Stretching south of Lido and repeating its skinny shape, Pellestrina reminds you what the lagoon might have been like if Venice had never been dreamed of. The 12km-long island is home to three tight-knit fishing communities strung out along the water’s edge. There are no hotels or sun loungers here, just elderly women sitting on their porches and fishers mending their nets. Bus 11 travels from the Lido SME vaporetto stop to Pellestrina via a short hop on a ferry.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
10.85 MILES
With a profusion of domes and more than 8000 sq metres of luminous mosaics, Venice's cathedral is unforgettable. It was founded in the 9th century to…
10.8 MILES
Holding pride of place on the waterfront, this pretty Gothic confection may be an unlikely setting for the political and administrative seat of a great…
22.54 MILES
Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…
10.56 MILES
Venice's historic gallery traces the development of Venetian art from the 14th to 19th centuries, with works by all of the city's artistic superstars. The…
11.51 MILES
In medieval times this part of Cannaregio housed a getto (foundry), but it was as the designated Jewish quarter from the 16th to 19th centuries that the…
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
10.55 MILES
Baldassare Longhena's magnificent basilica is prominently positioned near the entrance to the Grand Canal, its white stones, exuberant statuary and high…
10.7 MILES
Baroque dreams come true at this Baldassare Longhena–designed Grand Canal palazzo (mansion), where a marble staircase leads to a vast gilded ballroom and…
10.55 MILES
After losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim became one of the great collectors of the 20th century. Her palatial canalside home,…
Nearby Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands attractions
1. WWF Oasi Dunes degli Alberoni
4.72 MILES
Right at the southern tip of the island, the Alberoni pine forest slopes down to the Lido’s wildest stretch of beach, home to wildflowers, the fratino …
4.8 MILES
Sandy beach with all the usual facilities at the southern end of the Lido.
6.63 MILES
Pass over Ponte di Borgo to explore the canals and calli (lanes) of a less overwhelming lagoon town. A miniature version of Venice right down to the lions…
9.28 MILES
Eugenio Miozzi’s angular, Rationalist ‘Palace of Cinema’ was in keeping with the ambitious modernism of the early 1930s, when business tycoon and Fascist…
5. Monastero di San Lazzaro degli Armeni
9.6 MILES
Tours of this historic island monastery are usually conducted by its multilingual Armenian monks, who amply demonstrate the institution’s reputation for…
9.89 MILES
This vast belle époque hotel once epitomised Lido glamour, but it's been boarded up since 2016 – an oversized symbol of the beach resort's fall from…
8. Grande Albergo Ausonia & Hungaria
9.99 MILES
The Lido's take on art nouveau reaches an over-the-top apotheosis in this garish 1907 hotel, decorated with wreath-bearing cherubs and tiles in a…