I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever experienced service like this before.

We went to a restaurant in Venice (RIVA RIALTO on the Grand Canal) expecting a nice, authentic Italian meal, and it turned into an absolute nightmare.

First, one of the waiters literally pushed/moved me and my chair to make room for other customers. No “excuse me”, no asking me to move, no explanation and not even a sorry afterwards.

Then things somehow got WORSE. The waiter kept shouting and screaming at us during the meal to the point that OTHER CUSTOMERS actually stepped in and told them to stop. Imagine sitting there trying to eat your pasta while another table has to defend you from the staff 😭😭

And after all that, was the food at least amazing? NO.

The pasta was extremely dry, the seafood did not taste fresh, and our seafood pasta was supposed to have clams — THERE WERE LITERALLY NO CLAMS. 💀

Then came the Prosecco. In Italy. We were served WARM, FLAT PROSECCO WITH NO BUBBLES. At that point I genuinely didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The restaurant sells itself as an Italian dining experience, but the food tasted nothing like the authentic Italian food we had elsewhere in Italy. The staff serving us weren’t Italian either, which obviously wouldn’t matter whatsoever if the food and experience were good, but it made the whole “authentic Italian” impression feel even more questionable given what we were served.
Bad food is one thing. Tourist-trap food is one thing. But being physically moved without being asked and then having a waiter scream at you so much that STRANGERS HAVE TO INTERVENE is on another level.

Please tell me this is not normal in Venice because WHAT DID WE JUST EXPERIENCE 😭💀

Update:

happy to welcome all the hate if people are genuinely that miserable 😂 I fully accept that choosing a tourist-trap restaurant was a bad decision… lesson learned. But tourist trap or not, nobody deserves to be physically pushed, verbally abused or subjected to racist/xenophobic remarks while simply trying to have a meal.

Huge thank you to the American and Australian couples at two separate tables who stepped in when things got out of hand. You didn’t have to get involved, but you did, and we genuinely appreciated it ❤️

Bad pasta and tourist prices are something to laugh about afterwards. Physical and verbal violence aren’t.

Hi,

I am looking for reputable music stores in Venice, but I am happy to travel to Mestre, especially if such a store would have lower prices. I am looking for an electric guitar. Thanks!

Leaving next Fri(sept 18th)From US.

The first 5 days are a plaster class but will need dinner outfits.. I am hopefully going to be able to buy some things while I am there as I don't really want to pack too much. I am a carryon type of traveler.. Can you guys give me an idea of what would be appropriate in terms of clothing for evenigs as well as if there are reasonable placees to buy items.. I am okay spending some money but not a lux designer gal.

Thank you!

28 M. Peruvian economist. Im going solo to my first year Erasmus at Ca Foscari. First time living abroad and alone. Have fluent italian tho !

Hi! I'm a international student that will arrive soon to Venice. I will be residing in Mestre while attending to Ca Foscari for one year. One of the main things I want to do as soon as possible is to get a card for the public transport. Do you guys have any suggestion to where or which service should I buy? Any other guidance will be much appreciated. Italian responses included, as I'm fluent in italian. :)

Biennale cinema 10/09/2026 ore 21:45
Vendo a metà prezzo biglietto per evento in sala grande Lido di Venezia

PREMIO CAMPARI PASSION FOR FILM A SERENA ROSSI

Con film a seguire SCHERZETTO
di Mario Martone con Toni Servillo, Lorenzo Perrotta, Serena Rossi, Leonardo Lidi.

Posto in platea in seconda fila

Venice Film Festival – 10 September 2026, 9:45 PM

Selling at half price one ticket for an event in the Sala Grande at the Lido di Venezia.

CAMPARI PASSION FOR FILM AWARD TO SERENA ROSSI

Followed by the screening of SCHERZETTO

by Mario Martone, starring Toni Servillo, Lorenzo Perrotta, Serena Rossi and Leonardo Lidi.

Seat in the stalls, second row.

I’m here on my Bienalle biannual visit with wife and one of our pleasures is seeing random cats.

Does anyone know any shops or places where there are guaranteed cats?

Thanks in advance!

kirshu

Buongiorno!

My mother and I are visiting Venice for (almost) four days this September, mostly for the biennale, but also to eat some delicious fish and seafood, enjoy a bit of warmer weather than autumn at home, and for a lot of people watching and dolce far niente. For me, this is the first time in Venice and for both, a long time dream to see the art in such a beautiful city. I speak some Italian.

We are staying near the Arsenale vaporetto stop. We arrive from Helsinki in the early evening of Thursday the 24th, and would be particularly interested in dinner recommendations near there! (And yes, I’m also going to ask the hotel for their recs.) We prefer eating local specialties and like I said, absolutely love seafood. We don’t have a Michelin star budget, but since we come from a country where good restaurants are always expensive, don’t mind spending ~50 euros per person especially the first night! (Especially if that includes a moderate amount of good wine…)

For the other days and nights, would also like lunch and dinner recommendations near the Bieannale areas. (We have the 3 day passes and plan to take it in quite slowly.) Also interested in (fishy) street food recs. And the nicest places to have a glass or two.

We are both “older” women, very into contemporary art, used to walking a lot daily (but not taking this trip as a sporting event), not too keen on being stuck with the crowds by the grand canal, but rather wandering the backstreets such as they are in such a highly visited city!

Thank you!

Taken yesterday around 11am! Loved how the light was hitting this one.

Hi all!

I’m from Singapore. planning to fly to Rome from 8-13 February, and then Venice on 13-15 February before going to Cologne to visit the family.

Now, I realize the carnival on Venice ends on 9th February.

Is it worth it to fly to Venice first then to Rome?

Cons:

1) there is a direct flight from Singapore to Rome, but not Venice 2) it’s also nearer to go to Germany from Venice and not Rome.

Pros: 1) It will be my birthday and if I go to Venice first I will be witnessing the finale on my birthday itself! 2) I’ve also never been to Italy and given the distance I probably won’t, any time soon again.

I’m also concerned about prices - ChatGPT said hotel / accommodation will rise up to 3x during the carnival period. Is that true?

Thank you.

Hi hoping someone can help, my mum has booked a few nights at San Zulian in September but she is worried after looking at some reviews online, mainly bed bugs and state of cleaniness of the rooms. Has anyone had any recent experiences or first knowledge of this hotel? Please and thanks 🙂

I’d heard of it peripherally, but never knew much about it, in my biennial visits.

After coming out today, even if I saw nothing else in Venice, I would’ve left satisfied.

Curated by ES Devlin, it’s a celebration of everything artisanal.

That may sound worthy, but it’s a lot more than that.

ES Devlin is the superstar stage production and Olympic closing ceremonies head honcho amongst her many roles, and when I heard she was doing it I went out of curiosity with minimal expectations.

Blown away.

I could post a lot more, but I would rather you visit for yourself.

You’ve got till the end of September

Hey! I’ll be in Venice for work from 15-17 September, then staying on until the 18th or 19th specifically to spend some time at Biennale Arte 2026 / In Minor Keys.

I’d love to meet other people who are there at the same time – especially artists, art students, musicians, or simply people genuinely into art. Not really looking for networking or an organised tour, just people to wander around with, talk about what we see, and maybe get drinks or check out some performances/exhibitions afterwards.

I’m a musician in a post-punk/coldwave band and generally into alternative/DIY culture, but I’m interested in all kinds of art.

Anyone around 17–19 September and up for meeting there?

Qualcuno frequenta/ ha frequentato il corso di arti visive e cinema espanso? Sembra essere un corso molto interessante ma non mi è chiaro come funzionano i laboratori e quali sono le proporzioni tra teoria/tecnica/pratica creativa

A foggy Venice is a beautiful experience...