Grand Canal Tours and Activities

Grand Canal featuring heritage architecture, a river or creek and a city
Grand Canal
Grand Canal showing a city, a bay or harbour and a river or creek
Grand Canal showing heritage architecture, a river or creek and boating
Grand Canal showing boating and street scenes


Venice’s famous canal winds through the city and brings you to nearly all of its world-famous attractions. Hop in a gondola or vaporetto to take it all in!

The Grand Canal is Venice’s famous S-shaped thoroughfare. On any given day you can hear the splashing of the oars of the gondolas that slowly traverse the city just as they have done for centuries. A trip in a gondola is almost unavoidable because there are very few sidewalks along the canal, and the backs of the Floating City’s buildings drop straight into the water. A more modern and faster way to see the Grand Canal, and the main tourist attractions alongside it, is by vaporetto (water bus). For a simple crossing, take a traghetto, a ferry on which you remain standing for the duration of the short trip.

You can travel the entire two-mile (four-kilometer) length of the Grand Canal by boat, passing the many fine palaces and churches that line its banks. See examples of the impressive architectural styles that give Venice its charm. Among the more than 170 landmark buildings is the Gothic palace Ca’ d’Oro, the baroque Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute and the Renaissance-style Palazzo Dario. Several agencies offer tours that will explain the history of these buildings in detail, a great way to get an overview of Venice. If you’d rather explore at your own pace, hire a private gondola and punt your way along the calm waters.  

Be sure to pause at the Rialto Bridge, one of Venice’s most iconic sights. It’s the oldest of four bridges that cross the Grand Canal. The other bridges are the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Ponte dell’Accademia, and the ultra-modern, and controversial, Constitution Bridge.

Come on the first Sunday in September for the spectacular Regata Storica, when locals dressed in 16th-century costumes race decorated boats.
The Grand Canal is Venice’s “main street,” central to all that goes on in the city. It is common practice to barter with the gondoliers when arranging your canal trip.

Plan a trip to see Grand Canal

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Best Lodging Options Near Grand Canal

Hotel Cavalletto e Doge Orseolo

Hotel Cavalletto e Doge Orseolo

4 out of 5
Piazza San Marco 1107, Calle del Cavalletto, Venice, VE
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Hotel Montecarlo

Hotel Montecarlo

3 out of 5
Calle Specchieri 463 San Marco, Venice, VE
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The St. Regis Venice

The St. Regis Venice

5 out of 5
Campo Barozzi, San Marco 2159, Venice, VE
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Splendid Venice – Starhotels Collezione

Splendid Venice – Starhotels Collezione

4 out of 5
San Marco Mercerie 760, Venice, VE
Splendid Venice – Starhotels Collezione
The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice

The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice

5 out of 5
Campo Santa Maria Del Giglio O Zobenigo, Venice, VE
The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice
Hampton By Hilton Venice Isola Nuova

Hampton By Hilton Venice Isola Nuova

3 out of 5
Isola Nova del Tronchetto 17, Venice, VE
Hampton By Hilton Venice Isola Nuova
Unahotels Ala Venezia - Adults Only

Unahotels Ala Venezia - Adults Only

3.5 out of 5
San Marco 2494, Campo Santa Maria Del Giglio, Venice, VE
Unahotels Ala Venezia - Adults Only
Hotel Bisanzio

Hotel Bisanzio

4 out of 5
Riva degli Schiavoni, Calle della Pieta, 3651, Venice, VE
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Royal San Marco Hotel

Royal San Marco Hotel

4 out of 5
San Marco Calle dei Fabbri, Venice, VE
Royal San Marco Hotel
Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.