prosecco is cold and there is a great choice of cicchetti. This really makes a fantastic stop for late at night. Oh, and there is music. This bar is one of these places where you start thinking I can see myself living here … (There is nothing wrong with daydreaming).

Did you know ...?

Did you know that you can’t label Italian sparkling wine Prosecco unless the grapes are grown in the Veneto or the Friuli regions? Have you tried Prosecco in Venice? Where is your favourite place? Looking forward to hear from you.

From Berlin with love