Gondola rides in Venice

Last updated on May 5th, 2024 at 02:02 pm

Venice is notorious for it’s Gondola rides. Even though we were in the down pouring rain our entire trip we were not leaving until we got on one (or two). Over the few days we were in Venice, we kept watching the weather hoping to get a little break and run and hop on a gondola, it came down to the very last few hours and the rain just kept coming. Did that stop us, oh no, you can’t leave Venice without getting on a gondola. It was just another adventure and part to add to our story and you soon forget about the rain. I was on a gondola in Venice, who cares about the rain, as you can see the happy gondola man was even whistling away with his umbrella in one hand and the ore in the other. 

I love that my mother is just as adventurous as I am and so great to travel with. I can’t wait to see the many places we still have yet to visit together and love recalling the ones we have already experienced. It’s great to see all the tourist attractions by foot in Venice as it’s easy to get around and small walking distances between things but it’s a whole different perspective inches from the canal water going underneath them!!

This is the Rialto bridge, I believe it was the first bridge ever built across the grand canal and that’s why it’s an attraction and famous. We stayed not far from here so we got to visit all the cute little shops. Each black shutter you see is a little shop on both sides of the bridge. You could spend all day shopping in various little boutiques and shops down every side street. There are millions I swear, small tiny streets and you wonder how they packed it all in there. 

The gondolas themselves are pretty impressive and that’s why I kept it until last of my Venice posts to share with you all. If you missed part one and part two of my Venice trip, see the link at the bottom of this post. 

The gondolas are longer than I expected and very narrow. The first gondola we went on was near the Rialto bridge side of Venice. The gondola man was so lovely to us and wiped it all down with a towel and had umbrellas on hand for him and us. He gave us a great tour around the bridge and told us stories which I absolutely love hearing of the history of places and people. We passed Marco Polo’s home and it was run down but fun to say you have seen it, part of history. 

The photo below was my favorite part of the gondola ride as on your left is the restaurant we absolutely loved and had the best food ever there and a great night our first night. Just up ahead our hotel is right on the canal too. Fancy getting dropped off at our hotel in a gondola. We saw a wedding going on and the bridge is where they take wedding photos outside our hotel so that was great to see, although I did feel bad for the bride in the rain! 

The bridge were such a tight squeeze and you could see scrapes of where gondolas have smashed into the walls. The gondola is constantly sideways so you feel a little bit like you are going to tip out of it but you don’t obviously. I couldn’t believe how close you were to the water. Since it was really raining hard and windy you could really feel all the waves. I can imagine that it would be so beautiful on a gondola at sunset or sunrise. I bet it makes the water glow and the buildings shine in all their various colors. It’s alright that it rained for us I had enough of an imagination to think of what it could be like. I bet it’s just mesmerizing. 

So with only a few hours to spare and a few extra euros we thought why not walk over to Doge’s Palace on the other side of Venice, it’s not far, and have another gondola ride on that side of the canal. Yes, we were that greedy for it. We waited days to get on one, why not two back to back! That’s just how we roll in my family. 

It was great because depending on where you get on a gondola, you are going to be taken to different city attractions. We got to see this beautiful church and the one below up close and personal. Even though the weather was really turning for the worse we kept on going. The second ride was a little more intense because it was on the big open part of the canal so there were bigger boats, making bigger waves and the wind was picking up. I felt completely adventurous and a little scared if I am honest but good scared.

There was so much architecture everywhere you looked. I wish I hadn’t been wiping my camera off every four seconds so I could have truly focused on buildings and the sights around us. Even in the rain it’s really something to see. The water was really high because of all the rain which causes the city to flood as you go by you could see the water going right into places. It was just unreal.

If you go to Venice don’t think it’s not worth the money if it’s raining and don’t wait for the rain to stop. It might not ever stop and you will miss your chance. We may have got soaked but there are ponchos available and umbrellas and you still get such a great experience, I promise! 

If you missed our Venice trip part one and part two check them out.

Have you been to Venice? Would love to hear what you loved most about it and how you felt about a gondola ride, if you took one. If not, you must put it on your bucket list it’s a great place to visit.

 

Linking up with #BrilliantBlogPosts & #PoCoLo