Trattoria alla Madonna
What to order: the house fish antipasto, the granseola in its shell or the seafood risotto, and a fry to share
geocalia
Day itinerary · 45.44° N · 12.34° E
A Sunday in Venice, from the Grand Canal to Casanova's cells and the table at Rialto.
Line 1 along the Grand Canal first thing, the secret itineraries of the Doge's Palace, the St Mark's campanile and a fish lunch in a trattoria from 1954 next to Rialto.
Leaving from
Direct flight to Venecia fromBarcelona 2 hBilbao 2 h 15Valencia 2 h 15Alicante 2 h 30Madrid 2 h 30Málaga 3 hSevilla 3 h
Part of VeniceFilm locationsClassic film locations
Add to my trip
Total time8 h
By car0 min each way
Secret itineraries1 h 15 · €40
CampanileLift · €15
WalkingAbout 4 km in the day
DifficultyEasy; narrow stairs in the palace
Best timeAll year
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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1
The Grand Canal on the line 1 vaporetto
Line 1 from Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma to San Zaccaria · €9.50 for the 75-minute ticket
- 5 min on foot
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2
Secret Itineraries of the Doge's Palace
10:00 slot in English · €40 with the museums of the square; booking
- 3 min on foot
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3
St Mark's Campanile and Loggia dei Cavalli
Lift up to the bells · €15; named ticket online
- 15 min on foot
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4
Trattoria alla Madonna
Fish from the Rialto market · €€€; closed on Wednesdays
Calle della Madonna, San Polo 594, Venezia · +39 041 522 3824
Restaurant €€€Book -
Back home
From Rialto, line 1 or on foot to your accommodation
Approximate cost
About €35–60 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
The Grand Canal on the line 1 vaporetto
Getting there from Spain. The plan starts in Venice: you arrive the day before. There are direct flights to Marco Polo airport (VCE) from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Alicante, among other cities; from the airport, the bus or the Alilaguna boat drops you in the city.
This is the Sunday you would spend if you had only one day in Venice and wanted to understand the city, not just see it. It starts on the water, as the palaces were conceived; carries on inside the power of the Republic, with the passages and cells that the normal visit does not show; climbs up to see the lagoon from above and ends seated at a table next to the Rialto market. All on foot and by vaporetto, unhurried and without a car, because in Venice there is no other way.
If you sleep in the city, you save the access fee and you start while the Grand Canal is still empty. If you arrive only for the day and it is one of the dates flagged by the city council, register and pay the €5 before setting out.
The day, hour by hour
8:30 · The Grand Canal on line 1. Board at Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma, the first landing stages, to get a seat outside. Line 1 stops at almost every bank: you pass under the Rialto bridge, opposite Ca' d'Oro and the market, under the Accademia, and come out into the St Mark's basin with the Salute on your right. Get off at San Zaccaria. The 75-minute ticket costs €9.50; if you are going to take more boats, the €25 day pass pays off.
10:00 · The secret itineraries of the Doge's Palace. Five minutes on foot along the Riva degli Schiavoni to the courtyard of the palace. For an hour and a quarter, in a group of 25 at most, you walk through the offices of the secretaries of the Council of Ten, the torture chamber and the Piombi, the cells under the lead roof from which Casanova escaped. It costs €40 and afterwards includes free entry to the rest of the palace and the museums of the square. There is no Spanish-language slot: the 10:00 one is in English. Book in advance and arrive with time to spare; if you are more than a quarter of an hour late, you do not get in.
12:00 · The St Mark's campanile. On leaving, cross the square. The campanile, rebuilt in 1912 after collapsing in 1902, is climbed by lift in about 30 seconds: up top you see the whole city, the Lido and, on a clear day, the Alps. Admission costs €15 and is named; buy it on the basilica's website.
13:30 · Lunch at Trattoria alla Madonna. A quarter of an hour on foot to Rialto along the Mercerie. The trattoria opened in 1954 and buys at the market next door. Order the fish antipasto, with mantis shrimp, baby octopus and sea snails from the lagoon, the seafood risotto or the spider crab in its shell, and a fritto to share. Open on Sunday and closed on Wednesdays.
16:00 · Return. From Rialto, line 1 takes you towards the station or towards St Mark's. If you have time left, stroll through San Polo to Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio.
What if you want to spend less?
Swap the trattoria for the bar of the Cantina Do Spade, a minute away: fried cicchetti and a glass of local wine for a few euros, standing up, as people eat in Venice. If you do not climb the campanile and buy only the vaporetto ticket, the day drops to about €60 per person.
With children and teenagers
The secret itineraries do not admit under-6s, and the stairs are narrow. Teenagers are usually hooked by the cells and Casanova's story. With small children, skip the palace, take the vaporetto, climb the campanile, which is by lift, and in summer spend the afternoon on the Lido beach, on the same line 1. Children under 6 do not pay for the vaporetto.
Time1 h
Change the route
If you prefer to eat standing up and cheaply: fried cicchetti at the bar, a minute from Rialto, open every day:
Cantina Do Spade
In the afternoon, if you still feel like it: standing rowing along the Grand Canal below Rialto with Row Venice, which schedules it on Sundays:
Venetian standing rowing lesson in Cannaregio
From June to September, with children: swap the campanile for a beach afternoon, on the same line 1:
Lido beach by vaporetto
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Cantina Do Spade
What to order: fried cicchetti at the bar with a local wine by the glass; at a table, sarde in saor or bigoli in salsa
Al Covo
What to order: the fish of the day chosen at the market, the bigoli mori in salsa or the paranza fry; if the whole table agrees, the seven-course tasting menu
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Venice
Designed for a Sunday, because Trattoria alla Madonna is closed only on Wednesdays and the English slot of the secret itineraries leaves at 10:00 every day. It works all year except January, when the trattoria closes for holidays.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Book the palace and the campanile
Both with a named ticket and a time.
- 2Board the vaporetto at the first landing stage
At Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma you have more chance of sitting outside.
- 3Book lunch
On a Sunday, the trattoria fills up at midday.
If it rains
The whole plan still works: the vaporetto is covered and the palace and the trattoria are indoors. Leave the campanile for another day if there is fog.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the day cost?
Between €110 and €140 per person with the palace, the campanile and lunch at the trattoria. With cicchetti instead of the trattoria, much less.
Is there a Spanish-language visit of the secret Doge's Palace?
No: the slots are in English, French and Italian.
Can it be done in winter?
Yes. The palace, the campanile and the vaporetto run all year; only the trattoria closes in January.
Do you have to pay the access fee?
Only if you go for the day, without sleeping in the city, on one of the dates flagged by the city council: €5, or €10 if you register late.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/italy/veneto/venice/itineraries/venice-sunday-grand-canal-secret-itineraries-doges-palace
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.