Venice’s aquatic thoroughfare snaking through the bustling heart of the city—the Grand Canal stretches four kilometres and passes by the most iconic landmarks that mark the skyline.
Take a trip in a gondola along the canal for a true, old-fashioned experience of the Floating City. The gondoliers have been splashing their oars in these waters for centuries, and you can enjoy a taste of this glorious heritage too. Don’t be afraid to barter with the gondoliers when booking your canal trip.
For a rather more modern and faster voyage, take the vaporetto (water bus) and see all the tourist attractions too. Bear in mind if you go for a fast crossing on a traghetto you’ll have to stay standing for the duration of the voyage.
As you travel the length of the Grand Canal you’ll see all the palaces and churches on its banks that you will have seen in your tour guide or maybe even visited, but from an entirely different perspective. You’ll be able to spot the old Gothic palace the Ca’ d’Oro, the baroque Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, as well as the Renaissance-style Palazzo Dario. Tours are available which will talk you through the landmarks in the city as you pass them—a fine way to get to know Venice from the water.
Alternatively for a more leisurely and personalised experience, you can hire a private gondola and punt along the waters at your own pace.
Take in the majestic beauty of the Rialto Bridge, one of Venice’s most famous sights, which has been painted and photographed by visitors through the ages. It is the oldest of four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, along with the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Ponte dell’Accademia and the strikingly modern Constitution Bridge.
If you are in town on the first Sunday in September, you’ll get to witness the incredible Regata Storica when locals garbed in Renaissance Venetian costumes race decorated boats along the canal.
