Venice Farmers’ Market

Why We Love It: The Venice Farmers’ Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday, all year long, along Tampa Avenue between Nokomis and Nassau Avenues. About 30 vendors of premium meats, artisanal popsicles, produce, seafood, candles and essential oils set up in downtown Venice, and visitors stop by their booths in-between trips to the strip’s ice cream parlors, pubs and cafés. Venice (which is just south of Sarasota and has a population of more than 20,000 residents in less than 17 square miles) has a distinctive ambiance about it that beckons visitors back. It is beachy but not too swamped with tourists, and its market vendors exemplify what living in Venice is all about: kicking back and embracing the coastal experience. Adjacent to the market’s booths are several historic buildings and plaques that hearken back to the founding days of Venice—a town that has maintained its quiet charm since the 1800s.