Market · Venice (Veneto)

Rialto Market (Mercato di Rialto)

Venetians have been buying fish and vegetables at the Rialto since 1097, and the clamour of the pescheria and the herbaria stalls at dawn feels reassuringly unchanged. This is where chefs from the city's best bacari arrive before 7 a.m. to argue over spider crabs and violet artichokes from Sant'Erasmo island.

Good to know

Open Tue–Sat 07:00–12:00; the pescheria is closed Sun–Mon. Vaporetto line 1 or 2 to Rialto Mercato stop (not Rialto Bridge) puts you directly at the market entrance.

Good to know

Bring cash — most stalls do not accept cards. A kilo of seasonal vegetables costs €2–4; expect to pay €15–25/kg for premium fish such as moeche or scampi.

Good to know

The best bacaro for a post-market ombra (small glass of wine) and cicchetti is All'Arco, just 50 metres from the erberia at Calle dell'Arco 436 — arrive early as the best crostini sell out by 10 a.m.

The Fish Market (Pescheria)

The neo-Gothic pescheria building, opened in 1907, houses one of Italy's most theatrical fish markets. Expect whole turbot, live mantis shrimp, cuttlefish so fresh they still ink, and the prized moeche — soft-shell crabs unique to the Venetian lagoon, available only in spring and autumn.

Arrive between 7 and 8 a.m. to see the full display before the best catch sells out. By 10 a.m. stalls begin to pack up; the market closes entirely by noon and is shut on Sundays and Mondays.

The Fruit & Vegetable Stalls (Erberia)

Running along the Grand Canal beside the pescheria, the erberia is a riot of colour: pyramids of white asparagus from Bassano del Grappa, radicchio di Treviso, and the knobbled castraure artichokes that appear only in April. Prices are lower than supermarkets and quality is dramatically higher.

Pick up a brown paper bag of mixed cicchetti ingredients — olives, salted anchovies, pickled vegetables — then cross the Rialto Bridge to the Campo San Giacomo di Rialto, where you can sit on the church steps and assemble a perfect impromptu breakfast.