Venice's Famous Grand Canal

The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. Public transport is provided by water buses (in Italian: vaporetti) and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the canal by gondola.

At one end, the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into Saint Mark Basin; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts of Venice. It is 3,800 m long, 30-90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters.

The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date from the 13th to the 18th century, and demonstrate the welfare and art created by the Republic of Venice. The noble Venetian families faced huge expenses to show off their richness in suitable palazzos; this contest reveals the citizens' pride and the deep bond with the lagoon. The churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

Because most of the city's traffic goes along the Canal rather than across it, only one bridge crossed the canal until the 19th century, the Rialto Bridge. There are currently three more bridges. As was usual in the past, people can still take a ferry ride across the canal at several points by standing up on the deck of a simple gondola called a traghetto, although this service is less common than even a decade ago.

On the first Sunday of September takes place the Historical Regatta, a competition between Venetian boats watched by thousands of people from the banks or from floating stands. Competitions are preceded by a historical procession remembering the entrance of the Queen of Cyprus: gondoliers in costumes sail in typical 16th century boats following the doge's state galley.

QUESTIONS?
We would like to hear from you! If you have any comments or questions about this destination or just need some general travel advice, feel free to leave a comment below!

ABOUT
VideoVoyage.TV is a travel channel specializing in informative videos about various travel destinations around the world. We are publishing a short video every day starting with places around Southeast Asia, but planning to extend our coverage to Europe and the Caribbean in the upcoming months.

SUBSCRIBE

CONNECT

[VideovoyageTv]

The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. Public transport is provided by water buses (in Italian: vaporetti) and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the canal by gondola.

At one end, the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into Saint Mark Basin; in between, it makes a large reverse-S shape through the central districts of Venice. It is 3, 800 m long, 30-90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters.

The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date from the 13th to the 18th century, and demonstrate the welfare and art created by the Republic of Venice. The noble Venetian families faced huge expenses to show off their richness in suitable palazzos; this contest reveals the citizens' pride and the deep bond with the lagoon. The churches along the canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

Because most of the city's traffic goes along the Canal rather than across it, only one bridge crossed the canal until the 19th century, the Rialto Bridge. There are currently three more bridges. As was usual in the past, people can still take a ferry ride across the canal at several points by standing up on the deck of a simple gondola called a traghetto, although this service is less common than even a decade ago.

On the first Sunday of September takes place the Historical Regatta, a competition between Venetian boats watched by thousands of people from the banks or from floating stands. Competitions are preceded by a historical procession remembering the entrance of the Queen of Cyprus: gondoliers in costumes sail in typical 16th century boats following the doge's state galley.