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Pellestrina

Pellestrina​


One of Veneto's best kept secrets, Pellestrina is one of the islands in the Venetian Lagoon, a short hop by ferry from the town of Chioggia on the mainland or from its neighbouring island, Venice Lido.

​The island is a thin strip of land measuring 12 miles (7km) in length and just 500 metres at its widest. The main industry here is fishing and there are many signs of that with the proliferation of fishing huts that sit out in the lagoon and the large nets that hang over the typical fishing decks. ​
However, when I visited Pellestrina the thing that struck me most was the array of colour everywhere you look, very reminiscent of the island of Burano, also in the Venetian Lagoon. Pellestrina isn't as carefully manicured as Burano but has a charm all of its own with the locals quietly going about their daily business, untroubled by large groups of tourists.

The multi-coloured buildings really do catch the eye but there's still more to the island. It has a sandy beach on the sea side (as opposed to the lagoon side), several churches and a good number of shops, restaurants and a bank with an ATM. If you're looking for somewhere solely to sunbathe this probably isn't the place for you as the beach isn't as well-maintained as that of Venice Lido for example but if you want to see a genuine, living breathing island this is a great place to visit and to understand how life in the Lagoon works.

One of the reasons for the relatively small amount of tourists is that it can be a comparatively awkward and long journey if coming from Venice itself but it's a different story if coming from the mainland. From the town of Chioggia you can take the Venice Water Bus (Vaporetto) line number 11 and it's just a 25 minute crossing. You can also visit from Venice but it takes a good deal longer and can be a bit complicated if you need to get back to Venice the same day. 

Category: Venetian Lagoon

Administrative area: Metropolitan City of Venice

​Population: Around 5,000

Size: 2 km²

Highlights: ​Coloured houses

Recommended accommodation: Locanda Stravedo
​Arrival port: Pellestrina

Journey time from mainland: 25 minutes

Distance from nearest mainland port: ​6 km
Arrive by: ​​​Venice water bus

​​
Arrive from: ​Chioggia

Best airport: ​​​Venice Marco Polo Airport (58 km)

Italy Review is a series of 36 website guides to Regions, Cities and Islands of Italy, with each website written exclusively in English. Using the green links below you can quickly jump to any of the individual websites where you'll find photos, blogs and useful information.

REGION GUIDES A - L

Abruzzo Review
Amalfi Coast Review
Basilicata Review
Calabria Review
Emilia Romagna Review
Friuli Venezia Giulia Review
Lazio Review
Liguria Review
Lombardy Review
REGION GUIDES M - V
Marche Review
Molise Review
Piemonte Review
Puglia Review
Sorrento Review
Trentino Review
Tuscany Review
Umbria Review
Valle d'Aosta Review
Veneto Review

CITY GUIDES

Florence Review
Milan Review
Naples Review
Pisa Review
Roma Review
Turin Review
Venice Review
Verona Review

ISLAND GUIDES

Capri Island Review
Elba Review
Ischia Review
Ponza Review
Procida Review
Sardinia Review
Sicily Review
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