The
gondola, once
Venice's chief form of
transport, has become an
adjunct of the tourist
industry and the city's
biggest cliché. That said,
the gondola is an
astonishingly graceful
craft, perfectly designed
for negotiating the tortuous
canals, and an hour's slow
voyage through the city can
give you a wholly new
perspective on the place. To
hire one costs L120,000/?62
per fifty minutes for up to
six passengers, rising to
L150,000/?77.47 between 8pm
and 8am; you pay an extra
L60,000/?30.99 for every
additional 25 minutes, or
L75,000/?38.74 from 8pm to
8am. Further hefty
surcharges will be levied
should you require the
services of an on-board
accordionist or tenor - and
a surprising number of
people do, despite the
strangulated voices and
hackneyed repertoire of most
of the aquatic Carusos. Even
though the tariff is set by
the local authorities, it's
been known for some
gondoliers to try to extort
even higher rates than these
- if you do decide to go for
a ride, establish the charge
before setting off.
To minimize the chances
of being ripped off by a
private individual making a
few million lire on the
side, only take a boat from
one of the following official
gondola stands : west of
the Piazza at Calle
Vallaresso, Campo San Moisč
or Campo Santa Maria del
Giglio; immediately north of
the Piazza at Bacino Orseolo;
on the Molo, in front of the
Palazzo Ducale; outside the Danieli
hotel on Riva degli
Schiavoni; at the train
station; at Piazzale Roma;
at Campo Santa Sofia, near
the Ca' d'Oro; at San Tomą,
to the east of the Frari; or
by the Rialto Bridge on Riva
Carbon. Your gondolier will
assume that you'll want to
be taken along the Canal
Grande or across the Bacino
di San Marco, but you'll
probably not be making the
best use of the opportunity
if you opt for one of these:
for one thing, these major
waterways look much the same
from a vaporetto as from a
gondola; and for another,
the gondola will tend to get
bashed around by the wash
from the bigger boats.
Better to choose a quarter
of the city that has struck
you as being particularly
alluring, head for the
gondola stand that's nearest
to it, and ask to be taken
there - a gondola displaces
so little water, and the
gondoliers are so skilful,
that there's hardly a canal
in the city that they can't
negotiate.
