Canals of Venice - Grand Canals

A little strange it may be, a major street made out of water and yet lined with some of the greatest buildings on earth, but it is an enchanting place.

Here was the place to live in centuries past and in fact this is still the address to have. Any merchant who made it in the world of business had his home here.

Most of the beautiful buildings along the canal originate from this quest by the Venetian rich to outdo the neighbor's place next-door.

Styles of houses along the canal are varied. Some of the earliest are the old Fondaco houses – the homes of the first merchants with a warehouse for their trading businesses.

In later centuries these were followed by buildings of Byzantine style and then once the influence of the Ottomans had declined Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture predominated.

This most beautiful of the canals of Venice was once a now long forgotten river and it was in the 12th century that the first bridge over the canal was built. This was replaced in the 16th century by the famous Rialto Bridge, which remained the only bridge over the Grand Canal until the 19th century.

Still the best way to see the canal and fairly cheap too is to take a water bus – vaporetto in Italian. The number one bus does the route and it provides a stunning ride through the centuries, just make sure you take your camera along.