Ah, Venice — its tourists, its entrance fee, its slowly sinking foundations… What if we simply gave the Serenissima a miss? For those craving waterside charm, Europe is full of lesser-known aquatic sisters that lose none of the romance or character.
Narrow canals, colourful houses, small boats and bridges shape everyday life in these five European towns built at the water’s edge. From Overijssel to the Po Delta, each has devised its own unique way of living with the water.
- Giethoorn, Netherlands
- Colmar, France
- Aveiro, Portugal
- Port Grimaud, France
- Comacchio, Italy
Giethoorn, Netherlands
This village of 2,600 inhabitants, located in the province of Overijssel in the north-east of the Netherlands, has no roads whatsoever. People get around by boat, on foot or by bicycle, crossing one of its 180 small wooden bridges. The canals, originally dug to extract peat, wind between thatched cottages and tiny green islands.
The village is rightly nicknamed the 'Green Venice', and the silence is such that one can hear the gentle lapping of water against the hulls. Giethoorn lies at the heart of Wieden Nature Park, the largest peat bog area in north-western Europe.
Colmar, France
Colmar’s 'Little Venice' occupies the Krutenau district, once home to market gardeners. Here, the River Lauch meanders between half-timbered houses painted in pastel shades, balconies overflow with geraniums, and flat-bottomed boats carry visitors beneath the bridges. Alsace may not be Italy, but the charm works its magic all the same.
The town is also the capital of Alsace wines and the birthplace of Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. Its Christmas market draws huge crowds, but outside the festive season, Colmar regains its tranquillity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3lsxWaza0I
Aveiro, Portugal
The 'Venice of Portugal' is known for its moliceiros, the long, brightly coloured boats once used to harvest seaweed in the lagoon. Their sides are decorated with naïve — and often cheeky — paintings, a local tradition that delights visitors.
The town boasts the largest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings in Portugal, with façades adorned with azulejos, wrought-iron balconies and floral motifs. Visitors can sample ovos moles, a sweet pastry made from egg yolks and sugar, invented by nuns in the 15th century. Costa Nova and its striped houses are only ten minutes away.
Port Grimaud, France
In the heart of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, architect François Spoerry — a man deeply in love with the sea — created a residential marina in 1966 from reeds and marshland. Here, cars move at walking pace.
Pastel-coloured houses inspired by neo-Provençal architecture line the navigable canals, each with its own mooring ring at the end of the garden. In Provence, Martigues had already introduced the idea of life lived between water and cobbled streets. Today, protected as a heritage site, Port Grimaud pushes the concept even further, making the canal as natural an access route as the street itself.
Comacchio, Italy
In the Po Delta, Comacchio stretches across thirteen small islands linked by brick bridges, amid lagoons where eel has been fished since Byzantine times. The monumental Trepponti bridge, built in 1638, still marks the historic entrance to the town with its five staircases and arches opening onto slow-moving, almost motionless water.
While Venice controlled maritime trade, Comacchio supplied the markets of Emilia-Romagna with marinated fish, following the rhythm of the delta’s brackish waters. The town has preserved that unhurried economy, almost suspended in time, which history never truly forced to accelerate.
Want to visit Europe? Find the best places in these articles:
