Sant Erasmo Island (Venice)

Sant Erasmo is the vegetable island of Venice. It is famous for its artichokes, which are sold at the Rialto market in the centre of the city. After a few days in Venice, a city with a lot of stone and cement, noise and little green space, Sant Erasmo is a welcome change and a great destination for an excursion. The quiet island is sparsely populated and largely covered with meadows and fields. Only 600 inhabitants live on Sant Erasmo on an area of 3 kmē. Rural life, only 30 waterbus minutes from Venice in the most famous lagoon in the world. The island of Sant Erasmo is often referred to as the "Garden of Venice" or the "vegetable island of Venice".

Sant Erasmo (in Italian Sant'Erasmo) is after the main island with the world famous old town the biggest island of Venice. On the island there are three Veporetto stations (water bus jetties). You can get off at the first station and walk to the last on foot. It is a hike of 1.5 to 2 hours. With a detour to the sights, the beach and / or a stop at a guesthouse, it can easily take 3 to 5 hours. A prefect day trip.

There are only two restaurants on the island Sant Erasmo, during the day even as far as we know only one trattoria is open. It is the Ai Tedeschi in the south of the island close to the tower Torre Massimiliano. The first of the three water bus stops (Capannone Torre) is only a few hundred metres away. Ai Tedeschi offers honest, simple Italian cuisine. The prices in the trattoria, bar and pizzaria are low for Venice. Also the wine tastes good.

In front of the Ai Tedeschi there is a small beach, so on a hot day you can also swim in the sea of the lagoon.

In the Torre Massimiliano are sometimes exhibitions of art. The brick tower was built for military reasons. During a walk through the island you can see some ponds and with a little luck rare birds.

On the many fields of the vegetable island Sant'Erasmo the well-known vegetable grows. Popular among the locals are the green, very thin asparagus (spareselle) and the purple artichokes (castraure). Also wine is cultivated a lot, as well as other vegetables like cauliflower, green salad and much more. The products of Sant Erasmo are very popular in the markets of Venice. The vegetables, despite the higher prices than imports, find enough buyers because of the high quality.

As on the island Sant Erasmo there is only a small shop with groceries and one restaurant that is open during the day, you should take some drinks and something to eat with you on the excursion. A nice picnic place can be found on the island. Also cycling is allowed on Sant Erasmo, in contrast to Venice. There are also a few accommodations on Sant Erasmo, at least one guesthouse has a bicycle rental as far as we know.

Arrival by water bus to Sant Erasmo

All three jetties of the water buses are located in the north of the island of Sant'Erasmo and are served one after the other by the scheduled ships. The departures from and to Venice are frequent during the day (one ferry per hour), the journey time is about 30 minutes (via Vignole Island)

Map of Sant-Erasmo Venice

Short video Sant Erasmo by bike

Impressions taken by a cyclist on the island.

Viena Guide

• Vienna Pass
• City Tour Vienna
• Vienna Airport

• Cathedral Vienna
  • Cathedral Tower Vienna
  • Cathedral Treasury
• Hofburg
• Spanish Riding School Admission
• Vienna Zoo
• Mozarthouse Vienna
• Prater
• Giant Ferris Wheel Vienna
• Madame Tussauds Vienn Tickets
• Naschmarket Vienna
• Hundertwasserhaus Vienna
• Natural History Museum Vienna
• Mumok Museum Vienna
• Leopold Museum Vienna
• Butterfly House

Important: This article was translated by a non-native English speaking person. We apologize for mistakes.