Fish dishes (Sea Bass in a tomato and herb sauce, above, is one of the speciality dishes of Venice.

It’s only natural that Venice, being an Italian city, will be a culinary delight. Italy and tasty food are synonymous, not so? And since Venice has its own, unique cooking traditions and can claim many dishes as part of its own heritage, foodies will have a wonderful time when visiting the city.

If you want to have a fun time, and you’re a cooking enthusiast we recommend renting an apartment in Venice, arm yourself with a good book on Venetian cooking (see below for some suggestions) before you leave and create your own dishes using local ingredients available at local markets and food outlets (the COOP supermarket near the train station stocks superb Italian cheeses). Add a bottle of red wine from a Tuscan vineyard and you have a feast in the making!

On the other had you may be a person who enjoys the ambiance and experience offered by restaurants renowned for good food. As much as Venice is known as an adventure in taste, it’s also known for overpriced, bad food served by surly waiters. So we highly recommend Café Life Venice: A Guidebook to the Cafés and Bacari of Le Serenissima
that lists a good selection of the best eateries in Venice.

Tip: If you’re not a ‘list’ type of person by prefer to explore and discover, a rule of thumb forgotten by many visitors is that restaurants located in the streets frequented by tourists don’t offer the best value for money. Look for gems along the quiet streets (keep a map handy to stop from getting lost in the dark!) that are frequented by local residents – those offer the most authentic local fare.

Here are a few recipe book ideas to get you started: