Venice is a one of a kind city and the view of Venice from a Gondola is definitely a one of a kind experience. A gondola ride was on our to-do list in Venice, but before taking the ride, we were not very sure about it, because gondolas seemed to be a very touristy and pricy activity.
On our way to Rialto Bridge one early morning, we saw a gondolier row in and park his gondola in a small canal by a bridge. Out of curiosity, we stopped and watched him getting ready for the busy day. After the gondolier was ready, he asked if we would like to take a ride and we were interested enough to hop on it.
We took a route out to the Rialto Bridge and back. The gondolier told us that they don’t especially like to row gondolas in the Grand Canal because the Grand Canal is very busy and the motor boats can easily damage a gondola. Luckily, it was early in the morning, so the Grand Canal wasn’t busy yet.
He also told us that not everyone can row a gondola in Venice, only licensed gondoliers are allowed. Gondolas are a work of art. Rowing a gondola in Venice is like driving a Mercedes Benz on land. It takes a long time for an experienced maker to make one gondola and the licensing fee of being a gondolier is also significant, so owning a gondola is costly. I learned that the body of a gondola is not symmetric because the gondolier rows from only one side.
I found that Venetians use the canals like we use the roads on land. The canals are labeled just like the streets on land. There are speed signs and even signs showing what type of boats are allowed to enter certain canals. For example, we went in a canal that only gondolas are allowed to enter. It happened that another gondola was coming from the other end of this small canal after ours entered it. The gondoliers managed to pass each other without having their gondolas even touch each other’s or touch the walls. Very impressive skills!
There are doors that open toward the canals, so that the people can arrive or depart from the canals (by a boat of course). There are balconies and windows facing the canals, just like any building we see on the streets on land. There are impressive details on buildings, doors, and windows facing the canals, which can only be seen from the canals. Some lanes or streets end at a canal so that the delivery boats have access to every corner of the city and people can catch a boat or get off of a boat from there.
From the canals, the view of Venice in a gondola is very unique and very different from what can be seen by other modes. Different than walking, or taking a water bus, or taking a water taxi, a gondola does not move very fast and it can pass through small canals that water buses or water taxies cannot, so I noticed many details of Venice along the canals that otherwise I would not have seen.
By the time when we reached the Grand Canal, the city was just about waking up. I saw working people were catching the water bus, the gondolas were lining up at a gondola station near Rialto Bridge, the delivery boats were doing their early morning deliveries, and a few other groups of people, who woke up as early as we did, were in other gondolas.
Along the way, our super cool gondolier started to sing! When we were researching about gondolas in Venice, we were advised not to ask the gondoliers to sing because not everyone sings and the request will only make them feel like we are troublesome. Therefore, we didn’t ask and we didn’t expect our gondolier to sing either. This was a nice surprise! We were lucky that our gondolier was a great singer too!
I had a terrific time riding a gondola and I enjoyed very much our view of Venice from a gondola. It is truly an experience of a lifetime!
Here are some tips of riding a gondola when you visit Venice:
- A gondola ride is definitely worth the price (if you are still battling whether to do it or not because of its price).
- If you still think it is too pricy to ride a gondola, but want to experience something similar, try the traghetto, a bigger public gondola ferry that takes people across the Grand Canal at certain spots. However, with the traghetto, you can only experience the ride itself, but not the view that a gondola ride provides.
- Do it early in the day or late in the day (nighttime is more expensive although it is more romantic) to avoid crowds and to see more of Venice.
- Step away from gondola stations right by big attractions, like Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge. You will find random gondola stations just a little away from these big attractions and less people will be waiting in line there. Also, gondolas start from different stations have different routes. These stations away from the big attractions tend to go into some smaller and quieter canals and you will have a much better riding experience and a higher chance to see more of “hidden Venice”.
Rialto Bridge
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