Canals of Venice

Why the Canals of Venice are special
The Venetian canals and their gondolas provide one of the world's most romantic experiences.

Canals of Venice tips & insights
The romantic icon of the Canals of Venice
It's clearly the gondola. Imagine gliding slowly down the narrow canals in a gondola on a moonlit night to musical accompaniment.

The Grand Canal
This is the broad, 3-kilometer (2-mile) long main water thoroughfare. The Grand Canal is lined with luxurious centuries-old palazzos with ornate Renaissance-style facades - and is spanned by the elaborately designed Rialto Bridge.

Getting around
The 150 canals of Venice are its streets - roads for land passenger vehicles are nonexistent. Everyone must travel by foot or boat, tourists and locals alike.

• Walking
  The chief and often the fastest means of transportation is the foot - thanks to the 400 pedestrian bridges that link Venice's many small islands.
  
• Vaporetto
  When distance is far, locals use the vaporetto (water bus) or the swift but expensive water taxi. Although Venetians once used gondolas extensively, they now leave this man-powered vessel for the tourists.

Origin of the Canals of Venice
They date back to the 5th century when regional inhabitants built nascent Venice in a swampy, sparsely settled lagoon in order to escape the swords of the invading Barbarians.

Location in Italy