Landmark Europe
Grand Canal (Venice)
The Grand Canal is the biggest waterway inside Venice, Italy. Instead of cars on a street, boats travel along it, past old palaces and under bridges!
The Grand Canal is the main waterway running through the city of Venice, in Italy. About 3.8 kilometers long, it curves through the city in a backward S shape, lined with houses and grand palaces. Four bridges cross it, including the Rialto Bridge.
The Grand Canal (Canal Grande, locally the Canalazzo) is Venice's largest inner waterway, probably an ancient river bed: 3,800 m long, 30–70 m wide and at most 5 m deep, it crosses the city from northwest to southeast in a reversed S, crossed by four bridges and with 45 smaller canals branching off it. It lies within 'Venice and its Lagoon', a World Heritage Site since 1987.
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is in Venice, a city in Italy built on lots of small islands.
In Venice, many streets are made of water. The Grand Canal is the biggest one!
Venice is built on 118 small islands in a lagoon in Italy. Canals run through the city like streets of water, and the Grand Canal is the largest waterway inside it.
It crosses Venice from northwest to southeast in the shape of a backward S, dividing the city into two unequal parts. Locally it is called the Canalazzo.
The Treccani encyclopedia calls the Canal Grande the largest inner waterway of Venice, known locally as the Canalazzo, and probably an ancient river bed. It crosses the city from northwest to southeast in a reversed S, dividing it into two unequal parts.
UNESCO explains that when the tiny islands of the lagoon were joined into one city, little of the original landscape remained except what became its canals, such as the Giudecca Canal, St Mark's Canal and the Grand Canal, along with a network of small canals (rii) that are the city's arteries.
- Where
- Venice, Italy
- Length
- 3,800 m
- Width
- 30–70 m
- World Heritage
- part of Venice and its Lagoon, inscribed 1987
A city on water
People started building Venice long, long ago, on small islands in shallow water.
The Grand Canal may once have been a river!
UNESCO says Venice was founded in the 5th century on 118 small islands and became a great sea power by the 10th century. As the islands were joined into one city, little of the old landscape was left except what became its canals.
The Treccani encyclopedia says the Grand Canal was probably once a river bed. Today 45 smaller canals branch off it.
UNESCO dates Venice's founding to the 5th century and its rise as a major maritime power to the 10th century. The whole lagoon city, it says, is an architectural masterpiece, and it was inscribed as 'Venice and its Lagoon' in 1987.
Treccani describes the Grand Canal as probably an old river bed. From it branch 45 smaller canals, the rii, which UNESCO calls the arteries of a city on water.
Palaces along the water
Tall houses and fancy palaces line both sides of the canal.
Boats travel past them, and wooden posts stand in the water.
Houses and rich palaces line both sides of the Grand Canal. Treccani calls them a splendid survey of Venetian architecture.
Boats travel along the canal, and wooden posts stand in the water near the banks. UNESCO says that waves made by motor boats, together with more frequent high tides, are among the main causes of damage to Venice's buildings.
Treccani describes the canal as flanked by houses and rich palaces that make a splendid survey of Venetian architecture. UNESCO lists the grand monuments of the Republic's golden age and the more modest homes of the city's six quarters (sestieri) as part of Venice's incomparable series of architectural ensembles.
UNESCO also notes that more frequent and higher tides, together with waves made by motor boats, are among the main causes of damage to the city's buildings.
Four bridges
Only four bridges cross the whole Grand Canal. One is the Rialto Bridge.
The canal is not very deep: at most about 5 meters.
Only four bridges cross the Grand Canal in its 3.8 kilometers: the Station Bridge, the Rialto Bridge, the Accademia Bridge and the Constitution Bridge. The Rialto Bridge, in the photo, is a wide stone arch with rows of arches along its top.
The canal is 30 to 70 meters wide but at most 5 meters deep.
Treccani lists the four bridges that cross the canal: della Stazione, di Rialto, dell'Accademia and della Costituzione. The canal is 3,800 m long, between 30 and 70 m wide and no more than 5 m deep.
In the photo, the Rialto Bridge crosses as a single wide stone arch, with arcades along its top and crowds of people on it.
- Bridges across it
- 4: Stazione, Rialto, Accademia, Costituzione
- Deepest point
- about 5 m
- Smaller canals branching off
- 45
Boats and the Rialto Bridge
In this photo, boats zoom along the canal toward a white stone bridge. Can you find the bridge?
This photo was taken on 23 September 2017. It looks along the Grand Canal toward the Rialto Bridge. Boats travel on the green water, and wooden posts stand near the left bank.
On the left are tall palaces with balconies and green shutters, and a terrace with tables and red awnings by the water. On the right are more buildings and a bell tower.
The photograph (23 September 2017, by Martin Falbisoner; a Commons featured picture and Picture of the Day) looks along the canal to the Rialto Bridge, with motorboats and a larger passenger boat on the water, mooring posts by the left bank, palaces with balconies, a waterside terrace with tables and, on the right, a bell tower.
UNESCO describes Venice as a city that seems to float on the waters of the lagoon, a landscape that inspired painters such as Canaletto, Guardi and Turner.
Amazing facts
-
The Grand Canal may once have been a river!
The Grand Canal was probably once the bed of a river.
Treccani describes the Grand Canal as probably an ancient river bed.
-
Only four bridges cross this long canal!
In its 3.8 kilometers, the Grand Canal is crossed by only four bridges.
Four bridges cross the canal: della Stazione, di Rialto, dell'Accademia and della Costituzione.
-
Venice is built on 118 little islands!
Venice spreads over 118 small islands in a lagoon.
Founded in the 5th century, Venice spreads over 118 small islands.
Words to know
- canal
- a channel of water that boats can travel along
- lagoon
- a shallow body of sea water partly cut off from the open sea
- palace
- a large, grand house
- river bed
- the bottom of a river, where its water flows
- arcade
- a row of arches held up by columns or pillars
- rio
- the Venetian name for one of its small canals (plural: rii)
Discovery challenge
-
What travels along the Grand Canal instead of cars?
What carries people along the Grand Canal?
What kind of traffic does UNESCO say makes waves that damage Venice's buildings?
- Boats
- Trains
- Buses
Show the answer
Boats
Boats!
Boats.
Motor boats.
-
How many bridges cross the Grand Canal?
How many bridges cross the Grand Canal?
How many bridges does Treccani list across the canal?
- 4
- 40
- 1
Show the answer
4
Four!
Four.
Four: Stazione, Rialto, Accademia, Costituzione.
-
In which country is Venice?
In which country is the Grand Canal?
In which country is the lagoon city crossed by the Grand Canal?
- Italy
- Spain
- Egypt
Show the answer
Italy
Italy!
Italy.
Italy.
-
What letter shape does the Grand Canal make?
Which letter does the Grand Canal's shape look like, written backward?
In what shape does the canal cross Venice from northwest to southeast?
- An S
- An O
- An X
Show the answer
An S
A backward S!
A backward S.
A reversed S.
-
How long is the Grand Canal?
About how long is the Grand Canal?
What length does Treccani give for the canal?
- About 3.8 kilometers
- About 38 meters
- About 380 kilometers
Show the answer
About 3.8 kilometers
About 3.8 kilometers!
About 3.8 km.
3,800 m.
Nearby places
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City
Venice
Venice, in northern Italy, is spread over 118 small islands in a shallow lagoon off the Adriatic Sea. There are no cars in the old city: people walk or travel by boat along its canals, past palaces and over about 400 bridges. High tides sometimes flood its squares, so giant gates now protect the lagoon.
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Landmark
St Mark's Basilica
St Mark's Basilica stands on St Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. The church you see today was begun in 1063 and dedicated in 1094, and for nearly a thousand years it was the chapel of the doges, the rulers of Venice. It has 8,000 square meters of gold mosaics, which is why it is called the Church of Gold. Since 1807 it has been Venice's cathedral.
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Florence
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Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral, called Santa Maria del Fiore, is the great cathedral of Florence, Italy. It was founded in 1296, and its enormous dome, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, was built from 1420 to 1436 without a wooden frame to hold it up while it was built. It is part of the Historic Centre of Florence World Heritage Site.
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Milan
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La Scala
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Country
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City
Venice
Venice, in northern Italy, is spread over 118 small islands in a shallow lagoon off the Adriatic Sea. There are no cars in the old city: people walk or travel by boat along its canals, past palaces and over about 400 bridges. High tides sometimes flood its squares, so giant gates now protect the lagoon.
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St Mark's Basilica
St Mark's Basilica stands on St Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. The church you see today was begun in 1063 and dedicated in 1094, and for nearly a thousand years it was the chapel of the doges, the rulers of Venice. It has 8,000 square meters of gold mosaics, which is why it is called the Church of Gold. Since 1807 it has been Venice's cathedral.
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Life around the world
Water buses of Venice, Italy
Venice is spread over 118 small islands in a lagoon in northern Italy. Cars cannot drive into the old city, so people walk over its 400 or so bridges or take a vaporetto, a public water bus. The canals also carry water taxis, gondolas, and boats for fruit, garbage, ambulances and police.
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Acropolis of Athens
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Afsluitdijk
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain how a city can use canals as streets.
- Describe a lagoon and how a city can be built on many small islands.
- Explain why waves from motor boats can damage buildings at the water's edge.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- What would be different about going to school in a city where many streets are water?
- Only four bridges cross the Grand Canal. How else might people get from one side to the other?
- Why might the waves from boats be a problem for very old buildings?
Try at home or in class
- Draw a map of an imaginary island city with a big S-shaped canal, smaller canals and four bridges.
- In a tray of water, push a toy boat quickly past a sand 'building' at the edge and watch what the waves do.
Key vocabulary: canal, lagoon, palace, river bed, arcade, rio
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Canal Grande (Enciclopedia on line) , Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani
- Venice and its Lagoon (World Heritage List) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- File:Panorama of Canal Grande and Ponte di Rialto, Venice - September 2017.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.