In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Rialto Bridge is free and always open. The fish market is open Tuesday to Saturday, 7:00 to 14:00, and shut on Sunday and Monday, so on a Monday only the fruit and vegetable stalls (Monday to Saturday, 7:00 to 20:00) are working. Go in the morning. The T Fondaco terrace behind the bridge has been closed since 1 May 2025. A traghetto crossing of the Grand Canal is €2. The vaporetto stops are Rialto Mercato and Rialto, on line 1. Or book a walk: the St Marco to Rialto walking tour with a spritzad is from €27, and the street food tourad from €45.60 crosses the market.
The market
The city’s markets page lists two Rialto markets in San Polo, and says Rialto has been the city’s market for almost a thousand years.
The Pescheria, the fish market building, beside the Grand Canal. Photo: Wolfgang Moroder, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
| Market | Where | Days and hours | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit and vegetables (erbaria) | Casaria and Campo de la Pescheria | Monday to Saturday, 7:00 to 20:00 | Sunday |
| Fish (pescheria) | The Loggia Grande and Loggia Piccola, Campo de le Becarie | Tuesday to Saturday, 7:00 to 14:00 | Sunday and Monday |
- Go in the morning. The fish market closes at 14:00.
- On a Monday the fish loggias are empty. Come on Tuesday to Saturday for the fish.
- Eat nearby. The bars round the market serve cicchetti, the small bar snacks of Venice. Cicchetti and bacari says what to order, and where to eat in Venice lists the restaurants.
The Erberia produce stalls. Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
The bridge
The Rialto Bridge is the oldest of the four bridges over the Grand Canal. It connects San Marco with San Polo and has been rebuilt several times since the first crossing, a pontoon bridge, in 1173. The present stone bridge dates from 1591. It is free and always open, and the view up and down the Grand Canal is the reason to cross.
The Rialto Bridge from the water. Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The terrace that shut
The free viewing terrace of the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the shopping centre behind the bridge, was entered in booked slots of about 15 minutes. The building closed on 1 May 2025, and the terrace closed with it. For the view from a height, see best views in Venice.
Crossing the Grand Canal
Four bridges cross the Grand Canal. A traghetto is a gondola ferry that crosses it at set points, and visitors pay €2. The vaporetto is the other way: Venice public transport has the fares. Line 1 stops at Rialto Mercato, on the market side, and at Rialto, by the bridge. From Santa Lucia station the bridge is about 22 minutes on foot, and St Mark’s Square about 28.
Tours worth paying for
Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.
St Marco to Rialto walk with a spritz
From €27 · 1 to 3 hours · 3,692 reviews
Venice: St Marco - Rialto Walking Tour & Spritz Like a Localad is run by City Tours Co with a guide. It starts at the company’s desk by St Mark’s Square, walks via Santa Maria Formosa and Marco Polo’s house to the Rialto Bridge, and includes a spritz in a bacaro. Cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
Street food tour
From €45.60 · 2.5 hours · 3,032 reviews
Venice: Street Food Tour with a Local Guide and Tastingsad is run by Food Raphael Tours and Events. It starts in Campo San Bartolomio, crosses the Rialto Bridge to the market, calls at the Frari and ends in Campo Santa Margherita, with several tastings including cicchetti and gelato. It is not suitable for wheelchair users or vegans. Cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
What to see
- The market loggias. The fish stalls under the Loggia Grande, Tuesday to Saturday.
- The produce stalls. Casaria and Campo de la Pescheria, every day but Sunday.
- The bridge, for the view of the Grand Canal in both directions.
- The Frari and San Rocco, a short walk into San Polo: see Venice churches.
What to skip: the fish market on a Sunday or Monday, when it is shut.
The market and the bridge sit on the walk between the Square and San Polo, and Venice in one or two days fits them around the weekly closures. What to book before you go to Venice has the closed days for every sight. Free things to do in Venice gathers the free sights, and the gondola ride page has the traghetto fare. To stay near the Rialto, see where to stay in Venice.
Common questions
Is the Rialto Bridge free?
Yes. The Rialto Bridge is a public crossing, free and always open. It links the sestieri of San Marco and San Polo and is the oldest of the four bridges over the Grand Canal.
When is the Rialto fish market open?
Tuesday to Saturday, 7:00 to 14:00, in the loggias at Campo de le Becarie. It is closed on Sunday and Monday. The Rialto fruit and vegetable market is open Monday to Saturday, 7:00 to 20:00, and closed on Sunday.
Can I still go up the T Fondaco terrace by the Rialto?
No. The T Fondaco dei Tedeschi shopping centre closed on 1 May 2025, and its free rooftop terrace, which was visited in booked slots of about 15 minutes, closed with it.
How do I get to the Rialto by vaporetto?
Line 1 stops at Rialto Mercato, on the market side of the Grand Canal, and at Rialto, by the bridge. From Santa Lucia station it is a walk of about 22 minutes to the bridge.
Is there a cheaper way across the Grand Canal than the vaporetto?
A traghetto, a gondola ferry that stands across the canal, costs €2 for visitors. The bridges are free.
