Links in text: Noventa di Piave Outlet, Sutto Caffe, Camelia Bakery,Tronchetto, People mover, Google maps, Bigoi, Fondaco dei Tedeschi, AMO, I Tre Mercanti, Caffe Florian Venezia, Acqua e Mais, Al Timon, Cicchetteria Ai Do Scaini
Venice is the capital of Veneto region. Due to its historical, architectural and gastronomic importance, it’s one of the most visited tourist places on earth. In the summer, residents mostly move out from the city because they feel like living in Disneyland, as the crowds of tourists are enormous. Venice is also known for high restaurant and other prices, but our experience is different, you just need to be careful and not foolishly fallow marketing image, but discover the city yourself and in that case Venice has to offer a lot.
Ljubljana – Venice
The journey from Ljubljana (Slovenia) to Venice takes about 2 hours, depending on the stops for coffee and toilet. On Autogrill Fratta, app. 45 minutes before entering Venice, they used to have excellent coffee, warm croissants and very delicious sandwiches. Unfortunately, the quality of these services has fallen in recent years, so we replaced it with Noventa di Piave Outlet, where are many choices for snacks, but there is also a risk that a short stop can turn into a few hours of shopping. Very good coffee and snacks are in the Sutto Caffe or in the Camelia Bakery boutique. Noventa di Piave is a Designer Outlet, which was very big even before its expansion, but now it's huge and you can easily lose all day there.
Venice
In Venice it’s most convenient to park in the Garage house Tronchetto, where the daily ticket costs 21,00 €. This is the price for more than 5 hours of parking and is most convenient for guests who oversleep in the city. If there are no parking spaces left in the garage, they will open additional parking lots outdoors. You can start saving your money by exploring the city on foot, which most people do. The boat transportation is a bit expensive, especially if the whole family is on this trip. Use People mover if you are tired on the way back, that will save you app. 10 minutes of walking. It's good to use Google maps app, with it you can easily find all the sites mentioned in this blog and many more. Directions written on the houses guide you to main tourist sites, and although the streets look like labyrinth, it's easy to navigate. From Piazzale Roma (starting point) to the San Marco Square is app. 45 minutes walk without breaks, which is impossible for us, because we must immediately stop at the first point where we enjoy in eating bigoi.
Bigoi Venezia
Bigoi are egg-pasta shaped like spaghetti, but they are much thicker and slightly rough on surface, which makes it possible to hold the sauce better. This type of pasta originate from Veneto. The Bigoi store was created as a start-up street food and immediately achieved great success. Bigoi are prepared on spot, they are always fresh, with desired sauce and Parmesan cheese. Prices are from 5-7 €/portion. The food is simple, good and local, which is typical for Italian cuisine.
T Fondaco dei Tedeschi
The next point is the Rialto Bridge, and very close to it, recently renovated beautiful building on the Canal Grande, which opened its doors at the end of 2016. The historical building Fondaco dei Tedeschi from 1228 was built for German merchants (Tedeschi in Italian means Germans). Since then, the building has served to Napoleon, during the Mussolini time and later it was a Post Office, it was also destroyed by a fire twice. In 2009, the Benetton family bought it for the purpose of changing it into a luxury department store. Fondaco dei Tedeschi is much more than just a department store, it’s a beautiful building, where you can find one of the most breath-taking views of the Canal Grande at the top, and that is for free! You just need to book your 15 minutes on the terrace in advance on this link, because there are a lot of visitors and max. 70 people are allowed on the terrace. On the ground floor there is an excellent coffee bar and restaurant AMO, from famous Venetian family, where desserts and coffee are phenomenal and you can also use solid toilet facilities there.
I Tre Mercanti
It’s not far to the San Marco Square, but at this point you can taste the best Tiramisu in Venice in store named I Tre Mercanti. They always have classic and pistachios Tiramisu, other flavors are changed daily, since they have app. 25 different options to offer. Through the kitchen windows you can observe masters at work and for many this is the best Tiramisu in Italy.
In the back streets of Piazza San Marco are countless bars, where you can order Spritz Aperol Veneziano (with olives), cocktail Bellini, coffee and, of course, Cicchetti (small sandwiches with various toppings). They are very proud of Cicchetti and in many places you can see funny writings "Cicchetti no Tapas". In this labyrinth of streets there are countless shops, from food to jewelry, clothes, masks, ... time just flies.
In Piazza San Marco, you will find Caffe Florian Venezia, which is one of the oldest European coffee shops. Venice had first coffee shops in Europe as a result of trading coffee with Turks. It's interesting to see and take some pictures, but there is probably no need to mention that it's a very expensive place, where you will also pay a fee for the music. If you want to afford luxury, this is the right place but the amount on the bill shouldn't put you in the bad mood later!
Acqua e Mais
It's time for another snack and this one you shouldn’t miss, it's the Acqua e Mais sea food near Rialto Bridge. It’s a street food, where they prepare excellent seafood with polenta, typical dish for the Veneto region. If chefs are in good mood, you will eat like in a first-class fish restaurant, and prices are from 5 – 7€/portion. Venice has the largest wholesale seafood market in the Adriatic region, where fishermen, caterers and wholesalers trade with fishes on a daily basis, and that’s why the offer of the seafood here is at top quality. In the morning, you need to visit their food market near the Rialto Bridge, because it’s a gourmet paradise, but closed later in the day.
The Jewish ghetto - the hidden part of Venice and Osteria Al Timon [endif]
The Jewish Quarter is a completely different world, where history is mixed with food and wine. Hidden from the tourist crowds, offers a pleasant and peaceful walk through the once closed area of the city. The Jews were important in the Venetian trade. In the 16th century, the city authorities decided that the Jews should live separately in the world’s first ghetto. Throughout the time the ghetto spread, but today it’s a peaceful area of Venice where are only about 30 Jews still living there. It’s recommended to visit the Osteria Al Timon, where Cicchetti, various meat and fish dishes are excellent. You need a reservation for the table, because they are full in the evening, but you can take your food and drinks outside and eat on the bridge or on the boat near the bar.
Cicchetteria Ai Do Scaini
If you are returning to the car on the other way and you have not visited a Jewish quarter for dinner, there is Bar and Cicchetteria Ai Do Scaini. This is my favorite bar with Cicchetti in Venice. They prepare these little sandwiches so deliciously, that is worth trying them all. We usually find the time and actually try everything they have, with a glass of Prosecco - you can’t possibly want anything else and this is the perfect ending of a beautiful all-day trip in Venice.
