Grand Canal

Many consider the Grand Canal to be the main artery of Venice. If so, then like the gently decaying city itself, the artery is suffering from a dangerously high cholesterol level. The buildings lining its banks slowly rotting, crumbing into the dank waters lapping hungrily at their once proud thresholds, crammed so tightly together that it sometimes appears that it is only the adjacent building which is preventing the whole domino pack collapsing. On the water a melee of vaporetto, gondolas, rubbish collecting barges, water taxis, in fact every kind of vehicle you would find on any city street is here replicated in boat form. One of the most enjoyable ways of seeing Venice is from the open front of the vaporetto which allows you to sit in the shade with a bit of a breeze and watch the surrounding theatre unfolds as you zigzag your way down the canal, stopping every so often to pick up ever more passengers. In places, such as by the Academia Bridge, the gondoliers form a flotilla of gullible tourists who are subjected to seemingly interminable renditions of the "Cornetto Song" as it is known in Britain, whereas in others there are uncontrived, but equally effective traffic jams of vaporetto and the inevitable builders trucks.