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Private Gondola Tour: Explore Venice and its Grand Canal History
4.1
134 Ratings
Venezia
Experience the charm of Venice on a private gondola tour. Float along the Grand Canal, learn about the history of gondolas, and admire iconic landmarks. Book now!
Duration:
1 hour
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio - Meeting point for the tour and drop off
-
Canal Grande - A truly unique and magical one hour gondola guided tour of Venice’s waterways, you will be guaranteed the best and most breathtaking views of the city of Venice from the water. We glide along the Grand Canal passing Ca Dario, the Peggy Guggenheim museum, the Accademia bridge, the real home of Casanova, Palazzo Grassi, Ca Rezzonico, Ca Bembo, Ca Pesaro, close to the Rialto bridge, Campo Manin, and Mozart’s house.
Once you have met up with our expert guide you will be steered in style by your own personal gondolier along the incomparable Grand Canal.
Passing through centuries of history and stunning Palazzi, each with their own story to tell, you will glide effortlessly along one of the most, beautiful and elegant ‘high streets’ in the world. All you need to do is sit back, relax taking in the surroundings while our informative guide entertains you with stories and anecdotes of the city, explaining the history behind La Serenissima and her array of stunning palaces.
Turning into one of Venice’s scenic side canals, you will not only be able to enjoy the splendour of the Canal Grande but also the quaint charm of the smaller, more residential areas too - ‘real Venice’.
These are just a few highlights of this outstanding exploration of Venice. Our informative guide will tell you all about the gondola, its unique structure and traditions of the Venetian gondoliers – unique to Venice.
Why not indulge in this exceptional tour? Appreciate Venice from the best and most original angle.
An excellent way to combine an informative and stimulating guided commentary with an essential gondola ride, this tour is not to be missed!
- Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute - Basilca di Santa Maria della Salute is part of the itinerary
- Ponte di Rialto - The Rialto bridge is part of the itinerary (but ask to the gondolier first)
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection - Peggy Guggenheim is part of the itinerary
What's Included
- Private guide in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
- Private 1 hour gondola ride
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drink
Additional Information
Take a private, hour-long tour on a gondola boat and immerse yourself in the rich history of these iconic Venetian boats. Let your gondolier guide you along the well-known Grand Canal as you sit back and enjoy interesting facts and anecdotes about both the city and its boats from a knowledgeable local guide. Enjoy the sights of picturesque Rio della Madonnetta, and marvel at key Venetian landmarks like the Rialto Bridge and the stunning Gothic Ca’ d’Oro mansion situated on the Grand Canal. Even though the typical gondola is compact, it comfortably accommodates up to five passengers, in addition to the onboard guide and gondolier.
- Infants aged under 2 years will be seated on the lap of an adult;
- There is a limit of 4 people + 1 guide per gondola
- On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
Location
Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio
Campiello Traghetto
Meeting point: 15 min before the departure time at the gondola station of Santa Maria del Giglio in front of the Gritti Palace Hotel.
Please look for your guide with a sign with your name on it!
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.1
(134 Ratings)
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Malaya_j
Feb 15, 2024
Valentines Day Gondola Ride 💕 - Fantastic experience on Valentines Day ! Our guide and gondolier were so friendly and was an amazing time...even the weather was great ! Thank you so much x
Review provided by Viator
Getaway403344
Jun 19, 2023
Gondola Venice - Sylvia is very knowledgeable and informative about the city as she is a native born Venetian. Highly recommend fir your gondola ride.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nomad23851223745
May 6, 2023
Loved it! - Very pleased with our guide. Easy to find. We loved having the hour to go through all the canals, seeing the beauty of Venice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachel_a
Apr 22, 2023
Informative - Our guide was lovely . Very pleasant and informative. Answered all our questions but also let us relax and enjoy .
Review provided by Viator
David_w
Jul 19, 2022
Excellent, a great start to our trip to Venice - Guide is a local and she was wonderful answering our 11 y/o daughters questions. We went off the Grand Canal into a couple smaller quieter canals which we very peaceful.
Review provided by Viator
Evelynj_p
May 23, 2023
The actual gondola ride... - The actual gondola ride around the canals was a nice experience but the tour guide did not really contribute to the experience and obstructed it. She sat very close to one of our family members to the point that she had to be asked to move because the person could not face forward due to the tour guide's close proximity. She also blocked our view forward in the gondola. The information she provided was very limited and of poor quality, she did not provide meaningful information about Venice or the canals. By the time we had this tour, we had participated of several other tours in Rome and Florence with tour guides that were very knowledgeable about the history and architecture of the sites they were showing us and we were expecting our guide in Venice to also provide knowledgeable and insightful information about Venice, however, she only gave us a few bullet points, which she repeated throughout the ride.
Review provided by Viator
11251962
Nov 3, 2022
Disappointing and too expensive - Our guide was very pleasant and kind. But there was no plan on what we would see and so we just seem to wander along worth occasional references to a site most often after already passing it. Guide did not show up prepared. It ended at 45 mins not even the full hour. Far too expensive for what we experienced. Very disappointed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jens_k
Jul 26, 2022
Waste of Bucks! - this is way too much money for a simple ride with a guide, who knows less than us. we recommend to book this gondoliere via a good hotel spontaneously!!!
Review provided by Viator
Minh_d
Jun 3, 2024
Don’t get scammed by this guide - The gondala ride was fine but our tour guide was useless. She spent most of the time talking to the gondola driver and only a few minutes talking to us. She definitely did not want to be there and it showed from the first minute we met her.
Review provided by Viator
Sarah_d
Apr 24, 2024
Avoid at all costs - Rubbish and a rip off. Paid £361 for an hour long gondola ride. Received a half hearted tour guide who really couldn’t be bothered and 30 minutes. Avoid
Review provided by Viator
