studentsineurope

The Canals of Venice – the original and the best…but not the only!

Venice is one of the most popular cities in Italy, indeed in all of Europe, for tourists to visit. The canals of Venice really are the be all and end all of this great Italian city – the city is quite literally built around the canals, without a single car, bicycle or virtually any wheeled vehicle in sight. The only way to get around the city is by jumping in a boat or using your own two feet. Although not very wheelchair-friendly and not too kind to those of us who aren’t prepared to walk long distances, the walkways and canals are certainly a sight to see - radically different  what we are used to.

But Venice is far from the only city that operates with an extensive canal system. It may be one of the few that actually exclusively uses canals as a substitute for roads, but there are plenty of cities around the world where you can use a boat to get to several sights, attractions and even residential streets. Many also run water taxis or at least rental boats to give you a similar experience to winding through the waters of Venice. Though this being said, the complete canal nature of Venice and the history contained within it makes it extremely unique.

Amsterdam was built in a similar fashion as Venice, but has eventually evolved into a road laden metropolis. Birmingham in England, with a whopping 35 miles of canals, actually has 9 miles more canals than Venice, which has only 26 miles of canals. Delft in the Netherlands, St. Petersburg in Russia and Hamburg in Germany are a few more European cities that sport canals of some sort. More canal cities can be found in other continents with famous spots such as Venice Beach, California - which takes its name from the Italian city of Venice. This occurs with good reason! As is the case for so many European attractions, all the hype is well deserved and a trip to Venice, even just for the day, is an experience that must be had if you are in the area.

In whichever of these impressive cities you visit, there is rarely a canal that is not pleasing to the eye and pleasant to the atmosphere. However, the water flowing in the canals can often get somewhat stagnant and a little smelly in some cities. As the canals do run right alongside the sidewalks there is a lot of trash that, intentionally or otherwise, ends up falling into the water. This is rarely a huge problem but suffice to say it is not a good idea to go for a swim in virtually any canal. You wouldn’t swim around in a body of water that contained all the garbage you see on the streets would you? Because that is basically what a canal is…still very pretty though! Really!