Grand Canal, Venice

The Grand Canal (Canal Grande In Italian) is the principal canal in Venice, forming one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. While public transport includes water buses and private water-taxis, tourists usually ply the canal in richly decorated gondolas. The Grand Canal at one end leads into the lagoon close to the Santa Lucia Railway Station, and the other end leads into the Saint Mark Basin. In between the two ends, the canal makes a lengthy S-shape through the central districts of Venice. The canal is approximately 3,800 m long, varying between 30 and 90 m in width and has an average depth of 5m.

The banks of the Grand Canal are lined with numerous buildings, palaces, strongholds and turrets, showcasing the wealth and affluence of the owners that were responsible for creating the Republic of Venice. Among some of the notables are Palazzi Barbaro, Palazzo Dario, Palazzo Barbarigo, Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ d’Oro and Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, that houses Peggy Guggenheim Collections. The churches along the Grand Canal consist of the Basilica of Santa Maria Della Salute and a few more. Regattas are performed along the canal every year to perpetuate historical events of significance and tradition.

Since most of the city’s water-traffic floats through the canal instead of across it, there were no bridges across the canal until the 19th century except the Rialto Bridge. However, two more bridges namely, the Ponte degli Scalzi and the Ponte dell’ Accademia has been built now. A fourth bridge, Ponte della Costituzione, designed by Santiago Calatrava has recently been commissioned to connect the train station to the vehicle-open area of Piazzale Roma. Nevertheless, local people still prefer taking the ferry ride across the Grand Canal by standing up on the deck of a gondola called the Traghetto.

Visitors to Venice enjoy gondola rides on the Grand Canal as this seems to be the best way of discovering the natural, architectural and scenic beauty of this romantic city. A trip to Venice is a must in a lifetime, and a gondola ride is a must when you are in Venice.