Our last-minute holiday in
Venice to soak up the last of the summer sun was just what we needed. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and still one of my favourite destinations. It also makes a wonderful
break with kids in tow. While we were there we were lucky to experience the recently launched
Venice ‘Locals’ Four Tour with
The Roman Guy, a company offering unique tour guides throughout Italy. There are currently seven available tours in Venice and we picked the food tour. I’ve been to
Venice several times previously so know the city well but wanted to try something I hadn’t yet experienced. The aim of this particular food tour is to be shown several Venetian food neighbourhoods by a local resident who knows his facts! This was my first Italian food tour and I was excited to see what it was like, especially with two energetic
four year olds on tow!
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| The Roman Guy's Venice tour leader, Giuliano |
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| Delicious cheese 'cichetti' at our first stop |
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| Morning prosecco |
We met in one of the main Venetian squares near to the famous Rialto bridge and found the tour leader, Giuliano, ready to start the tour at 11am. After introductions with the rest of the group (there were 10 of us including our party of 2 adults and 2 children) we walked down one of Venice’s beautiful alley’s and arrived at the first ‘Bacaro’ which is the Venetian description for a ‘small wine bar’. We were given prosecco, probably the earliest I’ve ever drank it in my life followed by delicious ‘Cichetti’ which are small and savoury snacks. We opted for the cheese cichetti, deep friend cheese which tasted so good, along with tuna balls. They were a hit with
Pip, he ate them all!
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| Walking to the gondola crossing |
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| Waiting for the gondola to cross the canal |
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| View from the gondola |
After our morning stop, we ventured about 10-15 minutes on foot to the gondola crossing to take a ride across the Grand Canal. This is one of very few places in Venice that still has a ‘Traghetto’ ride – a short & cheap ride across the canal, perfect for kids! We had been on the same boat
the previous day but it was nice to experience it again and the kids were excited too. On the other side of the canal lies Venice’s famous fish market. Giuliano took us for a stroll around the stalls, describing the history of Venetian fishing. This market has been selling food to Venetians for an astonishing seven centuries! We strolled through the market to our next stop, the second ‘Bacaro’. Now it was time to try a Venetian Spritz, something I had never tried before! I went for the sweet option and it was lovely! It was also nice to experience places we wouldn’t have otherwise visited on this trip. We sat in the sun while eating more snacks and then ventured onto our lunch venue.
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| The famous fish market |
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| View of the canal from the fish market |
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| Venetian Spritz |
We strolled through more of scenic Venice with Giuliano guiding us to a traditional & secluded Venetian restaurant at the end of a beautiful courtyard. The adults opted for the chefs’ special of ravioli and the kids chose pizza & chips. I have never eaten such delicious ravioli in my life! Our meal was accompanied with juice for the kids and ‘ombra’, meaning ‘a small glass of local wine’ for the adults. We tucked in as Giuliano told us more about the Venetian way of life and shared his personal stories about growing up in this amazing city!
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| Our lunch venue |
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| Pizza for the kids! |
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| The most delicious vegetarian ravioli |
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| The lunch venue at the end of this beautiful courtyard |
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| On the food tour |
The last stop and the best part for the kids was of course, the ‘Galaterie’ ice cream parlour to sample the best Venetian gelato in town! I’m not even a big ice-cream fan and even I couldn’t resist two scoops of gelato! The kids had been waiting for this moment and their faces lit up when choosing the flavours. This was Pip’s first ever doubled scooped ice-cream much to his delight!
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| What the kids had been waiting for |
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| Choosing flavours! |
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| The best ice-cream in Venice |
Pip ate everything given to him on this food tour, probably the most food he’s ever eaten in a few hours! And we were completely full too. Overall, this experience was educational, enlightening, friendly and fun! We finished the tour well-fed, happy and filled with so much local knowledge! La dolce vita, indeed! I’d fully recommended it.
Tour Info & Guidance
- The Venice Food Tour starts at 11am and lasts for approximately 2.5 hours.
- Children are welcome on the tour. 2.5 hours was easily doable with two 4 year olds given we were never in one location for too long and there was plenty to keep them amused. They were so well-behaved too!
- Children under 6 who do not consume food/drink do not need to pay. If they are eating, there is a reduced cost for kids. Soft drinks are given to children in replace of alcohol. Children aged 6 and under pay €31 (approximately £27).
- At the time of writing one adult costs €79 (approximately £70). Prices include all food and drink consumed on the tour.
- Discounts are available to youths (7-17 year olds) and students (18-25 year olds).
- Wear comfortable shoes for the tour!
- Contact the Roman Guy for any specific food requests or a possible intolerance. Half of our group were vegetarians, the other half pescatarian and they catered for us perfectly!
The Roman Guy has several other tours in Venice including the family tour for kids, boat and walking tour, Murano & Burano, VIP tour and Skip the line tour! The Roman guy also offers varied tours in several other Italian cities including Rome, Florence, the Vatican and Amalfi & Pompeii tours.
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*Many thanks to the tour guide, Giuliano and the Roman Guy for inviting us on the tour. We had a wonderful time! All words and opinions are my own. Read more about our
Venice holiday with kids in tow.
Have you been to Venice? Have you been on a food tour?
I've never been to Venice but it's on my list of places to go. Look at that ice cream! wow!!!! xx
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fabulous tour and Gelato is definitely the best kind of ice-cream. My kids would have been in heaven. Mich x
ReplyDeleteOh my wow! I love the idea of a good tour. I’ve never been to Venice but this is how I want to see it!!
ReplyDeleteAny tour that starts with a glass of prosecco is my kind of tour! That gelato looks unreal too, classic Italy.
ReplyDeleteI took a tour of the Colosseum with The Roman Guy and absolutely loved it! An awesome tour with excellent tour guides. And yes to all of the gelato :)
ReplyDeleteA food tour in Venice! How cool is that! We've never been to Venice (because people keep telling us how crowded it is... haha...) but we'll certainly visit this awesome city one day. And a food tour like this would be quite interesting indeed. Hope we'll have a similar nice guide who would tell us his personal stories about growing up in Venice!
ReplyDeleteYour entire post, from the food to the views, makes me want to go back to Venice! Ugh, it's so unique and I loved the pizza I had there...
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a food tour! Especially in Italy, known for its scrumptious food! Would love to be able to experience an authentic Italian food market! Will definitely have to check into this if I'm ever in Venice!
ReplyDeleteThe Roman Guy tours are so interesting! I met with them in NYC last year. This looks like a fabulous tour, one I would love so much! Venice is on my radar but must take the husband to experience the romance factor. That gelato...
ReplyDeleteI've been dying to visit Italy for its beautiful views but guess I need to go for the awesome food tour too! And €79 doesn't sound too bad at all. Will definitely have to look into this. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis should have a "don't read while hungry" warning! Now all I want is pasta, but I know it won't be as good when I make it :(
ReplyDeleteFantastic another Venice post!!! I have nothing but fond memories of that city. I will never forget coming out that train station and seeing all thew water and canals. I really wish I included a food tour in my itinerary but I was only there for the day. I loved the market and those Venetian Spritz’s look delicious! Ha I think I have a picture of that exact same pinkish/salmon building!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the perfect way to get a'taste'of Venice. All the food looked great and I'm so pleased to hear they cater for vegetarians and pescatarians.
ReplyDeletegood guide
ReplyDelete