Al Covo is located about 10 minutes away from Piazza San Marco, or four bridges if we’re using Venice’s preferred distance metric. With a bunch of paintings by local artists on the walls, hand-blown Murano glasses on the table, the atmosphere really hits a sweet spot between fine dining and a relaxed family restaurant. Look for soft-shelled crabs and artichoke hearts in early winter, tiny lagoon snails during the summer, and a wine list that highlights bottles from small Italian producers.

There is very little to eat in Venice that is not Venetian. A worthwhile exception is this small spot in Cannaregio that uses all the great local seafood and makes creative Japanese food that isn’t gimmicky, like the sarde e saor that comes with the addition of daikon radish and soy sauce. Order the Variazione di Cicchetti dello chef and enjoy more than a dozen tiny dishes like fermented and pickled vegetables topped with katsuobushi and transparent slices of raw fish and seafood.

If you’re looking to fulfill the cliche of eating at a restaurant that feels like your zia’s cozy living room, look no further than this spot right off the busy Strada Nova. Along with the lace-covered light fixtures and copper pots hanging from the ceiling, there are fantastic heavier dishes like fried meatballs made with shredded slow-cooked beef and the wonderfully firm polenta cicchetti topped with baccalà mantecato.

There’s a lot to love about Il Paradiso Perduto: the big space, the occasional live music, and the generous portions. Order a plate of cicchetti inside and then find a spot to sit or stand next to the canal, or you can book a table and stay for a sit-down meal. Look for the pasta machine in the window cranking out fresh bigoli, which they use in a dish that comes with so much seafood (prawns, scallops, mussels), you can hardly see the pasta.

When you finish your tour of Basilica San Marco, you’re only one bridge away from this cicchetti spot, perfect for a quick snack when you are feeling hungry between meals. Start with the signature small anchovy-topped pizza, anchovy-topped hard-boiled eggs, and a refreshing spritz made with Select. When the weather is nice, there are outside tables in the Campo SS. Filippo e Giacomo, but the inside space that’s lined with empty wine bottles makes for a great place to warm up in the winter.

On the market side of the Rialto Bridge, you’ll see a bunch of tables with views of a Gondola station on the Grand Canal. Choose a seat that belongs to the wine bar Naranzaria, whose name comes from when the building was a citrus warehouse (naranze in Venetian dialect translates to citrus). Most cicchetti in the city focus on seafood, and while this place has some terrific fishy options, they really specialize in meat.

Don’t look for a spritz on the menu at Vino Vero, a Venetian Portuguese spot in Cannaregio. What you will find is an excellent selection of more than 600 natural, biodynamic, and small producer wines, with choices ranging from a glass of skin contact bubbles to an obscure bottle of Sardinian white. When you get hungry, snack on cicchetti like sarde e saor with edible flowers, cured tuna with citrus zest, and gorgonzola with walnuts.

There’s nothing over €2 at Bacareto da Lele. Spritzes and draft beers are cheaper than most cappuccinos, and a glass of red or white wine filled to the brim costs even less. There are great tiny sandwiches filled with prosciutto or salami, but you’ll have to get there before 2pm or they’ll probably be sold out. Go inside to order and then find a spot at one of the repurposed wine barrel tables outside and make friends with your neighbor.

Look for the neon sign that says Rosticceria to find this cafe, deli, and lunch counter near the Rialto Bridge. Point to what looks good among the trays of dishes like grilled seafood and octopus salad, along with salads, tramezzini, and our favorite: the mozzarella in carrozza. They make this breaded and deep-fried grilled cheese sandwich with a few anchovies slid into the middle, and it’s perfect if you’re looking for a quick lunch or an early dinner.

Pizza al taglio outside of Rome is not really a thing, except at Farini. The pizza here has a thick, fluffy crust and comes topped with things like brie and speck or the ingredients to make a classic margherita. Come here for a snack in between museum visits or if you just need a break from all the whipped cod cicchetti. There are four locations in the general vicinity of the Rialto Bridge, but the Aliani shop is the largest with plenty of high-top table seating.

Relax at this independent bookstore cafe in Cannaregio under one of their shaded tables with a slice of homemade crostata and a pot of tea. Switch things up from the usual spritz and order a glass or a bottle of their organic prosecco lunatico that is produced in the nearby hills of Refrontolo. Snack on crostini topped with goat cheese and preserved artichokes, some tiny wine-pickled onions, or one of their many vegetarian and vegan options like hummus and olive pâté with radicchio.

There’s almost always a line at Gelatoteca Suso, but it usually moves pretty quickly. While the gelato flavors change seasonally, some of our favorites have been walnut with caramelized fig, a double caramel and toffee mix, and a dairy-free raspberry and chocolate sorbet. It’s a good place to come if you’re gluten-free or vegan, as they have gluten-free cones and certain flavors made with rice milk. Take your gelato to the nearby Rialto Bridge and watch the sunset.

This cafe on the long stretch in Dorsoduro called Fondamenta delle Zattere is a place to sit down at a table, enjoy the view of the Giudecca Canal, and take your time. The gelato comes in glass flutes, and you should go for the Venetian specialty Gianduiotto: a rectangle of chocolate hazelnut gelato plunged into a cup filled with whipped cream. Add on a spritz if you’re feeling extra luxurious.

Harry’s Bar might be the most famous bar in Venice. Hidden in plain sight behind a nondescript door near Piazza San Marco, getting a drink here is a truly Venetian experience (even if the service is consistently aloof). Sit at one of the lacquered wooden tables or at the marble-topped bar and order a bellini if you’re visiting in the summer—they invented the drink back in 1948. Otherwise, go for a gin martini, some beef carpaccio or a grilled ham and cheese sandwich as a snack.

How many times in your life will you be in Venice? Probably not that many, unless you decide to move here and become a gondolier. That’s all to say you should make time to visit Caffè Florian, which opened in 1720 making it the oldest cafe in Italy. It’s always crowded and expensive, but it’s worth it to sit outside during the summer with a view of the Basilica San Marco, sip on a spritz, and listen to a live orchestra playing “O Mio Babbino Caro” and “As Time Goes By.”

Gran Caffè Quadri is a historic spot in Piazza San Marco underneath the Procuratie Nuove that we like to visit on a cold winter afternoon when there are no orchestras playing outside and no summer surcharges. Find a spot in one of the pastel frescoed rooms and order a signature spritz made with Barbaresco Chinato and tonic water that gets served in a hand-blown Murano glass. There's also a great fine dining restaurant upstairs that has an equally good view of Piazza San Marco.

Burano is definitely the most popular Venetian island, with its rainbow of houses and photogenic fishing boats. To avoid the crowds, do your island hopping at the end of the day and take a late afternoon vaporetto ride and a sunset stroll. You can probably even fit in a spritz somewhere before your dinner reservation at Trattoria da Romano. The signature dish here is the risotto which is served tableside and made with a tiny fish found in the lagoon called go.

There would be no Venice if not for the island of Torcello. Today, the island has less than 20 permanent residents, but in 1935, the owner of Harry’s Bar took over a tavern on the island. He transformed it into Locanda Cipriani, a place everybody from Ernest Hemingway to Princess Diana has visited. You’ll get to eat the freshest fish and cold plates of vitello tonnato in a lush garden where there are plenty of vines and a covered pergola.