Grand Canal, Venice (A Popular Tourist Attraction in Europe)

Grand Canal Venice at Night 

Venice canals are one of the most popular attractions of this ancient city in northern Italy. The whole city, which is located among over 100 islands in the Venetian Lagoon, and all islands are interconnected with a series of water-streets or water-roads. This is only city of the Europe where car driving is impossible or prohibited and this is a romantic charm of Venice.

In Venice city there are stunning 448 different tiny, medium, and large bridges over 150 small but picturesque canals. Some of the small bridges have very small footways while big bridges have wide paths. Of all the canals in Venice, The Grand Canal is standing above all. It is the main water traffic passageway in Venice. It is also known as Canalazzo by Venetians.  

The Canal Grande of Venice flows through the city just like in a large reverse “S” shape or snake shape (in the image given by NASA). One end of the canal leads into the lagoon (the Venetian lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea) near the Santa Lucia Railway Station while other end leads into Saint Mark Basin. This ancient canal is approximately 2.5 miles long and its width ranges from 95 to 300 feet while depth is about 16 feet in most places and connects at various points with a network of small canals. Near the Grand Canal there are plenty of hotels to stay and numerous of restaurants (serve very delicious and verity of meals), cafes, bars, and many entertainment venues.

Some 170 number of buildings are located along with the Grand Canal Venice. Many of them give a reflection of old tradition and were constructed between the 1200s and 1700s and were built by rich Venetian families. Some of the most spectacular of all the palazzi that are pasted along the Grand Canal Venice include Ca’d’Oro, Ca’Rezzonico, and Ca’Foscari. Majority of the city’s traffic is provided by water buses (in Italian they are called vaporeti) and private water taxis, and the gondolas which are very famous among tourists. There was only one bridge that crossed until the nineteenth century (it is one of the interesting facts about the Grand Canal Venice). Two more Ponte degli Scalzi and the ponte dell’Accademia bridges were added which also cross this ancient waterway.

Famous Gondola

Water Taxi

The glorious past of Venice returns once a year to the Grand Canal during Regata Storica (Historical Regatta) on first Sunday of September, a boat race competition watch by thousands of people. The first boat races were held in fourteenth century.

Building around Grand Canal Venice, Italy