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

Nearby 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 …

2. Bagni Alberoni

4.8 MILES

Sandy beach with all the usual facilities at the southern end of the Lido.

3. Malamocco

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…

4. Palazzo del Cinema

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…

6. Grand Hotel des Bains

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…