
10x having a coffee in Venice
You see the Venetians going through the streets and alleys early in the morning, on their way to work, or taking the children to school. So am I. Those moments Venice is yours, only occasionaly do you see a lost tourist. Every Venetian, just like everywhere else in Italy, stops in a bar early in the morning to drink a cappuccino, caffè or a caffè macchiato. The coffee one drinks standing at the counter of a bar, remember that when you come here, and you would like to do it the Venetian way. The coffee-drinking ritual lasts five minutes at most. I had to get used to that in the beginning. Catch up, have coffee in one sip, eat a brioche (an Italian sweet version of the French croissant) and then leave.
Venice is Venice and you can drink coffee here in different ways. You can choose to have a coffee in a legendary place, such as Caffè Florian on Piazza San Marco. You’ll have to pay €10 for a coffee, but you are in a place where great writers from the 18th and 19th centuries also drank their coffee. There is even a special guild of Venetian historic coffee bars in Venice. At these coffee bars you will find the Venetian sweets such as Bussolà or Zaeti. For example, one of my favorite coffee shops is Rizzardini, see the picture above, but there are many more. For refined pastry or tarts I go to Marchini Time. Or to the Rosa Salva in the San Marco neighborhood. Or may be you are just looking for the hidden places where you see old men in their 80s drinking their grappa in the morning next to their espresso? Or are you looking for a bar where you can sit for a while, in a warm environment? May be you’re looking for a terrace in the sun, or just out of the sun? What I’m saying is that it’s all here. If you know what you are looking for during your visit to Venice, you are already a lot further.
If you sit down somewhere instead of standing, you usually pay twice as much. On terraces sometimes three times as much. And if you have a coffee on a terrace in St. Mark’s Square, you pay up to ten euros for it. Be aware that if you drink a coffee at the counter inside, you always pay the normal price.
About coffee rules. Here you only drink cappuccino in the morning. After lunch you drink caffè (espresso). For Italians, it’s particularly funny and weird when you order a cappuccino in the afternoon or in the evening, let’s not even talk about after dinner!
Ten special coffee spots:
Pasticceria Rizzardini, old-fashioned coffee shop with Venetian sweets, standing only
Tonolo, where they may be have the best coffee in town. The nicest coffee cups for sure. Standing.
Marchini Time, my favorite one for sweets, tarts and other delights. Standing only.
Rosa Salva, in different places in Venice. Both coffee and sweets recommended.
La Serra, because of the location and the coffee is very good. Both inside and outside in the garden.
The Illy Pavilion, at the Giardini ex-Reali. Both inside and outside. The quality of the coffee is top.
Caffè Rosso, Campo Santa Margherita on their terrace on the square, watching people passing by.
Any bar on the square of San Giacomo dell’Orio, because of the location.
Sullaluna, a coffee on one of the romantic quays of the neigborhood of Cannaregio.
Fondaco dei Tedeschi, beautiful location near Rialto. Excellent coffee in the cafè downstairs.