How to do Venice on a budget including 86p glasses of wine and avoiding restaurants with waiters by the door
IT is not easy to turn around in Bacareto da Lele – a bar so tiny it doesn’t even have room for tables or chairs.
But I am being beckoned back by the barman to collect a pile of euros he has placed on the counter.
This, it transpires, is my change — which is not something visitors are used to seeing in Venice.
The city, looking much like it does in Canaletto’s 18th century paintings, seems to swallow up money as effectively as it dispenses crimson sunsets and fading grandeur.
And it is now even more costly for daytrippers, who will have to pay the new Venice access fee of €5 to visit the historic centre during peak spring and summer times.
But if you look carefully, the notoriously expensive city can, in fact, be incredibly cheap to eat in.
Just don’t expect any chairs or tables, especially not in Bacareto da Lele, where my small glass of wine costs about 85p and my salami roll under a pound.
In lieu of a seat, I lean against a huge beer barrel outside this bijou bar in the Santa Croce neighbourhood.
I’m less than ten minutes’ walk from the Grand Canal. But here, on a small square near the baroque Tolentini church, the crowd is entirely local.
Many are sipping orange Aperol spritz cocktails at 11am before ducking into the many alleyways, which can render Venice all but unnavigable to first-timers.
The trick to eating cheaply in Venice is to ditch your old-school paper map and use your phone’s navigation app, where you can check for restaurants — and their prices.
You still might take a few wrong turns, as I did before finding Bacarando Corte dell’Orso. It’s a Venetian adventure in itself to creep down the narrow pathways that, eventually, bring you to the door of this “bacari” bar.
This is the Venetian term for an authentic locals joint that serves up cicchetti — the local version of tapas or meze.
I feast on slices of fresh bread, each with different toppings, including sardines and creamed cod.
Pocket-sized portions
You can spend an entire afternoon prowling Venice for bacari joints. Locals love doing a bar hop, seldom setting foot on the main drags that are lined with mediocre restaurants and trinket shops.
One local told me over a spritz, “You must remember, Venice doesn’t care for pizza or ice cream.”
He went on to advise me that to eat well in Venice, I must choose seafood and never dine where waiters are standing by the door, trying to encourage passers-by inside.
Also hidden down Venice’s maze of alleyways is some traditional accommodation (and if you spend the night here, you won’t have to pay the €5 Venice access fee).
Based in a 14th-century building, the Hotel Giorgione has a cosy vibe and a decent price tag at £45pp per night for sizeable room complete with gold-leaf ceiling and chandeliers.
Which bacari serves the best cicchetti seems to be an endless source of debate among Venetians.
My favourite was at Al Portego in the Castello district. The pocket-sized portions of meatballs, stuffed squid, peppers and toasted bread and salmon meant a full sit-down dinner was never needed.
The narrow street outside reverberated with laughter from locals, who have long mastered the art of eating, drinking and chatting without the need for chairs and tables.
Down these tiny lanes, I found a whole new, secret, Venice.
One where history and home-cooking combine, in this watery city, without it feeling like my wallet is leaking.
GO: VENICE
GETTING/STAYING THERE: Three nights’ B&B at the 4H Giorgione Hotel is from £523pp based on two adults sharing and including flights from Gatwick on July 17. See tui.co.uk.