In a nutshell

Let's face it: walking around Venice is always an experience but only a gondola can take you to the most remote canals, giving you a more intimate and secret view of the city. Are you ready? Comfortably seated, your gondolier standing at the stern, the silence and stillness of the water to keep you company. Another world.

Main stops

Riva degli Schiavoni Doge's Palace (external visit) and Piazzetta San Marco Gondola trip * St. Mark's Square

The programme

Travel to Riva degli Schiavoni by private boat. From here start your walk with a local to escort you. You'll pass by the Doge's Palace and Piazzetta San Marco, with its granite columns, known to Venetians as the “Todaro Columns” after St. Theodore. But you need to experience Venice in the most Venetian way possible: by gondola. So hop on to discover some of the most significant, hidden and intriguing canals of the historic lagoon city. Have you ever wondered how a gondola manages to go in a straight line despite being rowed from one side? An excellent question to ask your gondolier. Here's a hint: its shape is asymmetric. You'll discover what a Venetian greeting is: it's exchanged by gondoliers, strictly in local dialect, whenever they pass each other on the canals, joking and making fun of one another. * At the end, there is still time for a quick walk around St. Mark's Square, around the Basilica which houses the body of the Evangelist, the majestic arcades of the Old and New Procuracies and the Correr Museum, the Clock Tower, with the two Moors striking the hours, and the Florian Café.

Good to know

Each gondola can carry up to 4 people. Families cannot be guaranteed to travel on the same gondola. The excursion is available for both transit and disembarking guests. We recommend consulting the MyTours Excursions Office on board, communicating the time of any flight, train or transfer, in order to verify the compatibility of the tour with your departure time. The excursion program does not include any further transfer at the end of the excursion, neither from the Cruise Terminal to the railway station nor to any other destination. Costa Cruises offers all tour guests a left luggage service inside the Cruise Terminal, where luggage can be delivered and collected until 5.00 p.m. This is one of the most popular excursions so book early. * The cost of the tour includes the entrance fee to Venice for the dates on which it is scheduled.