Can you even imagine a journey to Venice without thinking of its delicious food and wine? Apart from its landmarks, the legendary Serenissima is a place to immerse yourself in Italy’s culinary culture. Despite the tourist traps, there’s a great variety of eateries and local dishes in Venice, and tasting them adds a supplementary layer of experience. The best food tours in Venice should promise exactly that: to uncover delicious dishes, famous wines, and good times.
While Venice might not be as famous as other Italian cities for its culinary scene—as Siena is for its Chianti wine or Bologna for its food—the truth is that it can offer travelers a complete food experience. After writing extensively on this blog about my trip to the City of Bridges and how I made the most of it, writing about food and wine tours in Venice came naturally. Therefore, in this article, you will find my handpicked selection of Venice food tours with info about their duration and prices.
Let’s start.
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The best food tours in Venice, Italy
Although you can find the typical Italian dishes (like pasta or tiramisu) in Venice, the food tours below are centered around the city’s local cuisine and daily life. The goal is to offer a variety of walking tours that include several stops in local eateries and an adequate amount of sightseeing. Each of these tours will expose you to the secrets of Venetian cuisine and give you insights into how daily life unfolds.
Due to mass tourism, we often forget that there are Venetians who enjoy life in the city. And I must tell you that I found the Venetians to be among the friendliest locals—probably because they want to show that Venice is a real city and not just an open-air museum.
So, anyway, here are my top Venice food and wine tours, including pricing and duration info.
Street Food Tour with a Local Guide and Tastings
This Venice food tour is probably the most highly acclaimed in town. Apart from its attractive price (it starts from 44 euros per person), it’s also one of the best ways to see famous and lesser-known spots.
The tour departs from the San Marco district, and the first stop is, of course, the famous Rialto Bridge. Just around the corner, you will stop at the Rialto Market, a colorful open-air market with fruits, vegetables, and fish. From there, you will continue to San Polo to admire the Basilica dei Frari and, afterward, continue toward Campo San Bartolomeo, a local hangout spot. Despite it seeming like a short route, on the way, you’ll taste local delicacies, like regional cheese and buranelli biscuits. Of course, you will taste tiramisù, and that’s important because it was first made in Venice.
However, in my opinion, the most deserving part of this food tour is tasting cicchetti. Cicchetti is a snack or small side dish usually served in a bar (called bàcari). No food tour in Venice is complete without tasting those tapas-like snacks that come with different toppings!
The tour ends at Campo Santa Margherita in Dorsoduro. If that’s your first time in Venice, that’s hands down one of the best tours to join.
Duration: 2,5 hours
Price: from 44 euros per person
How to book: Book here the street food tour with a local guide.
Venice food tasting tour with Cicchetti and wine
Although slightly pricier than the previous one, this food-tasting tour in Venice raises the bar of expectations. It’s a great alternative and offers a wider variety of sightseeing, so consider it if you have limited time in town.
The tour starts from Campo Giacomo, and the guide will walk you through three Venetian districts. Although the guide might often implement new places or change the route, what is for sure is that you’ll participate in 15 different tastings in 6-8 bars. Apparently, that’s a pretty packed food itinerary in Venice, but it deserves the effort. Glasses of regional wine are included, and seasonal food makes this tour stand out.
Additionally, you will hear background stories and info about the dishes to get a deeper understanding of the area’s rhythms and traditions. Narratives are a cornerstone element of Italian life and couldn’t be missing from one of the finest food-and-walking tours in town.
Duration: 3 hours
Price: from 86 euros per person
How to book: Book here the Cicchetti and wine tour
An evening in Venice with a local
In this article, I promised to focus exclusively on local experiences. I know that no one loves faceless experiences (myself included), so this Venice food tour is all about spending an evening with a local, hopping from bar to bar, and enjoying delicious drinks.
The guide will await you at Campo dei Tolentini, and from there, you’ll start a walk on the side streets of Dorsoduro. There’s a strong focus on wine tasting, but you’ll also savor local dishes and cicchetti -and the portions will be enough to replace a meal. The first drink will be -obviously!- a prosecco, but the real perk here is the Venetian Spritz. Unlike its counterparts, the Venetian Spritz doesn’t contain Aperol or Campari: it is much older, has a more balanced taste, and uses local ingredients.
Local cicchetti delicacies will also land on your table, including lesser-known dishes like baccalà or mantecato. At the final stop, you’ll also have dessert and grappa. Simply put, this food tour offers a meal in three acts and lots of sightseeing in between.
Duration:3 hours
Price: from 109 euros per person
How to book: Book here the evening with a local
Italian Prosecco or Venice Red Wine Experience
While the previous tours offered a balanced ratio between eating and drinking, this tour is all about drinking. Here, you will immerse yourself in the prosecco or Venice wine tradition -and you’ll have a sommelier with more than 20 years of experience to guide you. It’s one of the best-selling tours in Venice, so make sure to book your place in advance.
The (sparkling or non-sparkling) wine tasting takes place in a local Venetian wine bar that is hard to discover on your own. Enjoying real Italian prosecco or local red wines is often hard to find in Venice, so that’s your best chance. The sommelier is also responsible for creating the finger food menu to accompany the experience. Throughout the tasting, the sommelier will also share secrets and techniques of regional wine production.
The wine bar is close to Accademia Bridge, arty shops, and iconic museums like the Guggenheim Collection and Dorsoduro Museum Mile. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of Venice, and the guide guarantees an unforgettable time. In brief, here you will enjoy like a local.
Duration: about 1 hour
Price: from 39 euros per person
How to book: Book here the prosecco or red wine experience
Jewish Ghetto and Cannaregio Food and Wine Tour
If you like history, this food and wine tour through the Jewish Ghetto and the Cannaregio district is definitely for you. It offers fascinating insights about the district’s stories and its buildings are truly unique. Just to get an idea, the movie A Merchant in Venice, starring Al Pacino, was filmed in this area.
Canals, gothic churches, stunning bridges, and delicious local food are what this tour is all about. Now, add that you will visit six restaurants and try traditional Italian gelato, and you will have the whole picture. While strolling around the Jewish Ghetto, you’ll also learn the story of synagogues, pass across the Rabbi’s House, and taste Jewish-Venetian dishes and Kosher wine.
Overall, this is a great food tour in Venice and among the most interesting in historical background. While the city is a gem for art and history lovers, this tour will show you a different aspect of Venice -and a different yet very local culinary experience. I highly recommend it if you want to explore the hidden side of Venice and a neighborhood that doesn’t receive that much attention.
Duration: 4 hours
Price: from 119 euros per person
How to book: Book here the Jewish Ghetto food tour
Prosecco Hills Wineries Tour with Tastings and Lunch
Lastly, in case you want to spend time out of Venice and enjoy the region’s beauty, this tour is for you. That’s the only non-walking tour; it’s actually a day trip out of town in one of the most renowned areas of Veneto: the Prosecco Hills.
This small group tour sells out fast due to its popularity and high-quality offerings, and it takes several hours. However, I believe it deserves the time, and it’s reasonably priced for what it offers. The day trip includes a mixture of train and van travel, but you will be accompanied by a friendly couple who knows everything about the region. As the tour’s name suggests, there will be plenty of prosecco on the trip, so be prepared to taste Italy’s sparkling wine.
You will also visit a local Osteria (owned by the tour guides’ family) located in a magnificent spot on the hills, where you can enjoy an aperitivo while overlooking the vineyards. As I wrote in the introduction, although Venice might not be as famous as other regions for its winemaking (like Florence, for example), it produces adequate high-quality wines. Plus, a four-course menu in the Osteria sounds like a fantastic extra.
Before heading back to Venice, you’ll stop at a second winery -so you can enjoy a bit more of the area’s production. That’s a great food and wine tour from Venice, and I recommend it if you have enough days in town. Leaving Venice behind for some hours might feel liberating, especially if you enjoy activities and strolls in nature.
Duration: 7 hours
Price: 179 euros
How to book: Book here the tour of the Prosecco Hills
The best food tours in Venice: Conclusion
As you’ve seen in the previous lines, food is an integral element of Venetian culture and daily rhythms. The locals love spending time in small bars and talking over a glass of wine or prosecco while chewing delicious Cicchetti. The selection of the best food tours in Venice that I shared above had exactly this goal: to help you be part of Venice’s culture and enjoy your time like a local.
Of course, I kept in mind that you, like me, are traveling to Venice and want to make the most of your time. Therefore, sightseeing should also be part of these guided food walks in Venice. As you’ve read, those tours included famous and lesser-known locations around the city: it’s up to you to decide what you’d love to see.
And here’s an extra travel for your trip to Venice: if it’s your first time in Venice or you just have a few days, skip the Prosecco Hills. Although it’s beautiful, it will require almost a day. Choose instead one (or more) of the food and wine tours in Venice and enjoy them. It’s better to see Murano and Burano and explore the overlooked Giudecca (see my guides). For returning visitors or travelers with a week in Venice, the Prosecco Hills is a must-see and a superb experience.
Let me know in the comments if you need more help, and I’ll do my best to share extra information. Also, check out my other Venice articles for planning a fantastic trip to the Serenissima.
More about Venice: Vaporetto guide, How to book a gondola ride, Lido Guide, Where to stay in Venice
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Last Updated on September 19, 2024 by George Pavlopoulos