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Intrepid Urban Adventures · Cannaregio to Rialto

Cicchetti, wine and a traghetto

A small group walks from Cannaregio along the Strada Nova, crosses the Grand Canal standing in a traghetto, and eats through the family-run bacari around the Rialto Market. Pick it for the full bacaro routine: seven cicchetti, a dessert, four wines and a spritz, explained by a Venetian.

Cicchetti, Wine and Spritz Tour with Traghetto Ride

About this experience

Intrepid's Venice food walk starts at the round church in Campo de la Maddalena, in Cannaregio, at lunch or dinner time. You walk the Strada Nova, then cross the Grand Canal on a traghetto, the standing gondola ferry Venetians use. The listing is honest about it: a three-minute crossing, not a sightseeing ride. On the far side you eat around the Rialto Market, cross back over the bridge, and finish with tiramisu and a sparkling red in Campo San Bortolomio.

The sample menu reads like a bacaro primer: seafood from the market with prosecco, a tramezzino and an ovetto with spritz, baccalà, prawns in saor and a meatball with chardonnay, meat or cheese with red wine. Guests count five stops and say they skipped dinner. The walk is about 2 km at a slow pace, and many guests mention taking business cards and going back to a bar on their own.

The 4.8 from 2,275 reviews is earned, with one blemish worth knowing: in September 2026 a guest waited 20 minutes in the rain and nobody came. Another found the brand names confusing at the meeting point. Save the operator's number from your confirmation, and look for a guide with Intrepid or Urban Adventures branding.

  • Seven cicchetti plus a homemade dessert
  • Four wines and a Venetian spritz
  • A traghetto crossing of the Grand Canal
  • 10 guests at most
  • Family-run bars around the Rialto Market

How the day runs

  1. At the startCampo de la Maddalena

    Meet in front of the Maddalena church in Cannaregio. Lunch and dinner start times.

  2. About 45 minCannaregio and Strada Nova

    Through the residential lanes, with a first stop for food and wine.

  3. 3 minutesTraghetto across the Grand Canal

    Stand up in the gondola ferry like the locals. In bad weather or high water it may not run, and the guide walks you round instead.

  4. About 1 hourBacari by the Rialto Market

    Seafood, saor and cicchetti with wine at family-run bars in San Polo.

  5. Last 30 minRialto Bridge to San Bortolomio

    Over the bridge and a final stop with tiramisu and a sweet red in Campo San Bortolomio.

A guide holding two wooden boards of Venetian cicchettiTwo small glasses of tiramisu-style dessert on a bar counterAn orange Venetian spritz on a marble bar top

What's included

Included

  • Four glasses of wine: white, red, prosecco and a sweet dessert wine
  • A Venetian spritz
  • Seven cicchetti and a homemade dessert
  • Traghetto ride across the Grand Canal
  • Local English-speaking guide

Not included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • A sightseeing gondola ride (the traghetto is a 3-minute crossing)
  • Extra drinks you order yourself

Who it suits

Book it if

  • You want to learn how to order in a bacaro and then do it alone
  • You'd like a meal's worth of food with the wine poured
  • You prefer a group of ten to a group of twenty
  • You're vegetarian, lactose-free or avoid gluten without being coeliac

Skip it if

  • You don't drink: most of the value is in the glasses
  • You expect a real gondola ride: book the Rialto gondola for that
  • You're coeliac or have complex allergies
  • You use a wheelchair or stroller: bridges and narrow bars rule it out

What guests say

★★★★★

We had five stops on this tour. Each stop we had wine and a different style of Venetian food. By the third stop I was stuffed! [...] We all got business cards for each stop so we could go back if we’d like.

Stephanie_M · Aug 2026
★★★★★

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and a great introduction to how to order at the baccaros.

jacqueline_c · Sep 2026
★★★★★

It allowed us to try out items that we probably would not have ordered ourselves, get questions answered on what to do and what not to do, and get great recommendations on where to go post-tour on our own.

Mandie_H · Sep 2026
★★★★★

Olympia was amazing. Even though it was pouring when our tour started, it was still the best experience

mtdfoti · Sep 2026

Tips before you book

  • Treat it as a meal. Guests say there is no need for dinner after the evening slot.
  • Save the operator's phone number before you go. A guest in September 2026 stood in the rain for 20 minutes with no guide.
  • The traghetto is a 3-minute crossing for EUR 2 if you did it alone. Enjoy it, but don't count it as your gondola ride.
  • Tell the operator about diets when you book. Vegetarian, lactose-free and non-coeliac gluten-free can be handled; not every stop can adjust.
  • Ages 6 to 11 pay a child rate; the adult rate starts at 12. It's still mostly a wine tour.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the gondola on the cicchetti tour a real gondola ride?

No. It's a traghetto, the gondola ferry across the Grand Canal, and the listing says the crossing takes about 3 minutes. For a 30-minute ride, see our gondola price guide.

How much food and wine is there?

Seven cicchetti and a homemade dessert, with four glasses of wine (white, red, prosecco and a dessert wine) and a spritz. Guests say it replaces a meal.

Where does it start and finish?

It starts at Campo de la Maddalena in Cannaregio and finishes in Campo San Bortolomio, at the foot of the Rialto Bridge on the San Marco side.

What if the weather is bad or the water is high?

The traghetto may not run in bad weather or acqua alta. The guide then takes an alternative walking route and the rest of the tour carries on as planned.

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Book Cicchetti and wine tour

Seven cicchetti, a dessert, four wines and a spritz, plus a traghetto across the Grand Canal, in a group of ten at most.

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Seven cicchetti, a dessert, four wines and a spritz, plus a traghetto across the Grand Canal, in a group of ten at most.

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