ileen

Ice cream in Paris thread prompts me to ask Fodorites where are good ice cream/gelato places in Venice. I will be there this summer, so want to get ready for the unique tastes.

Thanks for your help.

NYCFoodSnob

There aren't that many truly great gelato stores in Venice, and those that exist have been blogged about ad nauseam on the internet. If you Google the subject, plenty of threads come up here and everywhere.

Pepper_von_snoot

You will find gelato at cafes all over Venice.

There is the famous Grom on Strada Nova near Ca' d'Oro.

Rosa Salva in Campo S Giovanni e Paolo.

There is also a gelato truck in Campo San Cassiano (between Rialto Market and Ca' Pesaro) that has very good chocolate gelato.

Believe me, you will have no trouble finding gelato in Venice.

It is everywhere.

Thin

BigRuss

Seriously? Fish, barrel, shotgun. Just walk around and find one. Perambulating without a plan is what Venice is best for anyway.

adrienne

As long as the banana ice cream is gray and not yellow you'll be in good hands.

sandralist

Among many vivid memories of Venice is tasting the absolutely worst gelato I have ever tasted anywhere in Italy. I had a spontaneous urge for a small taste of gelato about 10pm one evening, so I just stopped at the nearest vendor -- it was in the Campo Santo Stefano -- and it was just terrible. Filled with chemical tastes. I knew I was not going to get handmade gelato just stopping like that and buying from a tourist-shop vendor, but this was really shockingly bad. (It was plain chocolate.) I have eaten commercial gelato on the fly in lots of places in Italy and never was any of it as bad as this.

So if you would like an enjoyable experience of gelato in Venice, it is indeed worth asking and doing some research rather than "just walk around and find one".

socaltraveler

Gelateria Nico on the Zattere. And great canal views too.

Peter_S_Aus

I vote for Nico on the Zattere

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"Among many vivid memories of Venice is tasting the absolutely worst gelato I have ever tasted"</font></i>

There has been a proliferation of terrible places lately, especially along the Strada Nuova. Their marketing is smart, making sure to use the word "artigianale" in the name. The tourists who blog and say, "just go anywhere," always make me chuckle, knowing that so many people will eat anything that has sugar in it.

<i><font color=#555555>"I have eaten commercial gelato on the fly in lots of places in Italy"</font></i>

In 30+ years of travel to Italy, I have never eaten gelato "on the fly." Much like great chocolate, if I can't eat and savor the very best, I'd rather go without.

Gelateria Nico is not my favorite, but it's a decent place to soak up some sun.

sandralist

"In 30+ years of travel to Italy, I have never eaten gelato "on the fly."

Well, I live in Italy, so I eat lots of things on the fly, and some commercial gelato is actually better than some fussed about gelato (like Grom). But just in general for me, gelato is the sort of thing I only want when I spontaneous have a yen for it, or else I don't think about it. I can understand people who travel who look for "best" gelato and make plans around it, but for me gelato isn't that big a deal for me even when it's the best around. However, this particular gelato in Venice was so incredibly poor I may never forget it -- although I have forgotten what year it was. 1998, I think. Fortunately, it was the only time I've ever had a yen for gelato in Venice.

vincenzo32951

>>In 30+ years of travel to Italy, I have never eaten gelato "on the fly."<<
I don't think they meant they were actually flying.

Try the Baskin-Robbins at the foot of the Rialto Bridge. It's right next to the toll booth.

Peter_S_Aus

Is that the toll booth with the turnstile, or the booth with the plastic gate. You should be more specific, Vincenzo.

Please.

Pepper_von_snoot

ROFL!

It is just ice cream.

You aren't picking out a new car or helping your child choose a college!

Tastes like chemicals indeed.

You would know as you sit around drinking Windex all day.

I would worry more about being run over by a tour group from one of the cruise ships rather than a gelato selection.

Thin

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"It is just ice cream."</font></i>

<i><b>Magari!</b></i>

For some of us who work hard to maintain a figure fit for a runway as everything rushes to travel south, an indulgence of <i>dolci</i> is sacrosanct.

There are certain members of my family who are addicted to ice cream. They're too cheap to eat the real thing, and some are deluded in thinking that a gallon of the diet stuff in place of a meal won't put pounds on.

I've tasted some of the family's junk through the years, and one doesn't need to guzzle Windex to know what chemicals taste like. The greasy donut got this one correct. These days, Italy offers lots of crappy gelato. If you want homemade ice cream with fresh, high quality ingredients, you need to do some homework and plan for <i>le estasi</i>.

ileen

Thanks for the input. Have noted the special places. I just want to taste some good Italian gelato, thus needed suggestions.Have a wonderful weekend.

vincenzo32951

Peter: If you don't know the answer, you're obviously an ignorant tourist who doesn't deserve premium ice cream, nor would you recognize it.

BTW, now that I reread the posts, I think "on the fly" meant you actually put the gelato on a fly. In that case NYC is right. I would never do that. Except for that one time.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>" I think "on the fly" meant you actually put the gelato on a fly."</font></i>

That's how I read it. Me no like flies.