RESTAURANTS

In many Venetian restaurants you will see the notation pr. 100 g. after fish dishes. That means the price is per 100 grams; if you triple the amount, you will arrive at the cost.

One way to easily cut costs on a meal is to skip the secondo course; it will be the most expensive part of the meal, especially if it is fish. You will do well in many cases with just a primo course--usually pasta--and a salad and dessert.

Ristorante Bar Ostregher-Lalcoro. Campiello della Pescaria Costello, 3968. Phone: 522-3812. 3 blocks past the Metropole Hotel on the Riva degli Schiavoni, turn left 1/2 block. Delightful restaurant. $15 for 2-course meal including wine and water.

Ristorante Ai Padovani, Ponte dei Pugni Dorsoduro, 2839 (Campo S. Barnaba), a short walk from the Accademia Bridge. Pleasant atmosphere, good service and good food. 4-course meal about $15.

Rosticceria San Bartolomeo, 5424 Calle della Bissa, customers sit on stools at counters. The risotto and pasta are great. Inexpensive.

Cantinone Storico, Campo San Vio, 600 DOrsoduro; 523-9577. Venetian specialties like spaghetti alle seppia and orata al cartoccio are well prepared at this friendly, simply decorated neighborhood restaurant. Dinner for two $40.

Paradiso Perduto, 2540 Fondamenta Misericordia, Cannaregio; 720581. Off the beaten track, this lively young people's hangout is open til 1 am or later. Bar prices are cheap, as are the wholesome pizzas and hot dishes. Aspiring musicians play live jazz or blues on Mondays. $16 per person.Da Memo, Porto Secco; 527-9125. Features waiters in red sleeveless pullovers over white shirts, casement windows ajar, framed in walnut and covered with gauze curtains, cream-colored walls, white tablecloths, wooden chairs with straw bottoms and a menu of the utmost simplicity. The clams are fabulous. Very popular with the locals. Also try their stuffed mussels with shrimp and the salad of mache, and grilled cuttlefish. For dessert try the slush of lemon ice with a great jolt of frozen vodka! Entrees from $8. No credit cards.

SHOPPING

If you are looking for a bargain from Missoni, Versace, Armani or Krizia, try their boutiques on Madison Ave. in New York, where many Venetians insist prices are lower. Compared with Rome and Florence, it is not only expensive, but inconvenient to shop in Venice.

Venice's riches are renowned. Although there is plenty to buy, most of it is made somewhere else--except glass. One visit to any of the famous glassworks on the island of Murano, such as that of Gino Cenedese, (Glassworks Factory Showroom, 48A Fondamenta Venier, Murano, 739-877), should satisfy the desire to witness how Venetian glass is blown. Then, for real purchases, head for two of the oldest, most reliable establishments in town: Pauly &Company (Ponte dei Consorzi, Piazza San Marco) and Salviati and Company (195 San Gregorio). These fairylands of glass have won medals for excellence and produced glass for royal households and many heads of state. Although Pauly's three branches are conveniently located on San Marco, a tour of the Ponte dei Consorzi headquarters, with its demonstration furnace, is de rigueur. Products range from glistening glass beads to complete sets of crystal goblets, hurricane lamps, and enormous chandeliers. Prices are fair, and shipping is reliable. For a change of pace, make a beeline for Gianni Cavalier's (2863A San Marco) tiny shop in a corner of Campo Santo Stefano, near the San Marco side of the Accademia Bridge. Cavalier, a well-known restorer and gilder who creates carnival masks and handsome frames, has become an important supplier of carved angels and cherubs. As such, Cavalier admits to being a caretaker of a dying art. He smiles shyly when clients exclaim that his magnificent creations could easily pass for ancient relics. The angels, which mix effortlessly with collections of antiques, start at about $70.

Norelene, Campo San Maurizio, for hand printed velvet, silk and cotton to be used as clothing or to be displayed.

M Art Objects, specializes in antique patterns.

Il Coccio, on Salizzada dei Greci near San Marco, for beads made decades ago of Murano glass.

Mondonovo, on the Ponte dei Pugni, for carnival masks.