# Gondola ride in Venice > The gondola is Venice's symbol: a slender black boat steered by a gondolier standing at the stern with a single oar. A classic ride lasts about 30 minutes, with a city-set price per boat rather than per person, so sharing is cheaper; up to five can ride. The cheapest taste is a traghetto across the Grand Canal. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gondola - City: [Venice](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice), Italy - YesGo score: 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 40 min - Entry: Paid, per boat - Opening hours: Day and evening; evening rates are higher - With kids: Fine with kids - Price: Set by the city, per boat; higher at night - Duration: About 30 minutes - Passengers: Up to 5 per boat - Where to board: Gondola stands (stazi) at San Marco, the Rialto and more - Budget option: Traghetto across the Grand Canal - The boat: ≈ 11 m, asymmetric black hull - Coordinates: 45.43493, 12.33677 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **≈ 400** — licensed gondolas work in Venice (source: English Wikipedia) - **≈ 11 m** — long, with an asymmetric hull (source: English Wikipedia) - **16th century** — a law required gondolas to be painted black (source: English Wikipedia) - **Ferro** — the iron prow whose prongs evoke the city's districts (source: English Wikipedia) - **Squero** — San Trovaso yard, where gondolas are built and repaired (source: English Wikipedia) ## A short history Gondolas have plied Venice for nearly a thousand years. Once there were thousands, used for business, shopping and visits, and noble families kept their own with private gondoliers. So lavishly were they decorated that a **16th-century** sumptuary law ordered them painted **black**, as they remain. Today about **400 licensed gondolas** operate, and gondolier is a respected, often hereditary trade requiring training and an exam, including city history and languages. Gondoliers wear striped shirts and straw hats and race in September's Regata Storica. ## How a gondola works About **11 m** long and built from nearly 300 wooden parts of eight kinds of wood, the hull is **asymmetric** — the left side longer than the right — so the boat runs straight though the gondolier rows on one side from the stern. The oar rests in a carved oarlock, the forcola, allowing turns, stops and pivots in tight canals. The iron **ferro** on the prow has six forward prongs, said to stand for the city's six sestieri. Gondolas are still handmade in boatyards called **squeri**; the best known, the 17th-century **Squero di San Trovaso**, can be seen from across its canal in Dorsoduro. ## What to know - **Price** — set by the city per boat; more in the evening. - **Time** — about 30 minutes; longer by arrangement. - **Passengers** — up to five for the same price. - **Route** — agree before you leave: Grand Canal or quiet canals. - **Serenade** — with a singer and accordion, extra. - **Traghetto** — a short Grand Canal crossing, inexpensive. > **Choosing a route** From the San Marco stand rides often head onto open water by the Doge's Palace, while stands deeper in the city wind through narrow, quiet canals past bridges and flowered balconies. Agree route and price before boarding. Early evening is lovely — fewer boats, soft light — and night rides are wonderfully atmospheric. ## The traghetto — a gondola for pocket change If a full ride feels pricey, take a **traghetto**: a large gondola with two oarsmen ferrying people across the **Grand Canal** where there are no bridges, such as by the Rialto Market or Santa Maria del Giglio. The crossing takes a couple of minutes and costs very little; locals stand, and you can try it holding the side. Look for green "Traghetto" signs; some crossings run only in the morning and daytime. ## Where to board 1. **Bacino Orseolo** stand — behind [Piazza San Marco](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/piazza-san-marco), in a quiet basin. 2. Stands by the [Rialto Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/rialto-bridge), heading out onto the [Grand Canal](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/grand-canal). 3. Stands by the [Salute](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/santa-maria-della-salute) and the station. 4. Traghetti by the Rialto Market and Santa Maria del Giglio. ## Is a gondola ride worth it? Yes, at least once — it's the quintessential Venetian experience, especially through quiet canals where all you hear is the oar and the gondolier's voice. With one price per boat, it's best shared with family or friends; on a tight budget, the traghetto gives you the feel of a gondola for pocket change. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check the current city rate - [ ] Agree the route and price before boarding - [ ] Share the boat — it's priced per gondola - [ ] Choose early evening - [ ] Try a traghetto across the Grand Canal ## Venice on the water: compare and choose Canals, bridges and islands in Venice rated by YesGo. - [Bridge of Sighs](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/bridge-of-sighs) — YesGo score 57/100 (Yes, go) · 15 min · Free outside - [Rialto Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/rialto-bridge) — YesGo score 56/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free - [Grand Canal](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/grand-canal) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; water bus paid - [Gondola ride](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gondola) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Paid, per boat - [Accademia Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/accademia-bridge) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 15 min · Free - [San Giorgio Maggiore](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/san-giorgio-maggiore) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; tower paid - [Murano](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/murano) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free; museum paid - [Giudecca](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/giudecca) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free - [Peggy Guggenheim Collection](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/peggy-guggenheim) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Paid - [Lido di Venezia](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/lido) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free - [Ca' d'Oro](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/ca-d-oro) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Burano](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/burano) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free - [Torcello](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/torcello) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free; cathedral paid ## Venice from the water The Grand Canal by vaporetto, the Rialto Bridge, a gondola ride and an evening on Piazza San Marco. 1. [Grand Canal](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/grand-canal) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free; water bus paid 2. [Rialto Bridge](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/rialto-bridge) — YesGo score 56/100 (Yes, go) · 20 min · Free 3. [Gondola ride](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gondola) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Paid, per boat 4. [Piazza San Marco](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/piazza-san-marco) — YesGo score 55/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free ## Don't mix it up A gondola isn't a vaporetto or a water taxi: the vaporetto is the public water bus, the water taxi a fast motorboat. The gondola is the slow wooden boat with an oarsman. ## Tips - Priced per boat, not per person. - Agree the route first. - Early evening — the best light. - Traghetto — a cheap gondola ride. ## Questions ### How long is a gondola ride? Usually about 30 minutes; longer by arrangement. ### How many people fit in a gondola? Up to five, for the same per-boat price. ### Where do I get a gondola in Venice? At official stands — San Marco (Bacino Orseolo), the Rialto, the Salute and the station. ### How can I ride a gondola cheaply? Take a traghetto across the Grand Canal — it costs very little. ### Why are gondolas black? A 16th-century law against luxury required them to be painted black. ## How we checked History and construction from English Wikipedia. City rates change — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia, Gondola; Squero --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.