Venice 2018: First ride down the Grand Canal

Just down the steps from the train station are multiple water bus stations from where you can catch a boat ride to various places in Venice. We needed to go down the Grand Canal to reach the area around Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square) so we went to the left to go over to the A and B water bus terminals, from which you can board Routes 1 and 2 that run up and down the canal. Route 1 stops at just about every station along the Grand Canal while Route 2 only stops at a few of them and we opted for Route 2 since it would save some time. We were quite fortunate with the water bus we caught since it was mostly empty when it arrived at the train station and we were able to snag seats right at the front with great views. A bunch of other people boarded behind us and once everyone was on board the boat started down the Grand Canal.

It was a cold, gray afternoon in Venice as the water bus steadily cruised down the Grand Canal. I was still very sick that day and having a hard time staying warm in those outdoor seats on the boat but I was glad that my parents would have a great view during our first water bus ride. As we proceeded down the canal I took a few photos and tried to point out some of the sights as we went by them. Just after we passed under the Rialto Bridge I remember noticing a hotel called the Hotel Marconi. I joked with my mom that with a name like Marconi it sounds like a hotel run by the mafia. When the water bus arrived at the bottom of the Grand Canal it pulled in to the San Marco terminal and everyone got off the boat. Had we been in Venice closer to summer the Route 2 water bus could have taken us one stop further east and dropped us closer to our hotel at the San Zaccaria terminal but it’s only about a thousand feet between the two station so it wasn’t a problem to walk a bit farther. The sun was going down as we walked past Piazza San Marco and made our way towards the hotel we’d be staying in.