Unveiling the beauty of the grand canal in Venice
Guide to Venice’s most famous waterway
Gondolas
Gondola Traghetto
But what if there were big gondolas that didn’t cost a small fortune to ride? Well, you’re in luck because such a thing does, in fact, exist. Gondola traghetto are larger vessels that ferry people across the Grand Canal Venice. More functional than their leisurely counterparts, traghetto carry around 14 people and are perfect for when there are no bridges nearby. There are only three left in the city, but at 2€ a pop they’re perfect if you want to get out on a gondola without splashing the cash.
Water taxis
However, gondolas are not the only ways to get around. Look for a water taxi if you want to travel around Venice in the most stylish way imaginable – these sleek, chic, 8-seater wooden boats look like they’ve come straight out of the 1950s. The name ‘taxi’ almost feels beneath them. It’d be a bit like referring to a Ferrari as just ‘a car’.
Find a vaporetto if you want a slightly larger, less uber-cool version of a Venice water taxi. They’re the closest thing to a bus you’ll find in Venice, and have a fixed number of stops on the Grand Canal. The alilaguna is a very specific type of water bus, exclusively used for transporting people to and from Venice Marco Polo Airport. Perfect if you want to squeeze one last boat trip out of your holiday.
Grand Canal attractions
As the Grand Canal weaves right through the centre of Venice, it rather helpfully joins the dots between a number of the city’s most unmissable attractions. Here are five you should make an effort to check out:
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
The massive dome of Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute – more commonly known simply as ‘the Salute’ – is one of the most immediately recognisable sights on the Venice skyline, and was built in 1687 as a ‘votive offering’ for the city’s deliverance from the plague in 1630.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Take a short walk along the Grand Canal from the Basilica and you’ll find the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The building and collection once belonged to Peggy Guggenheim, who became one of the 20th century’s most prolific collectors of contemporary art after following the death of her father on the Titanic. Here you’ll find works from the likes of Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Dali, Kandinsky, Mirò, Mondrian and nearly 200 others. Be warned, though: this museum can get incredibly busy.
Corner della Ca’ Grande
Once you’re finished at the Peggy Guggenheim, take a trip over the Grand Canal to reach Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Grande. This rather spectacular renaissance-style palace was designed in 1532, and – the clue’s in the name – was one of the largest in the city at the time. It is currently the seat of the province of Venice.
Ca’ d’Oro
If you want to see some classic Venetian gothic architecture for yourself (and who wouldn’t want to do that?!), then keep your eyes peeled for Ca’ d’Oro. An exemplary example of the style, this spectacular building was once covered in shimmering gold decorations. They’ve since faded, but the building is no less impressive.
Grand Canal Bridge
There are four bridges crossing the Canale Grande, but only three of them are accessible directly from the water:
- the wooden Ponte dell’Accademia,
- the Ponte degli Scalzi and the sleek,
- modern Ponte della Constituzione (also known as the Calatrava Bridge) are all well worth a visit.
Ponte di Rialto
We’re cheating a little here because the Ponte di Rialto isn’t accessible directly from the Grand Canal but it is part of the bridges that cross the Grand Canal and one of Venice’s most iconic sights, so we felt obliged to include it. Not begrudgingly though, because the Rialto Bridge lives up to its billing.
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