Find alternative canal cities to Venice, such as Kurashiki in Japan. Photo / Getty Images
In early 2024, Venice introduced a new tourist tax for visitors. The good news is, numerous other cities have canals, many of which are prettier, older and easier to access than the ones in Venice, writes Tamara Hinson.
Don’t get us wrong – Venice, with its vast network of canals, is certainly spectacular. But it’s also crowded, expensive and, dare we say it, somewhat overhyped. Here are some alternatives which should be on your radar.
Amsterdam’s Unesco-listed canals were built in the 17th century, and are a lifeline for the people who live in this city (a quarter of which is covered by water). These man-made waterways have a total length of over 100km – pretty impressive considering they were dug by hand.
The city’s canal bridges – there are over 1200, significantly more than Venice’s 409 – are works of art. One of the most famous examples is Magere Brug (skinny bridge), which has nine arches through which boats can pass and was built in 1737 by two sisters who lived at either side of a canal.
Our favourite ways to explore the canals include an SUP session or a boat tour with Rederij Lampedusa. The tour guides are immigrants who settled in Amsterdam after fleeing places such as Syria and Somalia. The majority endured perilous voyages in small boats, and your mode of transport will be one of the vessels used for these journeys.
The historic canals you’ll find in the centre of this city once served as a distribution centre for goods – including huge quantities of rice and cotton – which arrived here during the Edo period (1603-1868). Today, the city’s canal-side warehouses have been converted into cafés and restaurants, and the area in which you’ll find them has been renamed the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter.
Local authorities have gone all out to preserve the look of the entire neighbourhood, including the canal-side buildings – spot a stone-tiled structure with white walls and it’s almost certainly a former canal warehouse.
There are various boat tours along these waterways, although we recommend hopping in one of the tiny two-person boats captained by guides in local dress. Looking for somewhere to stay? Consider the Ivy Square – this ivy-covered hotel is close to the canals and was the first cotton mill in Japan when it opened in 1889.
Manchester is a city which sprung up around the world’s eighth-largest man-made canal, the Manchester Ship Canal, a waterway which transformed the city into the United Kingdom’s third busiest port, despite it being 64km from the sea. Work on the waterway started in 1887, and it took 12,000 labourers six years to complete it for a cool $30 million (about $3 billion today). Queen Victoria finally opened the waterway in 1894.
The city’s numerous man-made waterways, which include the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal and the Bridgewater Canal, brought goods such as cotton, coal and other raw materials to Manchester’s mills and factories, and helped transport the finished products around the world.
Today, some of Manchester’s most important landmarks – including the Etihad Stadium, the Gay Village and Media City – line its canals, one of which is home to the world’s first floating pizzeria - Waltzing Matilda, which you’ll find on a barge.
Bruges’ ancient canals (known as reiens) are truly spectacular – beautifully maintained feats of engineering lined with medieval houses, secret parks and ancient churches. The city has a huge number of canals, although our favourites include the Augustijnenrei, built in the 12th century and famous for its stunning Augustine Bridge, and the Gouden-Handrei canal, a tranquil waterway which inspired paintings by legendary Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, who lived on its banks in the 1400s.
A fun fact – until recently, visitors to this canal would have spotted an enormous sculpture of a blue whale, made entirely of trash and semi-submerged in the water. It was created as a reminder of the 150,000,000 tonnes of plastic waste which fill our oceans and waterways, and after its stint in Bruges it embarked on a worldwide tour.
This lakeside city might not have the gondoliers which you’ll find on Venice’s waterways, but that’s part of its charm – Annecy’s canals are famously tranquil, known for their pastel-hued buildings and historic bridges, including the Pont Morens, which is the city’s first stone bridge.
Don’t miss the chance to visit the Palais d’Isle – a former prison located at one of the canal network’s intersections. This listed monument, which dates back to the 12th century, is now a museum. Another favourite canal-side spot is Au bord du Thiou, a tiny crêpe restaurant where you can restore energy levels while soaking up the views of the canals.
Yes, there’s another Italian city famous for its canals, and what’s more, it’s got significantly fewer crowds. Centuries ago, the city’s ancient Cagnan, Buranelli and Roggia canals helped transport goods which once arrived via the Botteniga River.
The Buranelli Canal is regarded by many as the prettiest – this narrow waterway is lined with ancient buildings and gardens filled with weeping willows. The Roggia Canal, meanwhile, is famous for its glass-clear water. What’s more, it flows through two of the city’s most famous landmarks, streaking across the city’s Piazza Duomo and Piazza Borsa before it joins the River Sile.
READ MORE: Treviso travel guide: Italy’s Venice alternative with more tranquil canals
Liverpool and Manchester have always been sworn rivals, and one reason relates to canals. Although Liverpool was a huge manufacturing hub in the 1800s, when the Manchester Ship Canal was built in the late 1800s it completely bypassed the city.
Liverpool, however, had its own man-made waterways, examples of which include the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which has a length of 205km and is the longest in Britain. This canal quickly became one of the world’s busiest, packed with barges ferrying goods which arrived in Liverpool on ships moored near the city’s Royal Albert Docks, which now has the UK’s highest density of Grade one architecture, including the Royal Liver building, the Cunard building, the Port of Liverpool building.
Osaka is another Japanese city famous for its canals. Feudal lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi built Osaka Castle in the 1500s, and the city’s first canals were constructed as defensive moats, transportation arteries and sewage drains.
In the 1600s Japanese merchant Doton Yasui kickstarted his plan to turn the city centre into a commercial hub, the key to which was the construction of the Doton canal, in the heart of what’s now the Dotonbori’s canal-streaked nightlife district. These canals, initially used to transport wheat, seafood and rice to this coastal city, are the reason for Osaka’s nickname: tenka no daidokoro (kitchen of the nation).
Utrecht is just a short hop from Amsterdam but its canals look rather different. In Amsterdam, there’s always a steep drop from the lip of the canals down to the water’s edge, but in Utrecht, some of the city’s best hotels and restaurants are located right next to the water.
This unique design feature dates back to the 12th century, when merchants built huge cellars and warehouses under their businesses, then connected them directly to the canals. Today, these canal-side storage depots, warehouses and market halls have been repurposed as restaurants and hotels, which means there are endless opportunities to relax by the water’s edge.
There are three main canals in the city: Oudegracht, or “old canal”, in the centre, Stadsbuitengracht, which encircles the city centre, and Nieuwegracht, built in the late 1300s.
In recent years, the powers that be have gone all out to restore Bangkok’s ancient network of canals, known as khlongs. Amazingly, there are currently 1682 canals with a total length of 2604km, and they’re the setting for some of the city’s finest floating markets – you’ll also see numerous iguanas lounging on their banks, and some of the city’s most beautiful temples (the finest example of which is the Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, which you’ll find on Khlong Phasi Charoen).
One of the best ways to explore the canals is a longtail boat tour, although we also recommend Co van Kessel, which offers bicycle tours during which you’ll explore the alleyways surrounding these waterways before hopping on a traditional canal boat.
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