The Navigli:liquid gold of Milan.
A manmade Canal network,since XII century.

Enjoy a barge trip down the Naviglio Grande.

Experience how life was.

Have a walk and see what a sciostra was and what there is today.

Glamour, allure, along the oldest artificial canals in Europe

Water abundance has always been a fundamental resource for Milan and Lombardy. The soil is dotted by a fairly rare natural phenomenon known as risorgive, resurgences. A resurgence is a natural outflow of groundwater emerging on level ground being transformed by human intervention into watercourses. Book your private tour now

The Navigli is an old network of navigable canals that run around and across Milan, linking the city with the Lake Maggiore (by means of the River Ticino), Lake Como (through the River Adda) and the southern stretch of the River Ticino, as well as opening a way to the Adriatic Sea via the River Po.   

They were major waterways for the purposes of transport and irrigation of the fields. 

Gradually expanded over the centuries, the network was in use from Roman times right up to 1935, when work to fill in the canals was completed.

The Navigli System covers a total area of about 1,800 square kilometres with about 162 km of canals, three Natural Reserves (Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino, Parco Agricolo Sud Milano, Parco Adda Nord) and 2.5 million inhabitants.
A valuable heritage developed along these canals over the centuries with the summer residences of the nobility, the so-called Ville di delizia, mills, castles, abbeys, and rural and natural landscapes of exceptional beauty.

The Naviglio Grande is the first of the canals that makes up the Milan canal system, the oldest and the most important. It dates back to about 1177 when a drainage ditch was widened and given the name Ticinello; in 1209 it was extended as far as Milan.

Subsequent work increased its flow rate and in 1272 the canal became navigable.

Duration: 4 or 6 or 8 hours.

The tour is completely customized, and the duration depends on how much of the Navigli System you would like to learn and see. 

It can be a walking tour + use of motorboat which can be private or public.

And it can include a private high-quality vehicle registered for passengers driven by a professional driver.