Gondola in Venice for cruisers - Venice Gondola rides

To experience a gondola in Venice, you have two options: either taking a cruise ship organized shore excursion or reach downtown Venice on your own, and catching a gondola by yourself.

You'll take
a gondola Venice ride as part of your cruise line organized tour if:

• you like to stick with your fellow Mediterranean cruisers from the ship
• you’re not comfortable getting around Venice on your own
• you’re not comfortable negotiating with Venice gondoliers
• you don’t mind paying more for the ship services of organizing this excursion

Otherwise, you'll simply catch a Venetian gondola directly by one of the numerous canals of Venice.

This, combined with the option of simply walking downtown Venice, will save you and your family a substantial amount of money.

Where to get a gondola in Venice

If you decided to walk from the cruise ship to downtown Venice you will first see gondolas at Piazzale Roma.

You'll recognize the official Venice gondoliers by their black pants and striped t-shirts. They won’t necessarily always wear the little Venetian hat.

If you’re taking some kind of transportation to Venice downtown, you'll see your first gondoliers along the waterfront in front of the Doge’s palace.

There's a big Venetian gondola stop behind the Old Offices of St. Mark’s square.

Here’s how to find it:

• Stand on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s square) with Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark’s basilica) behind you. The long arcaded building that closes the right hand side of the square in front of you, is the Old Offices. There, you will also find the famous Lavena and Quadri cafés.
• Walk to the very bottom of St. Mark’s square (with the basilica behind you) and turn right underneath the arcades before you reach the bottom.
• Go through the little passage underneath the building and you'll find yourself on the canal with dozens of gondolas lined up (right next to the Venice Hard Rock Cafe).

Although this is one of the biggest gondola stops in Venice, you might find it a bit too crazy… it’s always packed with tourists and gondoliers shouting, trying to arrange people into boats… it takes away from the whole romantic experience a bit, I think.

Another Venetian gondola stop is on Campo S. Moise, just 5 minutes from here, here’s how to get there:

• Walk to the bottom of St. Mark’s square with St. Mark’s basilica behind you
• Take the passage on the left hand-side of Napoleon’s wing (Museo Correr)
• Go past the Chanel and Louis Vuitton boutiques, down the Sal. San Moise street until you get to the first little square (Campo S. Moise)
• The Venice gondola stop is right by the little bridge

If you're looking for info on Venice gondolas in general, Venice gondola fares etc. you will find it in our article on Venetian Gondola.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• VENICE TRANSPORTATION
• VENICE TRAGHETTO
• CANALS OF VENICE
• VENICE GRAND CANAL

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