Living in Venice like a local: shopping and apartment life

There's a way to visit Venice, and a way to live it. Staying in an apartment in Cannaregio, rather than a hotel, means stepping into the city's rhythms: shopping at the market, cooking fish you've just bought, having your coffee at the bar downstairs. From Cà Letizia, in the Madonna dell'Orto area, you have all of this on your doorstep. Here's how to live Venice like a local.

🛒 Where to shop for groceries in Cannaregio

One of the pleasures of staying in an apartment is shopping like the Venetians. Everything is close to home:

• Rio Terà San Leonardo — Cannaregio's market street, with stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables every morning.
• Neighbourhood shops — the bakery, the greengrocer, the deli, the fishmonger: small shops where they serve you and offer advice.
• Small supermarkets — along Strada Nuova and nearby, for everything else.
• The Rialto Market — a 15-20 minute walk away, the historic market with the Erberia (fruit and veg) and the Pescheria: the freshest fish in the city, in the morning (closed on Sunday; the fish market also on Monday).

🍳 Cooking at home with Venetian flavours

With a kitchen at your disposal, market fish becomes an unforgettable dinner. Try the simple traditional dishes: sarde in saor, bigoli in salsa, a mixed fry, or simply grilled fish with seasonal vegetables. A glass of local wine, and you're already halfway between tourist and Venetian.

☕ The rhythm of the Venetian day

• Morning — coffee and a pastry at the bar, standing at the counter; then shopping while the stalls are freshest.
• Afternoon — an aimless walk through alleys and canals, while the tourists gather around San Marco and Cannaregio stays quiet.
• Evening — an ombra and cicchetti at the bacaro for aperitivo, then dinner at home or in a small osteria.

🚶 Living without cars, at the pace of the water

There are no cars in Venice: you move on foot and by vaporetto. It's disorienting at first, then it becomes the greatest luxury — no traffic, no horns, only the sound of footsteps and water. Living in an apartment lets you discover the crowd-free corners too, the little squares, the bridges where you stop to watch the boats go by.

💡 Little Venetian habits

• Say hello and step into the shops: here the relationship matters more than the rush.
• Slow down: Venice is meant to be lived at a gentle pace, not ticked off a list.
• Learn a couple of dialect words — an ombra is a glass of wine, a cicchetto a small bite.
• Refill your bottle at the public fountains: Venice's water is good and free.

🏠 Why an apartment, and why Cannaregio

An apartment gives you space, a kitchen and the freedom to live at your own pace; Cannaregio gives you the authentic neighbourhood, with the Venetians' markets and bacari, away from the crowds yet a stone's throw from everything. It's the difference between seeing Venice and living it, even for just a few days.

Read more: the bacari of Cannaregio, why choose Cannaregio and our Venice guide.

Live Venice, don't just visit it

A period Venetian apartment in Cannaregio, with real neighbourhood life outside the door. Send a request for your dates.