Restaurants in Venice can really be hit-or-miss, so you have to choose wisely.  But when you hit on a good one, it rivals the best that Italy has to offer.

Here is a list of our favorite four restaurants in Venice (we usually name our top 3, but we could not leave one of these out) — we have eaten at each of them, conservatively, 5-10x:

• Antiche Carampane. Rio Terra Rampani (San Polo) 041/524-0165. Great seafood, focused on home-style preparation with high quality ingredients. Excellent, slightly out of the way place for dinner, with a solid friendly staff and a classy, casual atmosphere. Best overall.  Antiche Carampane is a great experience, one of our favorite in Italy.  Closed Sunday and Monday.
• Alle Testiere. 5801 Calle del Mondo Novo (Castello). tel 041/522 7220. Excellent seafood restaurant. Good food, cool vibe, and the best wine list. The most elegant dining of all of the restaurants on this list. The only negative is that the seafood can be a bit over-prepared, meaning that the sauces can sometimes overwhelm the more delicate flavors of the seafood. Only 9 tables, so you have to reserve. 2 seatings: 7:30 and 9:30. Closed Sunday and Monday.
• Al Covo. Campiello della Pescheria (Castello). 041/522 3812. Delicious, very high quality Venetian seafood. Right up there with Antiche Carampane and Alle Testiere, however, we would argue that the energy level and feel are superior at the other two. Further, prices here are at least 10-20% higher than the other restaurants. However, this is the best option for dining on a Sunday or Monday, when the other top two are closed (Al Covo is closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
• La Corte Sconta. (Calle del Prestin, Castello, 3886. Near the Arsenale. tel. 041-522-7024; closed Sunday and Monday; also from 7 January to 7 February, and from 15 July to 15 August. ). An old-school seafood-oriented trattoria, that has a slightly simpler décor than the others on the list (tables topped with butcher paper and red napkins); the seafood quality is like Antiche Carampane and Alle Testiere, but it is more casual and offers simpler preparations. They base their daily menu on whatever the Chioggia fish market has to offer. We do find the service rushed, a bit pushy and prices (food and wine) higher than its peers. Although still a good dining experience, the food is the weakest of the top three.

What to Order in Venice

Seafood is definitely the way to go in Venice. Some things to look for that are particularly good and typically Venetian:

• Seppie (cuttlefish, which is basically squid, but a little larger, and with darker ink).
• Cappelunghe (razor shell clams).
• Canestrelli (Venetian scallops).
• Moeche (tiny soft shell crabs, usually fried).
• Branzino (sea bass).
• Razza (ray/skate) – although we enjoy this dish (pan sautéed) in the States, sadly, we never found the dish to be appealing in Venezia.

Like this information?
Check out our PDF guide to the Foods of Italy.

What to Drink in Venice (by AG Wine)

The Veneto produces some excellent wines. However, while we would certainly recommend going with the Veneto’s signature sparker, prosecco (particularly from the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOC), the region’s vast and impressive red wine repertoire is not going to work with Venice’s seafood-based cuisine. Since the Veneto’s whites are generally disappointing (based on the trebbiano and garganega varieties), we would suggest looking to the nearby Friuli region. Friuli’s whites are probably the best in Italy. Look for the wines based on the friulano, sauvignon, ribolla gialla grape varieties. Keep in mind that the wines from the Collio and Collio Orientali DOC zones set the standard for the region.

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During our four years in Italy, we spent an accumulated “many months” in Florence. These three restaurants consistently delivered world-class food and were the favorites that we returned to again and again.

Il Cibreo

Il Cibreo is THE restaurant that you have to go to in Florence; it ranks as one of our favorites in all of Italy. We prefer the trattoria, over the more formal ristorante and café across the street (the formal ristorante & café are very good, but very expensive, and a little stuffy); in any case, they all use the same kitchen, the only difference being that the trattoria menu is more limited. Il Cibreo’s menu is based on traditional Tuscan cooking, before the introduction of pasta. The menu sticks by classic dishes — e.g., polenta, papa al pomodoro — but they are typically done with concentrated flavors in a more sophisticated way than your typical Italian restaurant. Note that the Trattoria does not take reservations, so keep this in mind, because you will likely have to wait for a bit to be seated.

Il Cibreo Trattoria: Via dei Macci, 122R; Ristorante: Via dei Macci 118r; Telephone 055/234 1100; closed Sundays and Mondays.

Cavolo Nero

Cavolo Nero is our go-to restaurant in Florence. Located off-the-beaten-path (in the oltr’arno), this charming and elegant restaurant serves excellent, fresh food that changes with each season. Cavolo Nero’s super-friendly staff is happy to help you navigate the menu and its wine list. Another plus? The wine and food are very reasonably priced.

Cavolo Nero. Via dell’Ardiglione, 22; S.Frediano; Telephone: 055/294 744; closed Sundays (call to confirm).

Coco Lezzone

Coco Lezzone is the place to sample a real Florentine steak (bistecca fiorentina), cooked slowly on a grill; you must to call one day in advance to reserve una bistecca fiorentina (priced by the kg, that is, 2.2 lbs). Also try their delicious ribollita (traditional vegetable bread soup). The food in this unassuming family-run restaurant is excellent. When being seated, request to sit in the older front room as it is has a more authentic (old-school) feel and you get to watch the family interact with guests and each other.

Coco Lezzone (no website). Via Parioncino, 26/r, Telephone 055-287178; closed Sundays and Tuesday evenings.

Tips on Eating in Italy

We have definitely found that it is necessary to make reservations for dinner. Walk-ins are not as welcome. A reservation, made even a couple hours in advance, goes a long way and usually gets you a better table. Also, locals eat dinner around 20:30 (8:30 pm) in a city like Florence; however, dinner times may vary in small towns, so it is always best to ask someone what is typical for the area.

For more information on what to eat in Florence, check out our Approach Guide to Italian Food.

Shopping in Florence

No trip to Florence would be complete without dedicating at least some time to shopping. For those shopping-focused days, here is a list of our favorite stores that offer the best shopping experience in Florence - our list includes shops that sell unique items that you most likely won’t find outside of Italy or even Florence.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Florence? Tell us your favorites in our comments; we would love to hear your recommendations!

Taking a break on the Great Wall of China

One of the most quintessential places to visit in China is the Great Wall located north of Beijing – it is everything that you expect and more. We went to the Great Wall one August morning to find it enveloped in a fine mist and completely to ourselves.

To get a similar experience, we recommend avoiding the overly touristy and Disney World-like Badaling (70 km NW of Beijing) and going to Simatai (110 km NE of Beijing), where you can follow the Great Wall to Jin Shan Ling. Compared to the Badaling portion of the wall, the Simatai – Jin Shan Ling portion is unrestored and offers a more authentic feel.

Your driver will most likely try to persuade you to start at the opposite end (Jin Shan Ling), which sits 300 meters higher than Simatai (making your walk more downhill than up), but hold your ground for two reasons:

1. its safer to go up the sharply inclined and unrestored parts of the wall
2. everyone walks the other direction, so you will have the Wall completely to yourself for most of the hike.

Oh…one last tip…avoid the weekends.

Where to Eat and Sleep

• At the end of the day, return to Beijing for a rest at Hotel Lu Song Yuan, a charming hotel set inside an old courtyard house.
• Later, treat yourself to the BEST Peking Duck at Beijing Da Dong (SE corner of Chang Hong Bridge and 3rd Ring Road; +86 65822892) They serve the best duck we ate in all of China. The skin is super crispy but not overdone and the meat is lean and tender. They serve it with cucumber, radish, scallion, plum sauce, sugar (for dipping the skin) and garlic (which adds complexity to the dish).
• At least once while you are in Beijing, try the Noodle Loft (No. 20 Dawang Road, Chaoyang District) for a totally unique noodle dining experience. The traditional noodle joint features an open kitchen where the handmade noodle dishes are made to order. Seriously delicious.

Suggested Reading

In addition to our cultural travel guidebooks to China, we highly recommend several books that can be purchased directly from Amazon. These books helped form the foundation of our knowledge and serve as references that we return to again and again.

• A History of Chinese Civilization
• Buddhist Art and Architecture (World of Art)
• The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama
• China: Fragile Superpower

The food in Naples, Italy (Napoli) is some of the best on the Italian peninsula. The area of Campania provides local chefs with excellent raw ingredients, which you will find in many of the traditional foods of Naples, Italy: fresh fish sourced directly from the Mediterranean Sea, tomatoes from San Marzano and buffalo mozzarella from nearby Battipaglia.

If you have the chance to stay a few nights in Naples, I highly recommend it. The city has an authentic feel and some incredible restaurants. Below we have listed some of our favorites:

Note: When reserving for restaurants, make sure to do it late (10pm or later) or you will be dining with 1) all tourists or 2) no one.

• ***Da Dora. 30 Via Ferdinando Palasciano; 39-081/680-519. Very good, old school seafood restaurant; the owners sing periodically through the meal. A great experience and highly recommended; it is certainly our favorite restaurant experience in the city (see video for an explanation)!

• Ristorante Pizzeria Bellini Ristoranti. Via S. Maria Di Costantinopoli, 80. Tel 081.459774. Simple restaurant with Neopolitan classics. Linguini al Cartoccio (baked pasta) is a speciality. Pizza also served.
• Da Ettore. Via S.Lucia 56 in the San Ferdinando Quarter. Tel 0817640498. Very good, basic restaurant, with very fresh seafood pasta and pizza.
• La Stanza del Gusto di Mario Avallone. 21 Vicoletto Sant’Arpino, just off of Via Chiaia; 39-081/401-578. Very good food that is more creative that most other places in Napoli; and unlike most Italian restaurants that try to be creative, this chef is actually successful. If possible, opt for his specials as they are particularly inventive (we ate thinly sliced buffalo meat over a strawberry/onion puree and topped with smoked salmon – his take on vitello tonnato). Very friendly service. Watch for his restaurant in Noto, Sicily.
• La Barrique. Piazzetta Ascensione, 9. 081/662721. Excellent little wine bar with a long bar and stools at which you can sit and have a drink (can be difficult to find in Naples). Most people were not there for the bar but for the food (we did not eat here).

When in Naples, we recommend using any of the following guides:

• Dining In Italy: Guide to Italian Food – Use this guide to find out which traditional foods should not be missed.
• Dining In Italy: Italian Wine Guide – Order the local wines of Campania or any other area like a pro. Our focus is on value, to help consumers learn how to order great wines at reasonable prices.
• The Italian Baroque – The Neapolitan Baroque style is very unique and many of the sites are way off the beaten path, giving the visitor insight into the real Napoli.
• Ancient Mediterranean Mosaics – Given that most mosaics are a part of a site’s architecture and (unlike paintings or sculptures) cannot travel to museums or art galleries, seeing them in situ (in their original location) is an event unique to travelers. And Naples has a few mosaics worthy of a stop…
• The Evolution of Christian Architecture – Very useful if you are visiting cities with different architectural styles (early christian, romanesque, baroque, etc.). Also helpful for nearby Greek sites such as Paestum (a short car drive) and Agrigento (just a ferry ride away in Sicily).

Tuna for Sale at the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo

The Tsukiji Market in Tokyo is definitely worth a visit, if for nothing else than to see the early-morning tuna auctions. The complex is enormous (it makes the old Fulton Fish Market in New York City seem like child’s play) and contains hundreds of vendors selling tremendous quantities of super-fresh fish.

One of the most famous activities of the Tsukiji fish market is the tuna auction (located in the back corner near the Sumida River). It will be helpful to use our map of the Tsukiji market, highlighting the location of the tuna auction when you arrive at 5 in the morning.

Many guidebooks indicate that tourists are not allowed to view the auctions, but this is patently false; there is, however, a protocol:

• The tuna auction begins at 5:30 am, but you can certainly get there by 6 am and have plenty of time to see the auction in action.
• Stay in the designated “visitor” section
• Refrain from taking flash photography and smoking
• Be careful to avoid the fast moving forklifts
• Enjoy!

After spending the morning walking around Tokyo’s famous fish market, take your breakfast at Daiwa Sushi (located in the stalls circled in red on our map), the quintessential place to go for a reasonably priced sushi breakfast. There are only 8 seats, but it is a great and totally unique experience.

If you are visiting Kyoto and Nara while in Japan, consider using our travel guide to the Wooden Temples of China and Japan as a reference.