Trip planning summer 2026 - Venice, eastern Dolomites, Parma

Regional Dining Discussions Italy, Spain, Portugal
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Hi all,

Finally starting my trip planning thread… We are planning a family trip to Italy this summer with our 7 year old. It’s her first time to Italy, which she is super excited about, and my husband and I have never been to any of these places on our previous trips. Our kid will eat almost anything and while she is a self proclaimed fan of “fancy” dinners out, we will be avoiding any tasting menu only type places or places where a child of her age would be looked at askance. (Although she is an extremely well traveled, food loving, gracious diner used to multiple course meals, she is, alas, still 7!) While we want to eat well, that is not the only focus of our trip, and I know that convenience will win out in some cases, and we’re okay with that.

Nights 1-2 we will be in Venice - I know it’s short, but it was a spontaneous add-on to our trip. It was too close to the Dolomites (our main focus) to pass up, having never been before. We have Vini da Gigio booked for our first night, and Hosteria Venetika for our second. Any and all gelato, bakery, snacky, or lunch-type cafe recommendations are welcome. There is no way we will be able to do two full sit down meals in one day, but my daughter will require many snacks for sustenance. (Thinking we’re in the right country for that.) I will also happily accept any non-food recommendations for exploration.

Nights 3-7 we will be near Cortina D’Ampezzo. We have no specific dining plans as of yet, other than checking out some of the beautiful mountaintop rifugios. We’ll be in a rental, so breakfast will be in and lunch will likely be a rifugio or a packed lunch, depending on our plans for the day. We would like to eat most dinners out. Al Camin and El Brite de Larieto caught my eye. A view would be a bonus. We’ll be hiking, taking cable cars, and checking out the many cool playgrounds and adventure parks. Definitely less of a food focus for this leg, but still want to make sure we’re eating well and getting a taste for the region (since the cuisine seems markedly different that what we’ve experienced in the other regions we’ve been to on previous trips). Any rifugio, gelato, or restaurant recommendations for the area near Cortina would be amazing.

The final three nights we will be in Parma, and this is the real eating part of our trip. We want to visit a cheese factory, a prosciutto factory, and a balsamic factory (will split these between two days for the sake of the 7 year old). I think someone on this board wrote about Trattoria della Gallina, so that’s on our list for a lunch. Our hotel is in Parma but we will have a car so definitely open to traveling a bit. We’ll have three dinners in Parma proper- lunches will probably be out and about. I promised my daughter we’d see a castle. Definitely would love bakery and gelato recommendations too!

Thank you in advance if you have any ideas for us!!!

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I am of no help whatsoever, but already looking forward to your trip report :slight_smile:

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Your trip sounds great.
As much as I love Venice as an experience the food there never makes me happy…
In Cortina 10 years ago we enjoyed very much Baita Fraina. It is still open and endorsed by Michelin. I loved their onion pasta. If you feel like driving for 30 minutes - Il Capiolino is a must!
Parma has no shortage of delicious food. My pick - Ai due platani (a few minutes drive out of town).
Another 20 minutes drive will get you to Da Ivan - very good experience of countryside Parma cooking. The owner has a peculiar personality.
Trattoria La Buca in Zibello. The original owner/ chef has passed. Still in the hands of the family. The highest quality culatello I have ever tried. They eat it with slices of butter. As a snack you get chunks of 72 months aged Parmeggiano Reggiano (at least used to). Will be high on my list when I will go back.

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I really enjoy ordering Fritto Misto when I’m in Venice. It’s been a while so my recs are out of date. I usually wing my meals in Italy.

I also really like the coffee granita and mint granita, which I can’t find in Canada.

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I’ve only been to that area once so I have no real basis for comparison, but regarding balsamico we really, really enjoyed our tour of Acetaia Villa San Donnino. It’s actually an old villa, just as the name implies, and all of the rooms have been converted into holding spaces for barrels. Feels very small and bespoke – more craft than “factory” – and the vinegars are amazing. Beautiful area, too. We were with our own guide, who I am happy to recommend in a DM if you’re interested. She also took us to a prosciutto factory and a parmigiano producer. Was a very nice day. I can’t recall the name of either of those latter two producers. They were both interesting, but the balsamico won by far. You should be aware that the prosciutto factory definitely has a bit of meaty aroma on the air that’s not for everyone; my children didn’t love that part of the day.

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You might want to book some museums in advance for Venice.

St Mark’s Square is worth visiting. There are plenty of places for gelato and cafés around the square, but it is Tourist Central so price: quality ratio might not work in your favour. That said, it’s nice to stop at a café and enjoy the atmosphere.

If you have the time and energy, the island of Lido is the island that has beaches facing the Adriatic. Much quieter and less busy vibe than the heart of Venice. My last order of fritto misto was at a quiet terrace on Lido.

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Thank you for the ideas! Yes I have tempered my food expectations for Venice but I’m totally okay with that. Baita fraina is on our list and I have added Il Capiolino. We definitely don’t mind driving. My husband loves driving in Italy (better him than me) although I’m curious how the mountain roads will be! Parma recs look amazing. I can’t wait to tell my husband about the culatello with butter! :joy:

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Thank you so much for your thoughts. Yes I would love your guide’s name. I reached out to one who got good reviews, but her formula didn’t seem like it would work for us (can’t quite remember the details, I’ll have to go back and look). We did a food walking tour in Azores last year which my daughter loved and I’m wondering if there’s something similar in Parma. Will have to look.

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I am pondering whether we are going to go to any museums and I don’t know if it’s blasphemous to say that I think we are going to skip museums and just wander around for the day and a half we have there and see what catches our fancy. My daughter is not a huge museum gal (ask me how I know, I am still scarred from our visit to the Monet in Venice exhibit we went to last year in Brooklyn), and I think we’ll let her lead the plans, especially those first few days while she’s adjusting.

Definitely will check out St Mark’s square, which I think she’ll find cool, and I’m going to blindfold my husband to get him on a gondola without seeing the price. :joy:

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My humble opinion:
Palazzio Dei Dogi - is rather diverse type of museum with many things to see. Even 7 yo can handle it.
Academia is not very big, but if you do not have interest in painting, do not do it.
St Mark cathedral is remarkable from inside and outside, but you need to love history and culture to enjoy it. Nothing else in Venice is obligatory. It is all about wondering and getting lost. Read Brodsky’s Watermark before going (American-Russian Nobel prize winning poet) . It is very small book.
Dolomites do not have compelling museums. Parma is mostly about the food…

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The Doge’s Palace is a Palace (and a Museum), if that will make it an easier sell to your daughter. LOL

I grew up in a foodie family that travelled a lot and squeezed in a museum or zoo most days that we were on the road. LOL.

Basically the typical itinerary was try food, visit museums, go to the occasional concert or play, walk a lot, and visit nearby friends or family. Once I was a teenager, fitting in a little more shopping was added.

I’ve been to Venice 3 times,still have not been on a gondala for 2 or 3 with a gondolier.

The water taxis are also called gondalas- that is how I’ve traveled. LOL.

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I guess that is a matter of opinion, like most things on HO.

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@dostrovs I can’t find Il Capiolino - can you send a link? Thanks

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Sorry. My misprint. Il Capriolino

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We’re staying just south of Cortina and so this restaurant is a ten minute drive from us. Perfect!

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Parma is one of our favorite places. Last time we were there we also had a car so we used the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium to find a dairy that worked for us. Highly recommend booking visit and tasting that way.

https://www.parmigianoreggiano.com/dairies-visit-tasting

Some of our fav restaurants are

Officina Alimentare Dedicata Parma

and Angiol d’Or especially if you can reserve in the covered garden.

And make sure to visit Farnese Theatre a wonderful Renaissance wooden structure in the Palazzo della Pilotta museum complex.

Have fun.

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Angiol d’Or is not far from where we’re staying! Thanks for the recommendations.