Venice's trademark gondolas with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore across the water. Photo / iStock
Venice's trademark gondolas with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore across the water. Photo / iStock
The summer might be over in other parts of Europe but the heat lingers longer in Venice, discovers Helen Barlow. September is a good time to go.
The first time I covered the Venice Film Festival was in 1996 at the world premiere of Jane Campion's adaptation of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady.
"Oh you're so lucky to be going to Venice," friends chimed at the idea of my swanning around in gondolas, taking inthe sights on the narrow, tourist-packed streets.
However, La Mostra, as it is called, takes place on the Lido, the tranquil island beach suburb where Italians and foreigners come to take the sun, as depicted in Thomas Mann's novel Death in Venice and the ensuing movie starring Dirk Bogarde.
So with the exception of the odd movie bash or to venture to an art show at the Biennale (of which La Mostra is part) my experience of Venice has been on the Lido.
The next question my friends ask is what is the Lido? I tell them it is a nice place for tourists to escape the crowds and chill out - and to stay at a far cheaper cost. Eleven kilometres long with only a few canals - and no gondolas - it's mostly beach on the Adriatic side and all lagoon on the other.
Historically the sand bar created a buffer, even a fortress, for the city of Venice and for a brief period in the eighth century, the ruling doge lived here. The Lido retains its own old world charm and also provides killer views to the famed Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square), best seen while watching the frequently fabulous sunsets. Venice is known for having the best sunsets in Italy yet who would know when wandering through those dense, dark streets?
A spectacular place to see them is from the Lido's Villa Laguna, a hotel where celebrity interviews often take place during the festival. At nights, even during the festival, it is surprisingly quiet and affordable for mere nobodies to dine or drink into the wee hours.
It is a little expensive but, if you want a romantic holiday, opt for the rooms that have water frontages and little gardens overlooking the lagoon. It is also convenient to get to the mainland as it is next to the ferry (vaporetti) stop. Venice is a 15-minute ride away and the airport an hour.
Good water views (not featuring San Marco) can be found further down the island, where the hotels are quieter and more reasonably priced. Hotel Villa Mabapa is the standout and also has a fine restaurant. The Lido specialty is seafood and cuttlefish cooked in its ink is a favourite.
Villa Mabapa is only a 10-minute walk from the ferry but the best way to get there is by bike, which is what makes the Lido special.
It is quiet and tranquil and you can cycle everywhere, taking in the early-20th century Liberty-style palazzos (mansions) and the greenery.
Bikes are for hire just across from the main ferry stop or further up the main drag, the Gran Viale S.M. Elisabetta, which spans the width of the island - a mere 700m - and leads to the public beach.
The beaches are family-friendly as the water is shallow. Cafes are nearby and you can rent or share an old-style hut for shade. The large hotels have their own.
The biggest and oldest of the hotels is the five-star Excelsior. Built in the Moorish style during the Belle Epoque, it was truly the place to be in its heyday.
Hotel Excelsior Venice.
Those days are long gone and now it is gauche and over-priced, though it still provides a focus for festival activity on its balcony and gardens. The balcony, overlooking the water, is a magical place to have a drink at any time of year or a meal at night if you want to splurge. Its daytime beach cafe downstairs, La Taverna, is more informal and better value.
Previously the Death in Venice hotel, the Des Bains, a stunning Palladian building with an ornate wrought-iron balcony and sprawling gardens and pool, had been the other festival hub, even if its rooms were run down. It is closed at present but will reopen in two years' as apartments and hopefully the public will be able to go to its atmospheric bar and balcony.
It might seem the end of an era, but Luigi Brugnaro, the newly elected Venice mayor, promises to restore some of the island's grandeur and will turn the long-disused Ospedale al Mare (Hospital by the Sea) into a resort.
Some things will never change, though. There is a sense of real life on the Lido and each year the hoteliers, restaurateurs, cafe-owners and even the check-out workers at the large supermarket have been welcoming.
My hotel, the Biasutti, a family-run business, has been exceptional. After reading about Lido hotels and what guests say about them, the Biasutti seems to represent the best value for money and the most pleasant stay.
It is in a quiet street surrounded by stunning palazzos, so is perfectly located in a residential neighbourhood away from the noise yet near the main street, the boats and the beach, just behind the Des Bains. Originally two palazzos that have been joined together by a terrace-bar, it is surrounded by foliage and offers a breakfast room that I struggle to leave in the mornings. The staff rarely changes (a good sign) so I feel like one of the family.
Previously I had stayed at budget hotel The Reiter because of its internet when the Biasutti, like a lot of the old-fashioned Lido establishments, had struggled to embrace change - I once had to go to Venice to use my credit card.
The Reiter, on Elisabetta, represents good value and if you can tolerate street noise you get to look at the palatial Art Nouveau Hotel Hungaria and its ornate tiled facade. In the evenings the Hungaria's atmospheric terrace is a great place to drink and dine (and to ogle those tiles). But beware, many of its rooms are poky and it is over-priced.
Of course it is always important to ask about the size of the room and its location.
I twice stayed at the Hotel Riviera opposite the ferry stop, once enjoying stunning elevated views and the noise of the ferries, and once in a quiet shoebox for half the money.
The Lido also has buses. The No 11 will take you to the southern end of the island at Alberoni where you will find an exquisite pine forest and beach in a protected area, rich in flora and fauna. Next to the forest is Italy's top-rated golf course, the Circolo Golf Venezia, which is good for sunsets, too. The area is atmospheric and away from it all and it is where writers such as Byron and Goethe liked to walk and go horse riding.
Restaurants
If you take the bus further, you can go on a ferry to the even smaller and thinner island of Pellestrina and its typical fishing village where local trattorias Da Celeste and the world-renowned Da Nane Canton overlook the water and offer some of the best seafood cuisine.
If you don't want to venture that far, two restaurants near the port serve superb seafood. Da Andri, Via Lepanto, 21 and Osteria Al Merca, Via Dandolo Enrico, 17B.
