Venice Grand Canal by Gondola Tour

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(1775 Reviews)

About this activity

Smartphone tickets accepted
Duration: from 30 to 50 minutes
English
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Experience Highlights

Experience the Magic of Venice with a Gondola Ride Glide through the enchanting canals of Venice on a gondola ride with a knowledgeable guide who shares the captivating stories of the magnificent palaces surrounding you. Skilled gondoliers will navigate Venice's hidden passages, revealing breathtaking views of the city’s unique landscape. Pass beneath centuries-old bridges & marvel at the famous Grand Canal. Your guide will narrate the rich history of gondolas & gondoliers, providing insights about the nearby attractions as you float along. Step inside a majestic Venetian palace and uncover the secrets of Venice’s most iconic boat. Enter a recreated felze (gondola cabin), then embark on a timeless virtual experience aboard a gondola, gliding through Venice’s legendary Grand Canal as history and tradition come to life around you—just like a noble of the past. For an exclusive adventure, book a private gondola ride creating unforgettable memories in the heart of this magical city.

What’s included

  • PRIVATE GONDOLA RIDE OPTION: 30 minutes gondola ride WITHOUT commentary
  • Journey in the past by gondola Virtual Reality Experience (not included in the private option)
  • SHARED GONDOLA RIDE OPTION: Live commentary in English, French and Spanish
  • SHARED GONDOLA RIDE OPTION: 30 minutes gondola ride with commentary

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Step by Step

We will pass trough the Gran Canal terrace of Ca Giustinian, one of the oldest Palace overlooking the Canal Grande.
Close to San Marco Square, in front of St Moise (Moses) Church and the Gondola station, the guide will introduce you in the elegant and romantic world of the Gondolas.
Once one of 7 major theatres in the city, today the Fenice is Venice’s one and only opera house. It is surely a jewel among European theatres, and began to shine from the beginning, as the best composers of the age wrote and performed their operas here, among which Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. But it was Giuseppe Verdi who is most attached to the Fenice and to Venetian memory.
The most beautiful road in the world”, this is how the Grand Canal is known as. If you look around, what you will see is almost exactly what a nobleman in the 18th century might have looked upon, and before him a Renaissance courtesan and before him a merchant in the Middle Ages.

Here, as you come into the Grand Canal you admire the church of the Madonna della Salute.

The first thing that strikes a viewer is how imposing the church is, strategically placed at the entrance of the Grand Canal looking out onto the rest of the city in every direction, thanks to its circular shape.

Today, ever 21 November the city celebrates the Madonna della Salute in memory of the end of the plague

Punta della Dogana separates the Grand Canal from the Giudecca Canal. For its strategic location it was the house of the Custom and of the Salt Warehouses. During the fifteenth century, the Sea Customs House, which had previously been near the Arsenale, was transferred to the western point of Dorsoduro borough.
You will have a view of the Island of san Giorgio Maggiore, with its beautiful Renaissance Church built by Palladio in the Renaissance and the belltower resembling the bigger one in St Mark’s Square. The island was once known as the Island of Cypress Trees before it became an important Benedectine monastery.
At the end you will enjoy a wonderful overview of Saint Mark’s Square. This is a spot which painters from all over the world have tried to capture in its uniqueness, but we can only recommend that you sit back and take it all in.

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