Three hours at Rialto with someone who knows everyone

Food tours are a coin flip: half are worth it, half are a walking tour with snacks. This one is the good kind, and the difference is the guide.

Ours — a Venetian who has shopped this market for twenty years — was greeted by name at every stall. That relationship is the product. The fishmonger held up the morning's moleche for us because she asked; the fruttivendolo cut a white peach 'for the signorina who writes about food.' You cannot buy that access alone.

Six stops over three hours: market grazing, two bacari, a bakery older than some countries, an espresso counter with opinions. The cicchetti-and-ombra rhythm gets properly taught, which pays dividends the rest of your trip.

€85 including everything you eat and drink, and I left both full and smarter. The rare tour I'd repeat on a second visit.