Meet the Guide
The Meeting Point

I arrived at the meeting point just before 17 h—Campo San Bartolomeo, near the Rialto Bridge (But this can change – check you reservation).
Shortly after, our guide appeared with her sign, exactly as described in the booking.

Ana greeted us warmly, with plenty of wit and charm, and quickly organised us into “smaller” groups so that no one got lost. I, along with four other Germans, formed Team Germany, while the rest of the group was from the USA and Australia. I have to say, I was delighted to finally be part of a German team! In my past experience, food tours often seem to be booked mostly by American or Australian tourists. The germans always missed out on that kind of experience. But not this time—hooray!

Once the group was assembled, we headed to a quieter spot—crossing the Rialto Bridge to Campo San Giacomo di Rialto, home to one of Venice’s oldest churches: the Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto.

Ana properly introduced herself, asked a few important questions about allergies, and explained—crucially—where the toilet stop would be. 😉

And then, the tour officially began!

Stop 2
Alla Fonda

Next, we moved on to the Cicchetteria Alla Fonda for more delicious bites.

Ana first explained what a cicchetteria is. Although they open early, around 8 or 9 h, they don’t serve coffee in the traditional sense. It’s a typical Venetian bar, often used for breakfast, but wine is served all day long.

The small glasses of wine, called Ombra, hold a maximum of 0.1 litres. If the glass is smaller, it’s called an Ombretta. Usually, either the white or red house wine is served this way. Ana reassured us that drinking wine in the morning or during the day is no problem—Venice requires so much walking that “the wine evaporates quickly,” and since nobody drives here, it’s all perfectly fine!

The name cicchetteria also comes from the food itself: cicchetti are the traditional Venetian small, topped bread pieces. In Spain, we’d call them pinchos. Cicchetti are the quintessential Venetian snack and are really only found here. Venice isn’t known for pizza, as the lack of proper ovens makes it tricky to bake good pizza—so better enjoy more cicchetti and pasta while you’re here! (For more cicchetterie, see our aperitivo article.)

At Alla Fonda, we tried three savoury snacks:

• Half a boiled egg with anchovies
• Half a fried “bread” filled with ham and mozzarella
• A tramezzino so stuffed it hardly looked like one anymore!

Vegetarian alternatives were always available.

All in all: excellent. I would happily go back here on my own anytime!

Stop 4
Acqua e Mais

The street food shop Acqua e Mais says it all in its name: Water (Acqua) and Corn (Mais). Ana explained that polenta is a light dish, perfect for walking around Venice without feeling sluggish—up and down the bridges…

Here, the polenta is fried until crispy and served with a variety of toppings.

On offer were:

• The cuttlefish we had seen at the Rialto Market
• Meatballs in tomato sauce
• A vegetarian option with aubergine

Options 2 and 3 looked incredibly tempting, but of course, I went for the cuttlefish. Visually, it wasn’t the most appealing, 😉 but I’m glad I tried it—even if it wasn’t the tastiest bite of the tour. Alla Fonda had already won my heart.

Fun fact: If you’ve seen the Netflix series “Somebody Feed Phil,” he also sampled something here!

Stop 6
Gelateria il Doge

This gelateria had already been tested by Susi and featured in our article “The Best Ice Cream in Venice.” Clearly, we know our treats! 😉
By the way, Gelateria il Doge has two locations in Venice.

Here, we were allowed to choose a scoop of ice cream—served either in a cialda (wafer) or a coppetta (cup).

Ana wrapped up the tour at this point and, since we were in a different part of the city from where we started, gave us helpful tips for finding our way back.

The whole group left happy and full!

Thank you, Ana!