Trip Planner: Europe / Italy / Veneto / Province of Venice / City of Venice / Venice / Canal Grande

Canal Grande, Venice

4.8

#1 of 6,345 in Parks in Italy

Must see · Water Body · Nature / Park

Create an itinerary including Canal Grande

Ride a gondola or water bus down Canal Grande. A major water-traffic corridor, it winds through the city's central districts. Along its banks, you can see more than 170 buildings, including several palaces. Most of the buildings were erected between the 13th and 18th centuries, reflecting the prosperity and art of the once-powerful Republic of Venice. Forming a kind of reverse S-shape, the canal probably follows the course of an ancient river, eventually emptying its waters into a lagoon. The canal is 3.8 km (2.4 mi) long and 30 to 90 m (98 to 295 ft) wide. Centuries-old traditions, such as a historical regatta, are held every year along this ancient canal. Use our Venice trip planner to visit Canal Grande on your trip to Venice, and learn what else travelers and our writers recommend seeing nearby.

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Tours to Canal Grande

FROM $390 BOOK WITH VIATOR Private 3 hrs Venice Tour with Skip-the-Line St Mark’s Basilica & Grand Canal Private 3 hrs Venice Tour with Skip-the-Line St Mark’s Basilica & Grand Canal

4.2

Duration: 3 hours

Tours from $390 ›

FROM $55 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Ride Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Ride

3.8

Duration: 129 to 147 minutes

Tours from $55 ›

FROM $45 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade

3.5

Duration: 30 minutes

Tours from $45 ›

FROM $154 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice In a Day: Basilica San Marco, Doges Palace & Gondola ride Venice In a Day: Basilica San Marco, Doges Palace & Gondola ride

4.8

Duration: 7 hours 30 minutes

Tours from $154 ›

FROM $39 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice: Grand Canal by Gondola with commentary Venice: Grand Canal by Gondola with commentary

3.9

Duration: 50 minutes

Tours from $39 ›

FROM $76 BOOK WITH VIATOR Semi Private or Private Grand Canal 1-Hour Boat Tour Semi Private or Private Grand Canal 1-Hour Boat Tour

4.2

Duration: 1 hour

Tours from $76 ›

FROM $35 BOOK WITH VIATOR Classic 30-Minute Gondola Ride in Venice Classic 30-Minute Gondola Ride in Venice

3.4

Duration: 25 to 30 minutes

Tours from $35 ›

FROM $103 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner

3.2

Duration: 2 hours

Tours from $103 ›

FROM $30 BOOK WITH VIATOR Hard Rock Cafe Venice with Set Lunch or Dinner Hard Rock Cafe Venice with Set Lunch or Dinner

4.2

Duration: 2 hours

Tours from $30 ›

FROM $402 BOOK WITH VIATOR Private Tour: Venice Gondola Ride with Serenade Private Tour: Venice Gondola Ride with Serenade

4.3

Duration: 35 minutes

Tours from $402 ›

FROM $434 BOOK WITH VIATOR Private Venice Canal Cruise: 2-Hour Grand Canal and Secret Canals Private Venice Canal Cruise: 2-Hour Grand Canal and Secret Canals

4.6

Duration: 2 hours

Tours from $434 ›

FROM $39 BOOK WITH VIATOR Venice Gondola Experience Venice Gondola Experience

3.6

Duration: 30 minutes

Tours from $39 ›

Canal Grande reviews

TripAdvisor traveler rating

41,619 reviews

Google

4.8

By Alan S

We spent many hours venturing around and taking endless pictures of the canal, absolutely breathtaking.

We spent many hours venturing around and taking endless pictures of the canal, absolutely breathtaking. more »
By Catharina50

This canal with sea water and tides, is the highlight of Venice. Extremely picturesque. At the same time it is the highway of the city, with vaporetti, gondola’s, trachetti, taxi boats, private...

This canal with sea water and tides, is the highlight of Venice. Extremely picturesque. At the same time it is the highway of the city, with vaporetti, gondola’s, trachetti, taxi boats, private... more »
By 259stephenm

Fantastic experience great location great tourist destination fantastic food great entertainment amazing local’s fantastic hospitality excellent attractions

Fantastic experience great location great tourist destination fantastic food great entertainment amazing local’s fantastic hospitality excellent attractions more »

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Google

By Christopher Lew

Amazing sites for photos, especially during golden hour. The Grand canal stretches and weaves its way through the islands of Italy and it is where the highway that is Venice is located. The bus system travels through the Grand canal and by bus I mean water bus. I highly recommend taking the water bus even for fun as an alternative to the gondola because it is infinitely cheaper. 10 euros!

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By Christian Freundorfer

Most important "road" in Venice and definitely a must-see. We totally recommend to take the waterbus or watertaxi or a gondola to see the whole Canal Grande. Also having strolls next to the Canal Grande is really, really nice. So if you're in Venice, don't miss it.

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By Karthik

Main canal of Venice which connects all other small canals in city. All ferries run through this canal and islands near to Venice are connected through this canal. All ferry stops are in this canal, so we can get to all tourist attractions, train stations and main Venice airport from any of the ferry stops in the canal. Famous bridge like Rialto are over this canal.

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By Sumanta Chakraborty

Just great. I think this is the main part of Venice, where one must take the boat and enjoy. Interestingly on the first Sunday of June this canal gets filled with rowing boats of various colours from various destinations. Wonderful and much more from the sky.

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By Tei Hipster

I've to admit that I don't like a smell here but this place is very beautiful and classic. All I can say, it's a place you should not missed in this life. And the food is so great!

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