Weekend in Venice? Are you crazy? It’s not nearly enough time. You need at least a long weekend so take Friday off work and follow our 3-day itinerary for the best weekend in Venice you can possibly have.
Weekend in Venice – Our 3 Day Itinerary for Food and Wine Lovers
Check in
We prefer to settle into a palazzo on the Grand Canal when we go to Venice (need a reason? Watch this enchanting Venice time-lapse by Terence with music he also created, shot from the window of our last apartment), but with only two nights, you might want to check into a hotel instead.
One of our favourite boutique hotels is the Romanelli family’s Novecento, furnished with Oriental carpets and antique tapestries. For a quintessentially Venetian experience, it’s hard to beat The Metropole, a luxurious centuries-old hotel a stone’s throw from St Mark’s Square. Arrival by water taxi is obligatory.
Friday Lunch
Take a boat to the island of Mazzorbo for a ‘farm to table’ lunch at Michelin-starred Venissa, where the produce comes from the chef’s garden adjoining the restaurant. After, cross the bridge to take a stroll around the neighbouring island of Burano, famous for its candy coloured houses, fine lace and glassmaking.
Friday Afternoon
Browse Venice’s most beautiful boutiques for everything from antique Murano glass to traditional velvet gondonlier slippers and handmade notebooks by bookbinder Paolo Olbi.
Friday Aperitivo
Sip a soave or two at the laidback osterias by the Rialto market, such as Bancogiro or Osteria Vini da Pinto.
Friday Night
Book a table at our favourite Venetian eatery, Antiche Carampane, a family owned restaurant that serves up the finest 100% local seafood in Venice.
Friday Late Night Drinks
Join the locals for late-night beers at laidback bars like Il Caffe, Ai Do Draghi and Margaret Duchamp and on Campo Santa Margharita, which fills with university students.
Saturday
Spend a day Cooking with a Countess. Enrica Rocca kicks off her full day cooking experience at Rialto market and antique shops nearby, where you’ll buy produce before a post-shopping spritz at a local bacari and a stop at wine shop MilleVini, for a lesson in Venetian wines. The day is spent at Enrica’s Dorsoduro home where you’ll sip prosecco and wine while you cook and eat.
Saturday Aperitivo
Learn about local wine on the Wines of Venice and the Veneto wine tasting stroll with sommelier and master cheese tasters Mario Piccinin or his wife Rachel Erdman, which visits enotecas you probably wouldn’t discover on your own.
Saturday Night
Dine on inventive, elegant Venetian cuisine at L’Osteria di Santa Marina. If you’re here in summer, book a table on the square. On cooler evenings, the interior is atmospheric.
Sunday Day
Spend a day on the water aboard a traditional Venetian skiff with marine scientist Luca Zaggia on a Science and Secrets of Venice’s Lagoon tour, which includes a typical picnic lunch with prosecco.
If a whole day tour is too much, opt for social historian Monica Vidoni’s fascinating Venetian Renaissance themed walk, which takes in art and architecture in secret locations and off the beaten track squares.
Sunday Aperitivo
You can’t go to Venice and not have a spritz at elegant Café Florian on San Marco square, or a Bellini at glamorous Harry’s Bar nearby. Sure, they’re touristy but these are historic must-do spots. If you prefer something more low-key and local, go drink a spritz at the secret spot, hidden down an alley, overlooking the Rialto fish market, recommended by Luca, our ‘local knowledge’ Venice expert.
Sunday Evening
Indulge on the 9-course degustation menu at The Met, at the Hotel Metropole, which has a Michelin star for its contemporary take on traditional recipes. After dinner, enjoy a nightcap at the hotel’s atmospheric Oriental Bar, which offers more than 30 iterations of the spritz and a dozen martinis.