A Taste of Venice
Venice, Italy is one of the most beautiful and most interesting cities on earth. Sometimes, though, it is hard to navigate – not only on the streets, around the tourists and tourist trade. Our tour of Venice will approach Venice from another angle – the back streets, the local wine bars and the restaurants where locals eat.
During our week-long tour, we will stay in a shared apartment of high quality. Mornings will begin with a tasty breakfast at a reasonable hour (no 8:00am wake up calls for us, unless you want that!) Every day we will set out on a new adventure, exploring every sestiere (district) with plenty of stops for coffee, wine, and food along the way. The tour is focused on the local food, wine and bar/restaurant scene, but we’ll throw in a visit to a church or two and of course, a visit to the Accademia museum, where centuries of Venetian art is housed.
We’ll spend a day on boats in the Venetian lagoon, accompanied by a gourmet picnic, and another day exploring the fish and vegetable market with a local chef, followed by wine tasting and a lunch of some of the local products we learn of on the tour. We’ll also spend a day on the mainland or – if the thought of getting in a car is unsatisfactory – have another wine tasting conducted by a local sommelier.
Getting back to the food: we will eat and drink like the Venetians do. We’ll hit some wine bars for cichetti, the wonderful little tapas-like snacks all over Venice. We’ll eat in local osterie and pizzerias that are popular with locals as well as travelers and the great thing is, you’ll never have to get out your wallet – unless of course, there is some special bottle of wine you just can’t live without. Wine, of course, will flow freely throughout. Two nights you’ll be on your own, to eat more cichetti, to check out other recommended restaurants, or to stay at the apartment with a book and some cheese and bread. Our final meal will be a multi-course meal cooked by your hosts, with plenty of great, local wines.
The apartment will be stocked with water, wine, and plenty of food 24/7 and your hosts will be on-call for anything you need, even if you need help to the vaporetto at 4:30amon the day of departure.
What’s included:
- Seven nights’ accommodation in a shared apartment of high quality
- Walking tours of the entire city, including many places most tourists never see
- A tour of the famous Rialto fish market with a local chef, wine tasting and lunch
- A five-hour boat tour of the lagoons around Venice, with stops at historical places and a gourmet picnic
- A day trip to the mainland, with visits to other towns in the Veneto
- A visit to the Accademia museum, and several churches
- A gondola ride of back canals (off the tourist route) with wine
- Two (at least) wine and cichetti (bar snacks, like tapas) crawls – eat and drink like the Venetians do
- Relaxing afternoon drinks at several of our favorite wine bars
- Four dinners out, five lunches and seven breakfasts
- One dinner at home, cooked by your hosts
- A well-stocked kitchen with plenty of beverages and snacks available 24/7.
What’s Not Included:
- airfare
- transport to/from Venice
- travel insurance
- and two dinners.
Price per person $2995 based upon double occupancy.
To reserve your spot, e-mail Bookings@GrapeHops.com or mail deposit of $500 to GrapeHops PO Box 893 Milltown NJ 08850.
