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The Canal Grande is a large canal in Venice. Next to St Mark's Square, it is the
most important and best-known sights in
Venice. The waterway is
almost 4 kilometres long and about 50 metres wide.
The canal divides the main island of Venice in two parts. There
are only four bridges over the long canal, two of which
are almost next to each other near the
Central Station Venice. The most
famous bridge over the canal is the
Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) in the
heart of Venice.
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Our tip:
Buy tickets for waterbuses
beforehand
It is not always easy to
buy tickets abroad. You don't know where to buy tickets,
foreign ticket machines are difficult to use, there are
language problems, queues, etc.
The 1, 2 or 3 day valid
tickets for the waterbuses (ferries) in Venice are needed
by almost every tourist. These tickets can now be bought
on this english website.
The tickets for the bus
from Venice airport to the city are available
on this page in English language.
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The Canal Grande starts not far from the long bridge from the
mainland (Bridge of Liberty, near the
only railway station of Venice Santa
Lucia) and ends not far from
St. Marks Square. The
big
canal winds its way through Venice in an S-shape for four
kilometres. The distance from the railway station to St.
Mark's Square is only about 2.5 kilometres on foot.
The wide canal is used by passenger ferries, which are the
only means of public transport in Venice. The lines 1 and
2 of the so-called Vaporetti (name of the ships in
Italian) travel along the entire length of the canal.
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Better
buy tickets
for Venice online
In Venice, the queues are often long,
some sellers do not speak English. Ticket machines are
difficult to use for foreigners. Therefore, we recommend
to buy some tickets in advance on the Internet e.g. on the
well-known website Getyourguide:
1. Tickets for the
local ferries (water buses, vaporetto): daily tickets,
weekly tickets, etc.: Click here
2. Tickets for the
airport bus: Venice Marco
Polo Airport:
Click here
3. Doge's
Palace and St. Mark's church (the main
sights): Click here
4. Great und cheap trip
to 3 islands around Venice:
Click
here
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The Canal Grande is the most important waterway of the
lagoon city and therefore very busy. In addition to
passenger ships, cargo ships,
water taxis and the famous
gondolas of Venice also sail on the most famous
city canal in the world
(see: Ships in Venice). Swimming or bathing in the Canal
Grande is strictly forbidden.
If you have the money, you can rent a room in one of the
many luxury hotels along the canal. Hotel rooms with a
view of the Canal Grande are usually not exactly cheap. You can also enjoy the view of the Canal
Grande in one of the many street cafes. In some areas,
but not everywhere, a footpath runs along the canal. In
the opinion of most tourists, however, the best view is
from the water buses (ferries). A one-way ticket costs
7.50 euros, day tickets are available from 20 euros. The
day tickets and multi-day tickets are valid on all lines,
also to many other islands in the lagoon and much
more.
>>> On
this link you can buy tickets for the water buses
(vaporetto)
Video 1: View from a ship on the
Canal Grande
The video gives an impression of the palaces on the banks
of the Canal Grande and the traffic on the
world-famous waterway.
Video 2: Boats on the Canal Grande
In the background you can see the
world-famous Rialto Bridge.
Gondola
ride on the Grand Canal
One of the most popular
things that tourists do in Venice has been a
gondola ride for decades.
It often takes you all or part of the Canal Grande. But
the ride through smaller canals is also very attractive:
Our page about gondola rides in Venice
Course
Canal Grande
The large canal of the
lagoon city begins to the right of the bridge when you
come from the mainland to the old town island. Some tracks
of the Santa Lucia Central Station
are only a few meters away from the water of the Grand
Canal. Cars cross the
Grand Canal after leaving the bridge and reaching Venice.
After a few hundred meters, the Grand Canal reaches the
bus station in Piazzale Roma on the right-hand side and,
after a left-hand bend, the main entrance to the large
Santa Lucia train station.
A bridge is at the bus station, the
Ponte della
Costituzione. It connects the bus station and the
pedestrian train station. Shortly after the train stations
is another bridge over the Canal Grande, the Ponte degli
Scalzi. Over this bridge many tourists walk from the train
station to the old town. On the other side of the bridge
is a popular branch of Burger King.
The Canal continues in a long and slight right turn, many
great palaces and some churches are located on the banks.
After a good kilometer after the main train station you
will see the Rialto market on the right side. Shortly
after that you pass the famous Rialto bridge and after
another bend to the right.
After a few more hundred meters, after a left turn, you
come to the fourth and last bridge over the Canal Grande.
It is the Ponte dell Accademia. To the right of the bridge
is the famous art museum Gallerie dell Accademia, a little
further down the canal the equally famous
Museum of Modern
Art Guggenheim. After a few hundred meters you will see
the famous church Santa Maria della Salute on the right.
Then the Canal Grande flows again into the lagoon of
Venice. On the left bank is St. Mark's Square with the
Doge's Palace.
Of course, the famous canal in Venice can also be
navigated or described the other way round, beginning and
end are relative.
Water buses
on the Grand Canal
The vaporetti (water buses,
passenger ferries) are the only means of transport on and
around the old town island of Venice. The ferries run on
different lines mainly around the island and on the Grand
Canal and a few other canals.
Directly on the Grand Canal there are two lines of water
buses, line 1 and
line 2, both stopping at important
stations such as Santa Lucia Central Station, Rialto
Bridge, etc. Line 1 stops much more often than Line 2, but
if you want to see Venice slowly, you should take Line 1.
If you want to see Venice quickly, it is better to take
line 2, both of which go to Lido and then back to the main
station. The passage through the whole Canal Grande takes
about 45 minutes with line 1, with its many stops. Line 2
can do this in under 30 minutes.
City Plan Venice
The Old Town of Venice is an island.
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Important: This article was translated by a
non-native English speaking person. We apologize for mistakes. |
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Deutsche Version 