Venice is full of wonderful campiellos (courtyards around every turn), but the magical Campiello del Remer was our home. Literally… our apartment’s door opened up onto this almost hidden, yet centrally located campiello.

The Campiello del Remer is tucked away, right off of a main walking street. It’s not easy to find the first time, but worth it once you get there. (Sneak Peek: tomorrow’s post will show you the way in photos) An old carved stone well sits in the center of the campiello, with doors to private residences/rentals, a guesthouse and the Taverna al Remer.

This picturesque campiello was the home of many celebrations during our special trip, including an engagement on the dock, an actual wedding ceremony (bride and groom saying vows while leaning against our dining room window), and a wedding party’s formal photos/mini party at the Taverna. That beautiful bride and groom, an international couple, posed for a photo for us too. We ended up enjoying an afternoon drink in our campiello’s taverna while they were busy posing, and so of course we became friends. They were wonderful fun and we hope they’re doing well a year later!

A fresh Bellini and a traditional Spritz at the Taverna al Remer

The Taverna al Remer in the Campiello del Remer is a delightful little bistro where we quickly felt at home. They also offer one of the best deals in Venice: 5 Euro will get you an afternoon spritz (traditional Venetian drink) or a fresh Bellini (my personal favorite), but it also includes a fantastic buffet spread of pasta dishes and small bites. It was all very tasty, and sufficed as dinner sometimes. In addition to the great special, the Taverna al Remer has a scrumptious full menu with fresh grilled fish and more. All of their desserts were mouth-watering, but our favorite was the Cake Remer — a delightful blend of fresh pears, chocolate and heaven. Mama even chose Cake Remer as her birthday cake during our trip! Their creme brulee (delivered still on fire!) is outstanding as well.

Besides the excellent food, the Taverna al Remer has the best staff. They became like family to us during our special trip. When I went in search of take-out because Mama wasn’t feeling well enough to go out, they delivered our dishes on plates to our apartment’s dining room table! On my last night in Venice, rather than catching a couple last hours of sleep, I went out with our dear friends Vincenzo (he’ll likely introduce himself as Vince the Prince), Marcello (actually from Germany and he makes the BEST Bellinis!) and Severine (pictured here). Ask for them if you stop by the Taverna and give them our love!

The Campiello del Remer’s dock onto the Grand Canal makes it very popular for deliveries early in the mornings, like this one to our beloved Taverna (in the smaller, left-most arch). This photo (with the lion in the foreground) is taken from right outside our front door.

The dock also makes a lovely place to sit and enjoy that Spriz. (Those are our dining room windows behind us.) In this dockside snap, Mama, Abby and I are joined by Hannah, a lovely international student from the U.K. who we sort of adopted for a bit. We became friends waiting at Vodafone to purchase Italian cell phones. (We miss you Hannah!)

We spent a lot of time in this magical, seemingly private campiello. It felt like our own secret garden, Venice-style. When Mama wasn’t well enough to go out, our campiello provided a lovely piece of Venice for us to enjoy. Mama enjoyed drawing and painting (Abby there to help), or just sitting and chatting with whoever happened by. We were happy to meet other artists also sketching the incredible view of the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal. One of the artists even left a little sketch taped to our door as a birthday gift to Mama.

The Campiello del Remer isn’t very wide. Below is a photo of the campiello from the end of the dock. You can see a bit of the wooden dock in the foreground and perhaps get a better sense of the space. One day I’ll host a party there filled with all of my friends and loved ones.