Lido di Venezia District Island

The Lido, Venice's Seaside Façade

About twelve kilometres long, the Lido di Venezia forms one of the great coastal barriers that separate the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. Only a few minutes from the historic centre, the change of scenery is radical: fairly wide streets, gardens, villas, buses, bicycles and cars replace the alleys and bridges of Venice. To the east stretch the beaches; to the west, the shore looks out over the lagoon and the city.

The Lido, however, is not just Venice's beach. Its territory juxtaposes residential districts, early 20th-century architecture, old villages, fortifications and natural areas. This diversity is particularly evident by bicycle, from San Nicolò in the north to Malamocco and the dunes of Alberoni in the south.
To the south, Malamocco offers a completely different face. This small town of alleys, canals and low houses belongs to the oldest inhabited areas of the lagoon and perpetuates the memory of the ancient Metamauco, seat of ducal power in the 8th century. A few kilometres are thus enough to move from the worldly universe of the Mostra to an almost village-like scale.

The bicycle probably remains the best way to discover the Lido as a whole. It allows you to quickly leave the busiest areas, reach the beaches, Malamocco and Alberoni and, above all, to perceive what makes the island unique: a Venice both land and sea, where the Belle Époque, cinema, lagoon villages and natural spaces coexist on an astonishingly narrow strip of land.

Places to discover on the Lido

1. The beaches and their traditional huts: a long stretch of fine sand partly occupied by historic bathing establishments. The large beach huts, or capanne, have been part of the Lido's seaside identity for generations.
2. San Nicolò: at the northern tip, a greener and more historic area where in particular the church and former monastery of San Nicolò, the old Jewish cemetery and a protected coastal natural area are located.
3. The Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta: the wide avenue connecting the landing stage to the Adriatic, the Lido's commercial heart and a good starting point for discovering the Liberty-style villas in the neighbouring streets.
4. The Palazzo del Cinema and the Mostra district: the historic centre of the Venice International Film Festival, facing the sea, with the old Casino and the spectacular Hotel Excelsior nearby.
5. Malamocco: an old lagoon town in the south of the island, with canals, small squares and tightly packed houses around its historic centre; an atmosphere very different from the seaside Lido.
6. Alberoni and the southern tip: dunes, pine forests and protected areas occupy this much less urbanised part of the Lido. The old defensive structures and the Murazzi also recall the centuries-old struggle to protect the coast.

Continuing South to Pellestrina

Beyond Alberoni, the Malamocco inlet separates the Lido from Pellestrina, another long barrier island between lagoon and Adriatic. From the Lido, the bus line reaches Pellestrina by boarding the ferry that crosses the inlet, making it easy to continue the excursion southwards.

Pellestrina retains a more distinctly maritime identity, with its villages stretching along the lagoon, its little colourful houses and an activity historically linked to fishing. On the Adriatic side, the island is protected by the imposing Murazzi, stone dykes built by the Republic of Venice in the 18th century, which can be followed for long stretches on foot or by bicycle. At the southern tip, the natural area of Ca’ Roman, between dunes, beach and coastal vegetation, marks the last stage before the Chioggia inlet.

Sources and further information

Venezia Unica – Lido di Venezia ; Venezia Unica – Art, nature, sea and lagoon on the Lido ; La Biennale di Venezia – History of the Mostra ; Venezia Unica – Pellestrina.