Café Life Venice: A Guidebook to the Cafés and Bacari of Le Serenissima

Venice is a city without parallel. This essential companion will enrich anyone's experience of the magical city of lagoons.

The Café Life series takes you to its third Italian city-La Serenissima (the Most Serene Republic)-with Café Life Venice. Like predecessors Café Life Rome and Café Life Florence, it explores a select group of family-run establishments. However, because Venice moves to the stroke of its very own gondola paddle (voga), you'll be drinking less coffee, eating less gelato-and sipping more wine. This may be good news to some of you. The Venetians do love their wine, and you'll see them loving it at almost any time of day in one of the city's many bacari. The bacaro, is a cross between a café and a wine bar, where you'll find locals knocking back an ombra (Venetian for glass of wine) and eating cichetti (tapas-like snacks) as they stand at the bar. This wine that they quaff like mineral water is usually lower in alcohol content-around 11 percent.

Bacari are a hidden treasure: they offer good value for money (remember, Italy is expensive), and they are run by proprietors obsessed with the quality of their traditional Venetian cuisine. In addition to the bacaro, this guide includes some superb pasticcerie (bakeries), a café or two, and one gelateria.

*Filled with richly anecdotal text and fascinating interviews with the owners

*Stunning photography that beautifully evoke the city, its neighborhoods, and bacaro

*Carefully chosen establishments sprinkled throughout the sestieri of Venice to help you refuel during your wanderings