Lido di Venezia

The Lido is a long, narrow island that acts as a barrier between the Venetian Lagoon and the sea.

Much of the island is taken up by 19th and 20th Century villas, some of which have been converted to hotels. Well-groomed beaches cater to summer holiday crowds and guests of luxury hotels on the side that faces the Adriatic.

(Motor vehicles are permitted on the Lido, which is served by a car ferry.)

When you arrive at the Lido's ACTV station, cross the street carefully and continue into the main shopping area. Here, you'll find a small department store, boutiques, cafés with gelato counters, and restaurants. The business district feels lively and prosperous, thanks to tourists in the summer and a year-round population of suburban commuters.

Keep walking down the main shopping street, the Gran Viale S.M. Elisabetta. In a few minutes you'll reach the promenade on the Adriatic side of the island.

To your right is the former Hotel des Bains (the setting of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice). Farther along the waterfront are the Palazzo del Cinema (used by the Venice International Film Festival) and the neo-Moorish Hotel Excelsior.

Just to your left are the Bagni Communale, or public beaches, with bathhouses for day visitors and residents.

Walk along the Adriatic in either direction, and wander out on one of the massive stone jetties that help to protect the beaches from erosion.

How to reach the Lido:

See Return-trip options for information on boat service to the Lido from Burano.

If you prefer to visit the Lido directly from Venice, you have a number of choices--including the No. 1 vaporetto, the 5.1/5.2 and 6 circolare routes, the double-deck boats that depart from a pier near San Marco, and the 17 car ferry from the Tronchetto parking island. See our Venice Vaporetto Routes article for more information.

• Also see: Lido di Venezia Travel Guide

After you've explored the Lido, head for the ACTV station at the lagoon end of the Grand Viale shopping street. Take one of the following water buses:

• The local No. 1 vaporetto is the most popular way to reach the historic center of Venice; it calls at more than a dozen stops between the tip of S. Elena and the Piazzale Roma on the Grand Canal.
  
  Allow 15 minutes to S. Zaccaria (near the Piazza San Marco), 39 minutes to Rialto, 53 minutes to Ferrovia (the railway station), and 56 minutes to the Piazzale Roma.

• The 5.1 and 5.2 circular routes offer quicker service to the railroad station and the Piazzale Roma. Allow 44 minutes to the railroad station and 48 minutes to the P. Roma on the 5.1; the 5.2 is slightly faster at 34 and 38 minutes.

• The 6 is an express boat. It reaches the Piazzale Roma in 33 minutes and does not stop at San Marco or the railroad station. (It operates from Monday through Saturday year-round, and also on Sundays from late May through early September.)

• ACTV's big double-decker boats runs directly from the Lido Motonave pier to Venezia Pietà, one of the piers at S. Zaccaria by the Piazza San Marco. Travel time is 14 minutes.