Canals of Venice
Venice, Italy
I know I probably don't need to convince anyone they should go to Venice, and in fact there is another spot on our "100 Places" list that is more about the city in general. This one is really focused on just exploring the canals.
Everybody knows about Venice and its unique aspects. It's basically like a lot of other Italian towns, but instead of poorly paved streets they have water. Is it efficient? No. Is it clean and sanitary? No. Does it make sense at all? Not really. What it does do, however, is create a place of magical charm that everyone should experience at some point - even if that charm is sometimes dulled by the throngs of tourists sharing it with you.
Now make no mistake - you can walk all over Venice without ever setting foot on a boat if you want. There are plenty of walking streets and bridges. Navigating is tricky, but not impossible. That said, it's easier to get from place to place on the main canals and if you're in Venice and don't travel by water, you're kind of missing the point.
Everybody thinks of Gondola's when they imagine Venice, but there are Taxi's (the older wooden boats that are the neatest of all the watercraft in my opinion) and there are Vaporetto (water buses) like the one Nel is on above. They connect points along the Grand Canal and the islands like Murano. They run about every 15 minutes or so and they might just be the most expensive form of public transportation in the world.
Other boats aside, this is what people pay a somewhat exorbitant amount to ride. The gondola is the symbol of Venice. I've heard people say "I'm not paying $100 for a 20 minute ride on a crowded canal." I get it, but I'm going to tell you to do it anyway. You might only come to Venice once, but don't skp the gondola ride. It's the only way to get a real feel for the Venetian lifestyle. The canals are actually somewhat quiet and peaceful and you get a look into what it would be like to actually live in this city.
You can catch a gondola at these buildings on the main areas of the Grand Canal (they usually have a sign on them that says "Gondola"). Think of this as like a designated cab area at an airport. You can also just walk up to a gondolier if you see him tied up like the picture above and ask - if he doesn't ask you first. Think of this as sort of like hailing a cab on a random street. I'm not sure you'll save much money doing it this way, but they may negotiate a little bit. The gondoliers seem to stick pretty much to their price points. They must have figured out that competition would be bad for business in this case.
The duration and route of your ride can be negotiated (as can the singing) but most trips hit the main sights such as the Bridge of Sighs above.
Our gondolier was great! He had been doing this for nearly 15 years and was pleasant and spoke very good English. He was also very informative. We learned more about Venice in an hour from him than we did in days on our own or from any guide book.
"Real" Venice is fascinating. You don't appreciate the challenges of living in a floating city until you get away from the tourist areas and see the back alleys for yourself. This is the real reason to take a gondola ride.
Things you wouldn't think about, like trash pick up, or replacing fire extinguishers (above) all offer unique challenges that require unique solutions.
You should definitely have Venice on your own "100 Places" list - and I'll cover that in another post some time - but when you're there, don't skip the gondola or any chance to get out on the canals to see the real Venice. It will leave an impression.
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