When visiting Venice, you’ll either love or hate the city’s most well-known canal landmark, the Rialto Bridge, which has spanned the picturesque Grand Ganal for more than 800 years.

Certainly you’ll love taking a gondola or vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal, which provides the best view of the famous and much photographed structure.  Also, you will definitely enjoy the night time view and ambience as you wander up its stairs and linger at the top during an after-dinner stroll. I wonder how many lovers have proposed at this spot, against a backdrop of glimmering lights reflecting in the water, soft Italian music drifting in from the canalside restaurants, and the peace and quiet that makes Venice so unique.

You probably won’t like Rialto Bridge if you attempt crossing it during peak tourist season, especially in the middle of the day. You’ll be bumping into a throng of day visitors interspersed with sidewalk sellers peddling fake brand name fashion accessories. your view from the top of the bridge will probably be restricted by the other few dozen people trying to get a clear view of the canal. And for the shops along the bridge’s edge, well, you can probably find more authentic gifts and souveniers to take home only a few streets away.

In a nutshell, during the tourist season the Rialto Bridge can be a daytime tourist trap. visit during the late afternoon or early morning, or take one or more rides on the Grand Canal where it passes under the Bridge, and it’ll be a memorable experience!

Some interesting facts about Rialto:

• First built in 1182 of wood.
• It was the first bridge across the Grand Canal, and for many years the only one.
• In the early days it had a woeful history: Once burnt down during a revolt in 1310, and twice collapsed, the first time during a boat parade in 1444.
• The present stone structure dates from 1591.
• The winning design by architect Antinio da Ponte beat the design submitted by the much more famous Michelangelo.
• Polish up on your Italian: The Rialto Bridge is Ponte di Rialto in Italian.