30 min

Instant confirmation

About this activity

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Canal Grande, 30100 Venice Italy

“The most beautiful road in the world”, this is how the Grand Canal is known as. Gondola serenades have always been part of Venetian culture, an unchanged tradition for an unchageable city. If you look around, what you will see is almost exactly what a nobleman in the 18th century might have looked upon, and before him a Renaissance courtesan and before him a merchant in the Middle Ages.

Pass By: Teatro La Fenice, Campo San Fantin San Marco 1965, 30124 Venice Italy

Once one of 7 major theatres in the city, today the Fenice is Venice’s one and only opera house. It is surely a jewel among European theatres, and began to shine from the beginning, as the best composers of the age wrote and performed their operas here, among which Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. But it was Giuseppe Verdi who is most attached to the Fenice and to Venetian memory.

Pass By: Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Campo de la Salute Dorsoduro 1, 30123 Venice Italy

Here, as you come into the Grand Canal you are opened to the church of the Madonna della Salute.

The first thing that strikes a viewer is how imposing the church is, strategically placed at the entrance of the Grand Canal looking out onto the rest of the city in every direction, thanks to its circular shape.

Today, ever 21 November the city celebrates the Madonna della Salute in memory of the end of the plague

Pass By: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Just East Accademia Along Gran Canal, 30123 Venice Italy

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of the most important art collections in the world. Peggy Guggenheim, originally from New York, arrived in Venice in 1949 and began to satisfy art addiction buying this wonderful building where she displayed invaluable artworks to the world. The beautiful terrace you see is where Guggenheim sun-bathed regularly looking onto the Grand Canal.

Pass By: Palazzo Gritti Badoer, Sestiere Castello 3608, 30122 Venice Italy

The Gritti Palace takes its name from the Gritti family, an old Venetian family, the most important member being Andrea Gritti, who was Doge of Venice in the Renaissance, and led the Venetian armies against the League of Cambrai, composed by France, Spain, Holy Roman who attempted to stop Venice’s expansionist goals in France.

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Included

30-minute shared gondola ride
Live musicians

Not included

Hotel pickup
Commentary

Additional

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
The Gondola Ride does not operate in case of exceptionally bad weather, high/low tide (in these cases it can be postponed the days after otherwise it will be refunded)
The tour is not private but is shared with other guests not belonging to the same party
Each gondola can hold a maximum of 6 people; the seat aboard cannot be chosen but will be assigned by the gondolier depending on guests' weight
The gondola serenade includes a pair of musicians (a singer and a musician) who will be boarded in one of the gondolas to perform throughout the trip; there are not musicians on each gondola; to permit all participants to listen the serenade, the musicians will board on a gondola in the centre of the row
Free under 2 years ONLY if child does not occupy an own seat
This tour is not fully accessible for wheelchair users or people with walking disabilities
Mobile vouchers are accepted
The tour does not operate in case of bad weather (in these cases it can be postponed to the day after otherwise it will be refunded)
Near public transportation
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 35 travelers

Features

Tourism

75%

Original

60%

Cultural

55%

Aquatic

35%

Reviews

3.4

26

R

Robert P

1 | 2018-08-20

We booked this tour as the reviews seemed to be positive. I'm not sure if the tour changed at some point but it was not enjoyable at all. We booked a lot of tours online and have very rarely had a bad experience. This experience was not pleasant at all. I would rate it below the SMALL WORLD ride at Disneyland. There were 9 nine gondolas and 1 pair of musicians on the 5th gondola that rode single file down a very narrow canal. We could not hear the music most of the time from our boat. We had to be over 160 feet away from the gondola with the musicians. It is NOT on the Grand Canal, you will have the view of what I would consider the back alley of a residential community, nothing of interest, no music, no view. The gondoliers talked to each other through the whole tour so you couldn't hear anything. The Audio Guide that is included with the tour did not correspond with anything we saw. I always read bad reviews and think it's someone who is picky or hard to please but we had a great experience on all of our other tours so please stay away from this tour! We voiced our concerns with the tour operator and they were completely rude to us.

b

basketlandbrenda

1 | 2018-07-09

This was a waste of time and money. There are empty gondolas all over the city that you can jump on for a private ride at your leisure. This activity requires you to find a certain spot and wait, wait, wait your precious time away. Our gondolier did not attempt to stay close to the serenade, instead he talked with all the passing gondoliers, smoked cigarettes, and had us back to the loading platform in under 20 minutes. We got off the boat, went down the block and stood on the footbridge to hear our serenade go by... So disappointed!

S

Steven P

5 | 2018-06-11

This was a great ride. This was a group of boats riding together. It wasn't crowded though. This was perfect.

M

Megan H

4 | 2018-04-15

Our Serenade was with a group of Gondolas with 6 people each and 1 amazing singer in one of the boats There were maybe 6 boats total. It was a short ride but it was very enjoyable. Obviously I would've preferred for the tour to be a bit longer and less people.

F

Ferriboat1

1 | 2018-04-04

I paid for a serenade. This was three gondolas goi g out and only one gondola had a man on it singing. It was not my gondola! That is what I paid for! Also, my gondola driver was wearing regular clothes not like the other drivers.

M

Martin C

4 | 2018-04-01

Thought wed better do it while we are in Venice. Was not bad, 3 couples in 1 gondola, we chose the tour with a singing musician, a bit cheesy but we enjoyed it. Gondola ride on your own is quite expensive so this is more a compromise. We still recommend it, someting you should do otherwise you might regret not doing it.

B

Barby55

4 | 2018-01-15

This tour was extremely nice and romantic but there are several gondolas with the singing gondolier in the boat towards the front. Since we were on the second to last boat, it was harder to hear. My suggestion is to get there early and ask to be on the boat with the gondolier or the boat closest

Collections This experience is part of these collections

Collections

Gondola 163 Activities

Venice Gondola Serenade on Canal Grande

Venice

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