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7 Best Beaches in Venice for Swimming in the Adriatic Sea or the Venetian Lagoon

7 Best Beaches in Venice for Swimming in the Adriatic Sea or the Venetian Lagoon

Ah, Venice—a city of art, history… and beaches. That's right. Though La Serenissima draws travelers for its culture, you might be surprised to find the best beaches in Venice are just as perfect for a spot of swimming and sunbathing as some of the other best beaches in Italy. Mudflats and sandbanks have made up the calm laguna di Venezia for thousands of years, which means that those long, pencil-thin islands act as natural barriers between sea and lagoon, resulting in wide, soft-sanded beaches that shelve gently into the Adriatic Sea. It's a spectacular setting quite different from the other seaside scenes on the Italian peninsula—so you have all the more reason to go.
The easiest beaches to reach from Venice proper are on the island of Lido, which is essentially seven miles of sand with a town, villages, and nature reserves attached. South of the Lido is an island called Pellestrina; to the north is a long finger-shaped peninsula sticking out from the mainland, with beaches so spectacular that it often feels like half of Germany and Austria have driven down to lay out their towels on them. Wherever you go, you won't be disappointed. Here are seven of the best beaches in Venice.
Read our complete Venice travel guide here.
Des Bains 1900 beach club has reopened 15 years after Grand Hotel Des Bains shuttered.
Courtesy Des Bains 1900
Des Bains 1900, Lido
The Grand Hotel Des Bains was the icon of the Lido di Venezia, the seven-mile sandbar of an island that sits between the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. When the hotel closed in 2010, it even left a hole in the Venice Film Festival, which used to hold events there—but its beach club, Des Bains 1900, has returned this year, making this the hottest place to be on the island. Here, across the silken sands, you can choose between a sun-lounger (from around $32) or a family-friendly 'gazebo' (or cabana, from around $200), bookable through their site. There are bathrooms, a restaurant, optional yoga and tai chi classes, and a kids' club. This place is perfect if you want a day off from Venice sightseeing, and there are plenty of hotels nearby if you want to make a night of it, like the five-star Hotel Excelsior Venice.
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