Travel
The World’s Most Beautiful Canals
Slide Nr 1Tranquil waterways offering intimate glimpses into life past and present, rippling surfaces awash with reflections — it’s easy to forget that these canals were designed first and foremost with function in mind, generally transportation, trade and water measures. Today, however, it’s their innate beauty that inspires us to travel halfway around the world to see them.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 2Japan — April is peak cherry blossom (sakura) season, meaning canal-side ambles in Kyoto and Tokyo are transformed into a flowering wonderland. In Kyoto, the serene Path of Philosophy meanders along a canal flanked by more than 400 sakura trees, as well as other local plants that bloom throughout the year. In Tokyo, meanwhile, hundreds of cherry trees line the canal that carries the Meguro River through the lively Nakameguro District. An evening walking tour includes plenty of photo ops and stops for delicious tastes along the way.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 3The Netherlands — While the Dutch may not have invented the canal system — canals and levees have been used for irrigation since ancient times — they’ve most certainly perfected it. Amsterdam is famous for its waterways, built as a series of concentric arcs and connecting passages that radiate outward from the city centre. More picturesque (and less crowded) canals can be found in Delft, Utrecht and car-free Giethoorn, all easy day trips from Amsterdam. [Photo: Giethoorn]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 4Suzhou, China — Located less than 30 minutes by bullet train from Shanghai, in many ways Suzhou feels light years away, with its classical gardens, well-preserved old town and network of bridges and canals that even Venetian world traveller Marco Polo admired when he visited in the 13th century. Day trips from Shanghai offer numerous options for exploring the watery wonders of Suzhou and the city’s renowned gardens. In Zhouzhuang and Tongli, Suzhou’s ancient water towns, gondolas are still the primary mode of transportation.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 5Ontario, Canada — Covering 200 kilometres between Ottawa and Lake Ontario, the Rideau Canal is a seasonal chameleon. From mid-May through mid-October, pleasure boats of all varieties take to the waterway, which is lined with leafy green parks and walking paths in Ottawa, and elsewhere slices through the Canadian wilderness. Each winter, nearly 8 kilometres of the canal are transformed into the Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest skating rink. Explore the waterway’s idyllic sights with water-based tour operator Le Boat. [Photo courtesy Ottawa Tourism]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 6Venice, Italy — If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Grand Canal here is, without a doubt, the grandest of them all. But the allure of Venice doesn’t rest on the laurels of one canal alone. Odds are, it will be an unexpected view which you stumble upon while completely lost (Venice is maddeningly difficult to navigate) that will take your breath away — and send you falling hard and fast for this beguiling Italian city.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 7Newport Beach, California, USA — While Newport’s namesake bay has always benefited from protection afforded by the Balboa Peninsula, which serves as a natural barrier to the Pacific Ocean, just about everything else about this Southern California waterway has been modified over the years, including its numerous canals, channels and islands. While the beach beckons, don’t miss the bay’s postcard views, which are best seen by boat, SUP or even gondola. [Photo: Russ Allison Loar/Flickr]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 8France — Colourful half-timbered houses lining the canals of Strasbourg and Colmar in Alsace; the picturesque canals of medieval Annecy, high in the French Alps; the waterways of Burgundy — it’s fair to say that France has its share of beautiful canals. The grand dame of them all, however, is the Canal du Midi. Day trips from Béziers, Carcassonne and Toulouse are popular ways to see sections of this canal in southwestern France, as are extended boating and cycling holidays. [Photo: Canal du Midi]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 9Bruges, Belgium — With origins dating to the 13th century, the capital of West Flanders is often called one of Europe’s most charming medieval towns. After a day spent exploring the historic city centre, a compact area encircled by canals, it’s easy to see why. Boat cruises are a popular option for touring the canals, while scenic strolls along the quays and over bridges offer plentiful opportunity for peaceful moments of quiet reflection.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 10Kerala, India — This South Indian state is known for its tropical coastline, pristine beaches, mountainous interior and vast, interconnected waterways, including backwaters, lagoons and canals that set an utterly serene background for houseboat cruises. With its Boutique Kerala package, TravelLocal combines the best of a few worlds, pairing a houseboat cruise with trekking in the tea plantations of the Western Ghats, as well as leisure time on the beach. [Photo: Courtesy Kerala Tourism]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 11England — The extensive network of canals crisscrossing the English countryside offers ample opportunity for quintessentially British leisure pursuits in bucolic settings, from narrow boat cruises along the Oxford Canal to towpath walks through wide-open spaces, such as an 8-kilometre route that follows the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, optional pub stops included. Boat tours departing from Bancroft Basin follow the Stratford-Upon-Avon canal as it meanders through Shakespeare’s England, passing historic half-timbered villages and farmhouses. [Photo: Tim Green/Flickr]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 12Tigre, Argentina — Located less than an hour away from Buenos Aires by train, Tigre sits in the midst of the vast Paraná Delta, part of the third-largest river system in all the Americas (surpassed only by the Amazon and the Mississippi). A collection of islets connected by an expansive network of canals, life in Tigre revolves around the waterfront and is best explored by boat or pirogue, a style of canoe. [Photo: Malingering/Flickr]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 13Hamburg, Germany — Home to one of the largest ports in Europe, waterways bisect the city grid at every turn, and Hamburg is all the more lovely for it. Case in point: The city’s historic Speicherstadt warehouse district and also its striking new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, which sits on a peninsula jutting out into the Elbe River. Bridges are essential to traversing the city, and have an architectural beauty all their own.
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Travel
The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 14The Mid-Atlantic Region, USA — Originally built to help move coal, lumber and agricultural goods to market, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is today a recreational oasis that flows through the states of West Virginia and Maryland before reaching Washington, D.C., where it merges with the Potomac River. This designated National Historic Park features seven visitor centres — a good start to get your bearings, or to book a canal cruise in a replica of a historic boat. [Photo: Mr.TinDC/Flickr]
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The World’s Most Beautiful Canals.
Slide Nr 15Aveiro, Portugal — A maritime city on the northern coast of Portugal, a visit to Aveiro is incomplete without plying the waters of the local canals in one of the many moliceiros — long, flat-bottomed, colourfully painted boats featuring a distinctive curled front bow. Originally used for gathering seagrass (moliço), today the boats primarily shuttle visitors to and fro, but that doesn’t make the experience of getting out on the water any less delightful.
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