Private Venice Canal Cruise: 2-Hour Grand Canal and Secret Canals

See the quieter side of Venice with this small-group canal cruise. Make your way to the departure point near St Mark’s Square to meet your guide and board a comfortable motorboat. Enjoy the quiet charm of Venetian backstreets and observe canal-side scenes of daily life.

Pass through the gates of Porta dell’Acqua to enter Venice’s 12th-century shipyard known as the Arsenale. Learn how this historic naval depot was once among the greatest in Europe during Venice’s reign as a maritime superpower. 
Next, glide through the narrow, picturesque canals of the Cannaregio neighborhood and make your way to Venice’s Jewish Ghetto. Disembark here for 15-20 minutes to explore the historic quarters by foot and capture photos of the centuries-old buildings that surround the main square.

Continue on by boat to the neighborhoods of Santa Croce and Dorsoduro, and pass a traditional gondola workshop where craftspeople carefully carve and finish these classic Venetian vessels by hand.
Finally, make your way out into the wider waters of the Grand Canal for a cruise past the opulent squares and churches that line its banks. Float beneath the famous Rialto Bridge before returning to the original departure point near St Mark’s Square.