Spritz and aperitivo in Venice: Select, Aperol, Campari explained
Traditional Venice aperitivo tour
What is the Venetian spritz and what makes it different?
The Venetian spritz is Prosecco mixed with a bitter liqueur (Select, Aperol, or Campari) and a splash of soda water. The original Venetian version uses Select — a Venetian-made bitter that is slightly more complex and less sweet than Aperol. A spritz at an honest bacaro in Venice costs €3–5. The drink is served with an olive on a stick. Aperol spritz is the global export version; in Venice itself, Select is the traditional choice.
The drink that made Venice’s early evenings
Before Aperol spritz became the most Instagrammed drink in the world, it was a Venetian ritual — the transitional drink between the end of the working day and dinner, consumed standing at a bar counter with a plate of cicchetti and the sound of a canal outside. The Venetian version uses Select, not Aperol, and it costs €3–4, not €15.
Understanding the spritz as Venice actually drinks it — rather than as it has been exported and inflated — is the difference between a €5 experience and a €15 one, and between a genuine bacaro counter and a San Marco tourist terrace.
The anatomy of a spritz
A Venetian spritz is three ingredients:
Prosecco: the sparkling wine from the nearby hills north of Venice. In a bacaro, this is usually a simple Prosecco DOC — not a DOCG Valdobbiadene — because the bitter liqueur will dominate anyway. The bubbles and slight sweetness of Prosecco are the base.
Bitter liqueur: the defining choice. In Venice, the three main options are:
- Select: the Venetian original, produced in Venice since 1920. Less sweet than Aperol, with herbal and slightly bitter notes. Deep orange-red colour. This is what older Venetians drink, and what most neighbourhood bacari pour as the default.
- Aperol: sweeter, lighter orange, more citrus-forward. Created by the Barbieri brothers in Padua in 1919, it became the global export version of the spritz in the 2000s. Less bitter than Select.
- Campari: the most bitter and most complex of the three. Dark ruby red. Gives a more intense, slightly medicinal quality. A Campari spritz is for people who genuinely like bitter drinks.
- Cynar: made from artichokes, earthy and intensely bitter. A minority taste, but available at many Venetian bars. If you like amaro-style drinks, try it once.
Soda water: a splash, added last, to lengthen the drink slightly.
The standard proportions in Venice are 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts bitter, 1 part soda — though proportions vary by bar. A spritz comes garnished with a green olive on a stick (this is traditional, not decoration) and usually over ice.
The price reality
A spritz costs the same ingredients wherever it is made. What changes is the address:
- Bacaro in San Polo or Cannaregio, standing at the bar: €3–5
- Neighbourhood bar in Dorsoduro or Castello: €4–6
- Bar near the Rialto Bridge tourist strip: €7–10
- Terrace cafe on Piazza San Marco: €12–18
The drink is identical. The San Marco premium is purely for the address and the seat. If you sit at a table anywhere in Venice you will also pay a coperto (cover charge) of €2–4 on top of the drink price. Standing at the bar is the honest price.
This is not a complaint about San Marco — the square and the view have their value — but it is worth knowing you are paying for geography, not quality.
When to drink a spritz: the aperitivo window
The aperitivo hour in Venice runs roughly from 5pm to 8pm, with the peak between 5:30 and 7:30pm. This is when bacari replenish their cicchetti supply and the after-work crowd fills the standing room. The energy during this window is excellent — specifically in the streets behind Rialto market in San Polo and along the fondamente in Cannaregio.
The ritual is:
- Walk into a bacaro and order a spritz at the bar.
- Take the glass, inspect the cicchetti display, and order two or three pieces.
- Stand and eat, drink, and watch the neighbourhood.
- After one stop, walk to the next bacaro and repeat.
Two or three bacari over two hours, spending €8–15 per person, is the complete aperitivo circuit. This is what Venetians do most evenings.
A traditional Venice aperitivo tour takes you through this circuit with a local guide who knows which bacari to enter and what to order — useful on a first visit when you cannot yet read the room.
Select vs Aperol: a practical comparison
If you are visiting Venice for the first time and want to understand the local version, order a Select spritz at the first bacaro you enter. Then order an Aperol spritz at the next one. Comparing them side by side makes the difference clear.
Select: slightly darker, more orange-red than orange. First impression is herbal bitterness before sweetness arrives. The aftertaste lingers with a dry, slightly tanic quality. Pairs well with the stronger flavours of sarde in saor or folpetti.
Aperol: brighter orange, lighter colour. First impression is citrus and light sweetness before the bitterness registers. Cleaner finish. Pairs well with milder cicchetti like baccalà crostini or cheese.
Campari: for contrast, try a Campari spritz if you have tried the others. Much more assertive bitterness. If you find it too intense, it is also excellent mixed differently — a Negroni (equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth) is worth knowing about even if it is off the spritz menu.
Where the Venetian spritz tradition comes from
The word “spritz” comes from the German “spritzen” (to spray or splash) — a reminder that the drink originated in the 19th century, when Austrian troops occupying the Veneto during the Habsburg period would add water to local wines they found too strong. The habit of diluting wine with water evolved into diluting it with soda and eventually into the Prosecco-and-bitter combination.
Select was created in Venice in 1920, specifically for the spritz format. For decades it was the default Venetian bitter and a symbol of regional identity. Aperol, made in nearby Padua, was always in the mix but Select dominated local bars. The global Aperol campaign of the 2000s reversed the proportion in tourist bars while traditional neighbourhood bacari continued with Select.
The spritz is also the drink most closely associated with the tradition of cicchetti and bacaro culture — the giro di ombre, the evening circuit of small wines and small bites. To drink a spritz in Venice is to participate in a social tradition that is several generations old and still genuinely practised by the people who live here.
Alternatives to the spritz at aperitivo hour
Not everyone wants a bitter-based drink. The alternatives available at any bacaro:
Ombra di prosecco: a small glass of Prosecco, €3–4. Simple and excellent from the Valdobbiadene hills. See the Prosecco hills guide for more on the wine.
Bellini: Prosecco and white peach purée, invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice in the 1930s. A classic Venetian cocktail, seasonal in the sense that fresh white peaches are only available from June to September. Outside this season, any Bellini is made from frozen or bottled purée.
Ombra di vino bianco: a small glass of house white — Soave, Pinot Grigio, or a local Veneto white. €1.50–2.50. The most traditional pre-aperitivo order.
Non-alcoholic: San Pellegrino Aranciata (orange) or a simple sparkling water. Bacari do not typically serve elaborate non-alcoholic cocktails.
Spritz variations across the Veneto
The spritz culture extends north to Treviso, Verona, and Padua, each with local variations:
Spritz trevigiano: Treviso uses Aperol by default, lighter and more citrus-forward. The local bar culture in Treviso is similarly lively and much less expensive than Venice — if you are visiting the Prosecco hills (see the Prosecco hills guide or Treviso day trip), a Treviso bacaro afternoon is worth building in.
Spritz veronese: Campari is more common in Verona, reflecting the city’s slightly more formal bar culture. Piazza delle Erbe in the early evening is the traditional Veronese aperitivo setting.
Padua: Aperol’s home city, where it is the default. The Prato della Valle and the historic centre cafes do aperitivo well and at lower prices than Venice.
What to do when a spritz goes wrong
Signs of a poor spritz: too much ice diluting the drink before you can finish it; soda added too heavy, killing the Prosecco bubbles; bitter liqueur proportion too low (it becomes just sparkling wine with a hint of colour); no olive, suggesting a bar that does not know the tradition.
Signs of a tourist trap: price above €8 in any bar that is not on Piazza San Marco; glass too large (a proper Venetian spritz is in a medium round wine glass, not a balloon glass or a tall glass); no cicchetti available alongside it.
The solution: go to a bacaro in San Polo or Cannaregio, order at the bar, and pay €3–4. The spritz tradition exists most cleanly in the places that have been doing it for decades without trying to monetise the mythology.
A bacaro food and wine tour with a local guide covers the aperitivo circuit with context — which bacari to enter, what to order, and how to navigate the bar culture on a first evening in Venice.
Frequently asked questions about the Venetian spritz
Can I order a non-Aperol spritz without being judged?
Absolutely. In Venice, ordering a Select spritz is the more local choice. Specifying “spritz con Select” or “spritz al Select” is common and understood at any bacaro. No one will look at you strangely for not ordering Aperol.
Why does the spritz at Harry’s Bar cost so much?
Harry’s Bar (on Calle Vallaresso, near San Marco) is a legendary Venice institution that invented the Bellini and claims a role in the Hemingway mythology. It is also extremely expensive — a Bellini costs around €20, a glass of wine €15–25. You are paying for the address, the history, and the experience. The drinks are excellently made, but the price is not for the ingredients. Worth visiting once for the atmosphere; not suitable for a regular aperitivo stop.
Is Aperol spritz a Venetian invention?
Aperol was created in Padua (40 minutes from Venice) in 1919 and the spritz format is Venetian by origin, so the combination is regionally correct even if it was not specifically invented in Venice. The Venetian tradition precedes Aperol and uses Select; Aperol spritz is the most successful global export of the overall format.
What is grappa and should I drink it in Venice?
Grappa is a grape-based pomace brandy made from the skins, seeds, and stems left after winemaking. The Veneto produces significant quantities, particularly from Bassano del Grappa, the most famous grappa-producing town. It is drunk as a digestivo after a meal, in a small glass (€3–6). At a bacaro, ordering a grappa after your spritz is not unusual. The quality range is enormous — from harsh industrial versions to elegant, aged single-vineyard grappas from producers like Poli or Nardini. If you see a bottle from these producers at a bar, a small glass is worth trying.
How many spritz is appropriate during an aperitivo crawl?
Two to three spritz across two hours, at different bacari, is the natural pace of a Venetian aperitivo crawl. This is a low-alcohol format — a spritz is around 8–10% alcohol content in the glass, lower than a glass of still wine — and eating cicchetti alongside slows absorption. If you are doing a full crawl of three or four bacari and eating cicchetti at each stop, you are unlikely to be significantly affected by two or three drinks.
Is there a specific glass for a Venetian spritz?
Yes — a medium round wine glass (roughly 250–300ml capacity), not a tall straight glass or a large balloon glass. In bacari this is the standard bar glass used for both wine and spritz. The round shape concentrates the aroma. If you are served a spritz in a tall glass, you are likely in a tourist-facing establishment.
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