The Grand Canal, the Gondolas and the Gondoliers of Vegas

One of the attractions I looked forward to on our trip to Las Vegas was visiting the The Venetian and one of the biggest attractions in it was the Grand Canal and going on a gondola ride in it.

Waiting in the wings is a whole Las Vegas travelogue. But I couldn’t wait to put up a post on the Grand Canal in The Venetian. Venice obviously is the theme of The Venetian (Resort and Casino). Just walking through the hallways looking at the frescoes on the walls and the ceilings and getting an eyeful of the architectural features was a surreal experience, let alone the stay there.

And yes — the grand canal was part of the icing on the cake. (The views from our 24th floor suite was also great.)

On our first morning there, hubby chose to take us to Mexican restaurant by the canal and it was simply beautiful to enjoy my Huevos Rancheros gazing at the sky-ceiling and watching the lights sparkle in the ripples of the canal.

This quarter mile canal in the middle of a mall of upscale brands is neither at the bottom level nor at the top level, directly under the sky. But the water and the ceiling (even the lighting) give that illusion of being out in the open.

By the time we broke our fast the levels of both the light and the activity around us, seemed to have gone up a few notches. The stores were opening and the gondoliers had arrived for the rides of the day and there was more movement in the air and the water.

Like good trippers we bought our tickets for the must-do gondola rides of Las Vegas. We picked the indoor ride; it seemed more attractive than the outside-noises that would come with the outdoor ride.

A little wait later we were gliding along the canal, admiring the architecture of the sets that lined the canal, the painted sky and the glittering water.

And one of those best parts of the ride was catching the voices of the very friendly gondoliers serenading the folks they were taking along the length of the Canal. (Warning — it might give you goose bumps just listening to them. There’s a sample at the end of this post.)

The (indoor) Gondola Ride

Now, watch this gondolier sing — (a very short cellphone video)

PS: You don’t have to stay at The Venetian to be able to see all the Venetian-attractions on the property or do a gondola ride in the Grand Canal.

Did you see:

Italy’s Grand Canal on a wall in Vegas

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