Pasticceria Rizzardini

Pasticceria Rizzardini is one of the oldest pastry shops in Venice, in business since 1742, and it is a favourite stop for locals walking between the Rialto and Campo San Polo. It occupies a tiny shop with an art nouveau front on Campiello dei Meloni, a small square on one of the main walking routes through San Polo, and it is easy to miss if you are not looking out for it.

The shop is all about traditional Venetian sweets. The bussolà, ring-shaped butter biscuits, are a staple, alongside meringues and nougat. Seasonal specialities follow the Venetian calendar: fave, small coloured almond sweets, appear around early November, and during Carnival the shop is known for fritole, the Venetian doughnuts studded with raisins and pine nuts in the classic version or filled with cream or zabaglione. If you visit in January or February, they are the thing to try.

There is very little space inside, so most people stand at the counter for a coffee and a pastry or take something away. That makes it a quick, inexpensive stop rather than a place to linger, and a good way to experience the old-fashioned neighbourhood pasticceria that has largely disappeared from the most touristy parts of the city. Opening hours are not published online, so it is best treated as a stop on a walk rather than a destination to plan around; mornings are the safest time to find the full display.

Rizzardini suits anyone with a sweet tooth, families looking for a cheap treat and travellers who enjoy traditional food shops. It is also a good place to buy biscuits as a gift, as they travel well. Allow 10 to 20 minutes. Bring some cash for small purchases, as is wise in any small Venetian shop, and point to what you want if the names are unfamiliar; the staff are used to visitors. Combining a stop here with a coffee at a nearby bar makes an easy, inexpensive Venetian breakfast.

Campiello dei Meloni is on the route between the Rialto and Campo San Polo, about five minutes' walk from each. The San Silvestro vaporetto stop on Line 1 is close by, and the Rialto Market, Campo San Polo and the Frari are all within a short walk, so it fits easily into a morning in San Polo.