Gondola Ride

Stazio Gondole Bacino Orseolo

Thirty minutes of just the oar through narrow canals

⚠ Priced per boat, not per person

Hours

Morning to night, varying by stand

Tickets

Per boat: €90 for 30 minutes by day, €110 at night, max 5 people. Ask the gondolier about extra time

Address

A small gondola basin just behind the west arcade of Piazza San Marco; there are gondola stands (stazi) all over, including Rialto and the San Marco waterfront

It's expensive, and most people do it once anyway. The gondolier steers from the stern with a single oar and slips into canals barely wider than the boat, and there's no engine, just water lapping and the odd warning call at a corner. Low bridges pass over your head; washing lines and flower boxes are almost within reach. The fare is fixed by the city and it's per boat, so the bigger your group, the less each person pays.