I went to Venice and got a gondola for £2 while others paid £80 - this is the trick

What is it about Venice that makes us love her so? What makes Venice one of those cities that people love....even if they have never been there? The bridges? The glass? The canals? Or is it the gondolas and those handsome gondoliers?

There is something very special about travelling through the historic canals of Europe's most beautiful city on an elegant black Gondola powered by a genuine Italian Gondolier. A trip to the watery city of Venice is not really complete without one.

The experience allows visitors to see hidden parts of the city, witness daily life along the waterways, and appreciate the engineering and tradition of the elegant, black-lacquered gondolas steered by skilled gondoliers.

But with Venice being one of the most expensive tourist destinations in Italy and Gondola ride prices fixed by the city council I wondered if there was any way of bagging a bargain.

You can't haggle with the gondoliers even if they do like to flirt because they do not set their own prices and a half hour ride in peak season will set you back between 80 and 90 euros (around £72 to £78)

"There are no cheaper gondola rides. The prices are set by the Venice City Council, and all the gondoliers have the same charges." says TripAdvisor.

The best they could advise was "opt for rides in quieter, less popular canals for a more peaceful and authentic experience, or book during the off-peak season from October to April, especially on weekdays, to avoid larger crowds and potentially find better rates."

But there is one way you can secure a gondola ride and that all important instagram picture without breaking your holiday budget.

The trick I found is to use the Traghetto service, which is a public ferry that uses actual gondolas to cross the Grand Canal. And after all that is where most Gondola rides spend at least some of their journey anyway and where you get the best views.

Using the Traghetto service you can cross the Grand Canal for two euros and back again for another two in a genuine gondola with the gondolier in the same outfit of black trousers, stripey t-shirt and straw hat.

It is a quick and inexpensive way to get from one side of the canal to the other and very popular with the locals. You can find Traghetto stations at various points along the Grand Canal. Like the private Gondolas you will likely need to pay in euros, as gondoliers may only accept cash but what's two euros.

The crossing can take about ten minutes so if you go there and back you've almost had as much time as a private gondola ride when time is often wasted in the smaller side canals letting other gondolas past.

Find the "Traghetto" sign, usually posted close the pier along the canal and stay in line waiting for the gondola, normally you shouldn't have to wait long if the service is running. When the traghetto arrives you can get on board and find a place to sit. Pay your fare to the oarsman as you board.

The seven places/crossings to look out for the Traghetto signs are Fondamenta S. Lucia Rail Station, San Marcuola - Fóndaco dei Turchi, San Samuele - Cà Rezzónico, Campo Santa Maria del Giglio - Salute, San Tomà - Santo Stefano, Rialto Market - Cà D'Oro and Riva del Carbòn - Fondamente del Vin.

Venice is a collection of 118 islands connected by over 400 bridges. The city also has almost 200 canals and about 125 piazzas. There are alleys that are not on the canals, but they tend to be narrow. In other words, there are no roads, so cars are banned. Visitors have to walk or take some form of water transport-water taxis, vaporetto, private boat, or gondola.

Gondole (the plural of gondola) have been a means of transportation in Venice since the 11th century. At one time thousands of them crowded the Venetian canals.

The boat makers had to follow strict regulations (called mariregole) that oversaw all aspects of their lives. The mariregole legislated everything from how much the boat makers paid their apprentices, how much they paid as a dowry for their daughters, and how they buried their dead. Most importantly, it demanded that sons follow in their fathers' footsteps.

At that time, the flat-bottomed boat had two rowers and came in a variety of colors. Well-to-do families competed with each other to see who had the fanciest, brightest color, or most gold on his gondola, so a Venetian doge ordered all gondole be painted black. Passed in the 17th century, the law has stuck for almost 500 years.