The Grand Canal Buildings

Historical buildings along the Grand Canal, Venice. The canal is an ancient waterway, lined with buildings - about 170 in all - that were mostly built from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Most were constructed by wealthy Venetian families.

The majority of the city's traffic cruises up and down the canal, be it private boats, vaporetti, water taxis or the famous gondolas. Foot traffic gathers around three famous bridges that cross the canal: the Rialto Bridge, the Ponte Degli Scalzi, and the Ponte dell'Accademia.