If you think canals, you probably think first of Venice – Venice, Italy.
Then, there’s a whole panoply of cities that dub themselves the “Venice of the North”, including Amsterdam, Bruges, Birmingham, Manchester, Saint Petersburg and Stockholm.
On top of that, there are places that have gone as far as incorporating Venice into their names, such as Little Venice in London and Venice, California.
There are plenty of other towns with canals, that don’t make quite such a fuss about it. Milan is one of these.
Naviglio Grande, Milan
Milan’s Naviglio Grande, the Grand Canal, has been a navigable waterway since the thirteenth century. It is the largest navigation engineering project ever undertaken in Lombardy. It has been a major trading route in the area and it played a major role in the construction of Milan; pink granite and other building materials were transported along this waterway from Lake Maggiore to Milan to construct the Duomo.
Nowadays, the former houses and warehouses that lined the banks have become art studios, craft shops and restaurants. The Alzaia Naviglio Grande is a great place for a stroll, day or night.
Water levels were low when I was there last month, but that didn’t spoil the relection opportunity.
The canal walkway makes a great spot for lunch, coffee or an ice cream
(or all of the above!).
At night, the area truly comes to life, with bars and restaurants galore.
Travel with Intent 
Very pretty, I had no idea about Grand Canal in Milan, looks very festive at night time!
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Beautiful and buzzing
On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 7:29 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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What an interesting and lovely area, rich in history and culture. Your photography captures the canal day and night, beautifully.
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I love the reflections photos and the coloured buildings. Just gorgeous!
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Canals at night look so romantic especially in Milan. Enjoyed your photos this week very much. Cyber tour took me to a place I’ve never been. Thank you.
JM, IL
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Wow the reflections are so beautiful, i love taking same photos too. What i like in European residential buildings are the colors, very pleasing to the eyes. I haven’t been to Milan, seems like those in Rome are not the same as that. What i remember that resembles those lined buildings are those in Copenhagen and those in Strasbourg while cruising the canals. So beautiful
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Beguiling and beautiful. I love Venice!
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Lovely place and I do love the canals… Such a nice stroll…
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Debbie, Gorgeous shots! I love the lighting.
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Great photos and info
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Oh how I miss Milan… It’s one of my favourite cities. Thanks for the post!
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I didn’t know this either! Great photos especially the reflection 🙂
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I’m in Vienna later this week and I’ll be on a mission to find the Danube canal!
On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 3:08 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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I love the reflections of the buildings in the canal!
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Now in all these years of loving all things Italian, I never knew that Milan had a canal, Debbie! Thanks so much for the share 🙂
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Nor me, but it has 2 or 3, and others have been paved over! Now I’m on a quest to find canals wherever I go – watch this space 😉
On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 8:28 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Wonderful! I love them 🙂 I still have my London one to post someday.
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