Bike through Venice’s lagoon islands: Lido, Pellestrina, and Chioggia. Experience Belle Epoque glamour, colorful fishing villages, and serene beaches. Choose your return route.
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Lido di Venezia - We will meet at Santa Maria Elisabetta on Lido Island, where we will rent our bikes and start discovering Lido!
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Grande Albergo Ausonia Hungaria - Hotel Ausonia & Hungaria (1913) is a remarkable example of luxury tourism dated back one century ago, thanks to the beautiful ceramic tiles on the main facade, recently renovated.
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Hotel des Bains - A former luxury hotel, built in 1900 to attract wealthy tourists, it is remembered for Thomas Mann’s stay here in 1911 and the shooting of movies like “Death in Venice” by Visconti (1971) and the English Patient (1996).
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Ristorante Mostra Del Cinema - The oldest festival in the world is held in late August or early September here and screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema. The still running Art Nouveau Hotel Excelsior (1908) usually hosts producers and actors during the Festival.
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Malamocco - From the beach we will enter this small fisherman village passing over Ponte di Borgo and explore the canals and calli or a less overwhelming lagoon town with just a few churches and a Gothic palazzo, a small miniature of Venice!
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Bagni Alberoni - After few kilometers we will reach Alberoni beach, right at the western tip of Lido (opposite to San Nicolo). The natural beach of Alberoni has a maritime pine forest which slopes down to the Lido’s wildest most scenic beach. These enchanting dune fields are the stuff of Shelley’s poems and Byron’s early morning rides.
Often this beach is virtually deserted, except a plethora of marine birds and few kite surfers or windsurfers on windy days. We will make a break at this beach before hopping on a ferry to Pellestrina island -
Murazzi - The route will be wild as we will bike along the Murazzi, a scenic route following the Adriatic sea.
Murazzi is a remarkable 18th century engineering work: These massive sea walls represent a Herculean work from pre industrial age. Designed to keep high seas from crashing into the lagoon, they remain an effective breakwater even today. Murazzi are built with large blocks of Istrian stone and can be found also on the sister island of Lido. -
Pellestrina - We will bike along this 7 km long island, stretching south of the Lido and repeating its long, sinuous shape. The island is home of 3 tight-knit fishing communities - San Pietro in Volta, Portosecco and Pellestrina, strung out along the water’s edge in jaunty pastel colours.
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Chioggia - Chioggia is a miniature version of Venice, and is often called “Little Venice”, with a few canals, chief among them the Canale Vena, and the characteristic narrow streets known as calli. Chioggia has several medieval churches, much reworked in the period of its greatest prosperity in the 16th and 17th centuries.
It is also a lively fihing community: what a great place to taste some fresh fish!
- Tour Leader & Nature and Interpretive Guide
- Gratuities
- Ferry boat tickets (suggested: 20 Euro 24 hrs ticket)
- Train ticket if needed
- Bicycle use
Hop from island to island in the lagoon by bike: we will start from the Lido island, with its groomed shellac beaches, bronzed lifeguards and old ladies sipping Prosecco at the market, experiencing the Belle Epoque glamour passing in front of the beautiful hotels designed in the 20s in Art Noveau style. We will bike along the canals of Malamocco, a colorful fishing village that’s like a miniature version of Venice, cycle through a forest reserve to a lighthouse and relax like the locals do by heading to quiet Alberoni beach for a drink or a swim. We will enjoy special views of Venice biking along the Pellestrina island and its fishing communities strung out the water’s edge in jaunty pastel colours. The route will continue to Chioggia, another miniature of Venice and a fishing community. You will decide if you prefer to bike back from the same route or to reach Venice by from the mainland, returining to Lido after a spectacular view from the ferry to Lido in front of St. Marks.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
