Venice > Sightseeing > Canals > Grand Canal

Grand Canal

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From: Canals of Venice

ABOVE: The Grand Canal passes under the Calatrava Bridge between Venice's Piazzale Roma (where buses and taxis arrive) and the Venezia Santa Lucia railroad station.

The Canal Grande, which occupies an ancient riverbed, is Venice' s busiest thoroughfare. It snakes through the centro storico or historic center, running about 3 km or two miles from the Piazzale Roma (Venice's gateway for wheeled traffic) to St. Mark's basin and the Venetian Lagoon.

From early morning until evening, the Grand Canal is packed with vaporetti  or public water buses, Alilaguna Orange Line airport boats, water taxis, gondolas, delivery barges, and other traffic.

•  Note: Contrary to popular belief, cruise ships don't travel on the Grand Canal. Its four bridges aren't high enough to accommodate any boat taller than a water bus, and the canal's average depth is only about 5 meters or 17 feet.

BELOW: Vaporetto Line 1 offers a relatively cheap and easy way to travel up or down the Grand Canal. The boat zigzags between 21 ACTV waterbus stations on both sides of the canal during its 58-minute journey.

• Tip: With an ACTV daily pass or multi-day ticket, you can use the public water buses to cross from one side of the canal to the other as often as you wish during the ticket's period of validity. (This can be convenient if you aren't near one of the canal's four bridges.)

BELOW: If you're lucky and find yourself on an older water bus with bow seating, head forward for a seat with a view. (You'll also find covered fresh-air seating in the stern, behind the enclosed cabin.)

• Warning: Standing in the bow isn't allowed, so grab a seat when the boat is at a fermata or waterbus stop--not when the boat is moving. It's dangerous and illegal to block the pilot's view.

BELOW: If you take the No. 1 vaporetto from the Piazzale Roma to St. Mark's Basin, the first waterbus stop that you'll pass is Ferrovia (directly in front of the Venezia Santa Lucia Railroad Station, which is the low modern structure in the background of the photo below).

Just east of the station is the Ponte dei Scalzi, or Scalzi Bridge, which is one of four bridges across the Grand Canal.

BELOW: These two vaporetto stations are at Rialto and Rialto Mercato.

BELOW: As you cruise along the Grand Canal, you'll pass some 200 historic buildings, including many grand palazzi that have been repurposed as government buildings, hotels, apartment houses, and headquarters of international foundations. 

This photo was taken from the roof of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a former palace for German merchants that dates back to 1228 A.D. and is now a luxury shopping center. (Until fairly recently, it was Venice's main post office.)

BELOW: A small boat passes the Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a 15th Century palace that now houses the Casinò di Venezia or Venice Casino.

BELOW: Self-propelled barges and an Alilaguna airport boat cruise along the Grand Canal.

BELOW: Alilaguna Linea Arancio or Orange Line airport boats run from Venice Marco Polo International Airport to the Cannaregio Canal, then turn east and cruise along the Grand Canal almost to the Piazza San Marco. (The boats also operate in the reverse direction.)

Orange Line boats stop at five locations on two sides of the Canal Grande during their journey.

BELOW: Traghetti, which are large gondolas used as ferries, cross the Grand Canal at several points. As a visitor, you'll pay nearly three times the fare that residents do, but the experience and convenience may be worth it.

BELOW: This boat landing at Santa Sofia (on the San Marco side of the Grand Canal) is labeled "Gondole," but it's primarily a traghetto pier.

BELOW: You can also hire a gondolier to row you on the Grand Canal. We think the side canals are cozier, but if you don't mind sharing a thoroughfare with water buses and commercial traffic, go for it.

BELOW: You can even bring your dog on a gondola ride. (No dog-paddling allowed.)

BELOW: Water taxis are another popular mode of transportation on the Grand Canal, especially for small tour groups and guests of hotels that face the canal.

BELOW: There are 43 hotels and B&Bs on the Grand Canal between the Piazzale Roma and St. Mark's Basin.

The Hotel Santa Chiara is especially popular with our readers, thanks to its proximity to airport buses, the Venezia Santa Lucia railroad station, and the People Mover to the Marittima cruise basin and the Tronchetto parking garage.

In this photo of the Hotel Santa Chiara, an ACTV motoscafo water bus passes beneath the Ponte della Costituzione, more commonly known as the Ponte di Calatrava or "Calatrava Bridge." (The bridge, which opened in 2008, is only the fourth bridge ever constructed over the Grand Canal.)

BELOW: As you might expect, many--but not all--of the hotels along the Grand Canal are luxury properties such as the Palazzo Giovanelli e Gran Canal (top) and the Hotel Bauer and Il Palazzo (bottom). The latter is near the end of the Grand Canal where it feeds into St. Mark's Basin.

BELOW: A handful of hotels on the Grand Canal, such as the Palazzo Stern and the San Cassiano Ca' Favretto (shown here) have decks next to the canal where you can sit or eat breakfast in good weather.

Next page: Giudecca Canal

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

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