Dining in Vicenza

Dining in Europe > Vicenza
Hotels in Europe > Hotels in Italy > Vicenza Hotels

The cuisine of Vicenza offers a wealth of specialities and indescribable flavours: cod and polenta, asparagus with egg, bigoli con l'arna (pasta with a duck sauce), each area in and around the city has its own special dish. These dishes are often accompanied by delicious local DOC wines (Denomination of controlled origin): Cabernet di Breganze, Barbarano and Gambellara are some of the best-known wines. The majority of the restaurants, snack-bars, cafés and ice-cream parlours are in the center of the city; especially the open air bar-restaurants that share the beauties of the historic center as they look out across the piazzeta, places such as Garibaldi or the Firenze bar. In the north-west there is a strong concentration of very different night-spots, be they restaurants, or bars which allow you to enjoy the evening in a different way: among these are Cyber Sirena Cafè, the all-new multimedia bar with music areas and the stellar bar Omnia. If you fancy a meal, and Chinese food is more your thing, you should head to the north-east (though there are Chinese restaurants scattered throughout the city), La Muraglia is well worth a try, The north-west is also home to the popular Via Trieste there are many different nightclubs, such as Scacco Matto or the Millennio where you can spend a whole evening chatting with your friends.
The south side of the city tends to space out its cafés between restaurants, so it is best to have an idea of where you want to go instead of wandering between one place and another. Among the cafés and bars in the south-east, the Follini café stands out, with its swinging sixties décor, as does L'incontro a real music den. In the south-west you can try Tyrolean cuisine at Warsteiner Treff, or the delights of Sorrentine cuisine at La Pausa, or if you prefer, dishes from Puglia, you can head for Zio Zeb. You can find different types of cuisine, whether you want the comfort of a favourite recipe, or some new flavour to tantalize your palate.

For the most part, regional cuisine is found in the province, but in the city itself there is an amalgamation of gastronomic flavours that are found in various restaurants: there is the chef who does wonders with fish at the Storione restaurant, the cook who creates delights from Sorrento at La Pausa, and the Pan di Zucchero deserves a special mention for its creative, delicious cuisine.

Entertainment in Vicenza

Vicenzas entertainment seems to change with the different seasons, so we'll present the delights of the city in a seasonal way: There is an 'indoor' winter season, where you can find entertainment in numerous bars and nightspots, and seeing as this is not an incredibly large city, there is really quite a good choice of places to visit. You could spend an evening with friends, drinking beer in one of the 'euro' pub such as Asgard or Sir William Wallace; or you can choose a more 'original' place like Omnia, Follini and Sirena Cyber Cafè; or you could decide to dance the night away in one of the citys discotheque, maybe Jammin' or the mythical Totem Club or maybe Mi Habana Cafè, which is a little way outside the city and allows you to taste the delights of Caribbean; for those who prefer night clubs and 'privees' there are places like Fata Morgana, and Tentation.

When springtime comes it brings its colours and rich scents. The Monti Berici wake up from their winter sleep: this is the time to take trips, be it by bike or on foot, you can discovers hundreds of paths that lead to woods and unspoiled pastures. You could also wander down to the banks of the Fimon Lake to catch the first rays of the spring sunshine. If you decide to stay in the city, you could visit the beautiful parco Querini, where the young play football or run around, exalting in nature, amongst the trees and the swans.

Summer is a time for plays and spectacles, there are two large festivals that liven up the city: In July the walls of Viale Mazzini provide the backdrop for an extraordinary serata ludica. Hundreds upon hundreds of people gather to watch the actors, singers, musicians and fireworks and to take part in this free-for-all!! In the month of September, the Portici di Monte Berico, created in the 18th century by Francesco Mattoni, hold a night of music and magic. Finally 'theatrical autumn' begins in September, when Teatro Olimpico brings forth classical works from playwrights such as Sophocles and Euripides, without forgetting more 'modern' genii such as Carlo Goldoni or William Shakespeare. Many famous actors have walked the Palladian boards eg. Gerard Philippe, Irene Papas, Vittorio Gassman and Paola Borboni.
There are plays that take place inside too, there is the Astra theatre, or you can watch amateur theatre (which is very professional) at the S.Marco which is a cinema-theatre near to the Oratorio. Not forgetting the cinema; although there may not be many screens, and all that there are are in the heart of the city, you can enjoy special presentations at the Odeon or new releases at cinema Italia amongst others.

Recommended Tours

The first tour begins at Piazza dei Signori, home of the Basilica Palladiana and the surrounding piazzas, which make up the heart of the city. One of the streets that link the main street with the Piazza dei Signori is Contrà Cavour, which was known as the strada dei Giudei (street of the Jews). Visitors to Vicenza have followed this tour for centuries. If you feel peckish, the place to stop, has got to be the little pasticceria called 'L'antica Offelleria della Meneghina': on entering, you will be amazed by the 19th century décor and by the documents hanging from the ceiling, recording some of the day to day runnings of the shop. Outside, the street seems to open out onto a grand terrace, which contains wondrous examples of chiaroscuro, elegant lines and statues of the palladian loggias that decorate the Palazzo della Ragione (the other name for the Basilica). The terrace was created demolishing various buildings next to the Loggia del Capitaniato (designed by Andrea Palladio) and were similar to those that are still visible on the south side of the piazza; the present day Loggia took the place of another building, it was destined to be the residence of the Capitano cittadino, the highest Venetian authority in Vicenza. Next to the Loggia are the headquarters of the Monte di Pietà, a type of credit institute created as the antithesis of all the usurers' associations, in the latter part of the 15th century, the building houses a church in the center (Chiesa di S.Vincenzo). Continuing on your journey, you will see two columns, the column of the 'leone marciano' (symbol of Venice) and the column of the Redentore (the redeemer), who blesses the city, these symbols close off the west side of the Piazza dei Signori and lead into Piazza delle Biade. The church of Santa Maria in Foro, known as dei Servi is located in this square, with a small road to the right that bears the same name.The road is actually the narrowest in Vicenza. Situated behind the cloister is Palazzo Nievo, today it is the home of the Prefecture and the Amministrazione Provinciale; the building looks onto Contrà Gazzolle: the term 'gazolle' is said to be derived from the word 'gaiole' from the French word 'geole', which means 'prison': this could have been a reference to the nearby prison 'Torre del Torment' (the tower of torment). A little farther down stands the elegant 16th century white stone bridge (la Rampa dei Nievi) that crosses the Rettone River. As you (reluctantly) cross back over the bridge, you will see Contrà Catena on the left, so called because there was a chain (catena) that prevented animals from entering into the piazza. Palazzetto Vigna, a late 16th century building with curiously elaborate windows is also located here. If you cross the main street, you will come across a flight of steps that will leads up to the Corte dei Bissari (the Bissari were an ancient family), with the large windows of the Palazzo degli Uffizi to the east and the medieval Casa del Commestabile to the west. Heading down the flight of steps, you will be struck by the size of Torrione del Girone or del Registro (also know as the tower of torment), which was once used as an archive and a prison. Head through the arch, which leads into Piazza delle Erbe, filled with stalls of the age-old vegetable market. Passing through Contrada Pigafetta, the first road on the right is Contrà Orefice, this road leads to Piazzetta Palladio, in the center of the square is the statue of the great architect himself; if you look down towards the bottom of the piazza, you will catch sight of the tall Tower in the piazza called dei Bissari. Finally, you can let your eyes drink in the sight that is the Basilica Palladiana, with its double row of white loggias, elegant and solemn. It is here that the first tour comes to an end.

Another short but important tour can be taken along Corso Palladio, the main road in the historical center. The street is wide and pedestrianised and begins in Piazza Castello, at the west entrance of the old city and ends in Piazza Matteotti, on its extreme west. Entering by Porta Castello to the right of the Piazza we find Palazzo Porto-Breganze, one of Palladios later works, the outline of this building resembles the Loggia del Capitano. The start of Corso Palladio is signalled by two marvellous palazzi: to the left is the impressive Palazzo Tiene-Bonin-Longare, built by Scamozzi; on the right is the Palazzo Piovini, which holds the Palazzo Capra. Continuing a little farther on to the left you will see the church of S.Filippo Neri with its Neo-Classical façade. You will also see Palazzo Piovene, a solid and austere building and Palazzzo Braschi, a Gothic-Venetian style building, constructed in the 1400s. At this point, Corso Fogazzaro crosses the street, on the right of the corso is Palazzo Valmarana-Braga Rosa, work of Palladio and Palazzo Poiana. We have by now reached the top of Piazza dei Signori on the corner is the impressive Palazzo Trissino, now the Town Hall; continue along the Corso and you will reach another important street: Contrà Porti where the following buildings are to be found: Palazzo Thiene (with façades on all four sides), the Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, which stands opposite Palazzo Thiene and houses a museum to Palladio. The last leg of the tour begins in Corso Palladio, home to the Palazzo dal Toso-da Schio, also known as Cà d'Oro and the baroque church of S.Gaetano Thiene; the road is intersected by S.Corona, on which stands Palazzo Leoni Montanari, now the headquarters of Banca Intesa; the Museo Naturalistico ed Archeologico is also nearby. The tour ends in Piazza Matteoti, where you can see the spectacular Teatro Olimpico and the beautiful Palazzo Chiericati, which houses the splendid Museo Civico.

Dining in Europe > Vicenza
Hotels in Europe > Hotels in Italy > Vicenza Hotels