Venetian Lagoon Galleon Cruise with Dinner Venice

Boarding on Riva San Biasio and the galleon

The evening begins on Riva San Biasio in the Castello district, the waterfront promenade that continues east from St Mark's Square along the lagoon. You meet your host in front of the Naval History Museum, where the city's maritime past is displayed in models of galleys and ceremonial barges, a fitting start for a voyage on a ship built in the style of the old Venetian vessels.

Once on board, the crew leads you to your reserved table on the central deck, laid with candles and framed by large windows over the water. The galleon's wooden beams, lanterns and rigging create an old-fashioned atmosphere, while the covered, heated hull makes the cruise comfortable all year. It is a romantic way to see Venice at night, away from the crowded streets.

The Venetian Arsenal

As dusk falls the galleon sails past the Venetian Arsenal, the great state shipyard founded in the 12th century that made Venice a naval power. At its height its workers could assemble a war galley in record time using an early production-line method, and the high brick walls and towers still enclose basins where the Republic's fleets were built.

From the water you see the scale of the complex, a city within the city, and the monumental gateway guarded by stone lions, one of the first Renaissance structures in Venice. Today parts of the Arsenal host exhibitions and the navy, but most visitors only glimpse it from the land. Passing by boat, as the ships of the Republic once did, gives you a rare view of this landmark.

Sant'Erasmo and San Francesco del Deserto

Beyond the city, the galleon heads into the northern lagoon, a calm world of mudflats, channels marked by wooden posts and low green islands. Sant'Erasmo, the largest of them, is known as the vegetable garden of Venice and is famous for its small purple artichokes, still grown in fields that run down to the water.

Further out lies the tiny island of San Francesco del Deserto, almost hidden by tall cypress trees. A small community of Franciscan friars lives in its quiet friary, and tradition says that St Francis himself stopped here in 1220 on his way back from the East. Seen at twilight, with the lights of the lagoon beginning to shine, these islands show a peaceful side of Venice that few travellers discover.

Vignole, Mazzorbo, Murano and around Burano

While the courses arrive at your table, the galleon passes the small farming island of Vignole, then Mazzorbo, linked to Burano by a long wooden footbridge, and Murano, the island of glassmakers, where furnaces have produced Venetian glass since the 13th century. The chef's dishes are inspired by the flavours of the lagoon and the Venetian kitchen.

The galleon then sails all the way around Burano, the most photographed island in the lagoon. Its houses are painted in bright blues, reds and yellows, and the leaning bell tower of San Martino rises above the rooftops. Seeing the colours glow under the evening lights from the water is one of the most memorable moments of this Venice lagoon dinner cruise.

St Mark's Basin and San Giorgio Maggiore by night

On the return, the galleon crosses St Mark's Basin, the stretch of water in front of the heart of Venice. From the deck you see the Doge's Palace, the bell tower of St Mark's and the domes of the basilica, all floodlit, with the great church of Santa Maria della Salute at the mouth of the Grand Canal and the white church of San Giorgio Maggiore on its island opposite.

This is the classic postcard view of Venice, and it is even more beautiful at night with the lights reflected in the water. The cruise ends back at the Naval History Museum after about 3 hours. The best time for this Venice evening cruise is from spring to autumn, when the sunset lasts longer, but in winter the heated cabin makes it a cosy night out.