Floating cities around the world to visit that aren’t Venice

Think of a floating city and the first one that comes to mind is Venice. It’s hard not to when the images of gondolas, cobblestone paths, and masks by the canal have been heavily romanticised. But did you know there are more floating cities around the world that you can visit as well?

Technically canal cities, these have been built by city planners thousands of years back to encourage trade in tandem with water transportation. The water surrounding these floating cities also provide a natural protective barrier. Although we now live in modern times and they don’t need the protective barrier from colonists, many of these cities are still using its canals for trade and transportation. After all, why fix something that’s not broken?

Click on the following slideshow and we will introduce four other floating cities around the world you can visit. There’s Wuzhen Water Town in the south of China that features traditional Chinese architecture and is still one of the “ancient” towns of the country. Giethoorn in the Netherlands is perhaps one of the most tranquil floating towns of Europe with plenty of greenery. Each house has their own boat because there are no roads for cars — only water roads to travel to other parts of the town.

For a different side to France, head over to the floating city of Annecy. Hailed as an ancient town dating all the way back to 3100 B.C., the main waters of the town comes from Lake Annecy. Enjoy the town’s perpetual French summer vibes, framed by the mountains of Dents de Lanfon, Lanfonnet, and La Tournette.

Finally, St. Petersburg in Russia is also a floating city, but that fact seems to always be overlooked. The stunning city with its weird and wonderful architecture is built on over 100 islands, connecting the city to Neva River and outwards to the sea. Feel a sense of wanderlust floating around you? Click to see the gallery and captions of these floating cities.