Cycling: Venice by bike

For all bike lovers who love travelling around the world on their own two wheels, here are some suggestions if you want to visit the mainland and islands around Venice

Between the sea and lagoon

Venice Lido: along the Murazzi to Chioggia (27 km)

This itinerary starts with an uninterrupted, magnificent view of the Venice lagoon, and the islands of Giudecca, San Giorgio, San Servolo, San Clemente, San Giorgio degli Armeni until you reach the splendid panorama of the open sea.

Leaving Hotel Rigel behind, you come to the unique, evocative Murazzi, mammoth constructions, the very first dams built by the Venetian Republic as protection against the terrible storms of the Adriatic. On the one side is the Lido and the lagoon, on the other the beach and the sea.

Once you reach the mouth of Malamocco port, the narrow channel that allows ships to enter the lagoon from the sea, you take the first ferry which takes just a couple of minutes to reach the Pellestrina Lido, continuing for 1 km you will arrive at the extreme tip of the island at Ca' Roman where you can visit the nature reserve have a drink at Sergio's kiosk in front of the lagoon. From there, the itinerary continues with similar scenery until you come to the second and last ferry boat that takes you to the ancient city of Chioggia, a miniature Venice boasting a magnificent historical centre.

The villas along the River Brenta

Fusina along the old course of the Brenta up to Strà (22 km)

The river landscape along the old course of the river Brenta offers breathtaking views.

In the past, Venetians would use the river as their main means of transport for food and goods of all kinds coming from the hinterland to the lagoon islands; it later became a holiday destination for all the nobility of the ancient Venetian Republic.

From the Sixteenth century onwards, some of the greatest examples of the Veneto Villas were built, by outstanding architects such as Andrea Palladio and with works by famous painters such as Tiepolo.

You can choose where you’d like to stop and rest, and visit some of these homes, for example Palladio’s “Malcontenta”, Villa Pisani also known as ‘Nazionale’ in Strà, which used to be the home of Alvise Pisani, the doge of the Venetian Republic in the early Eighteenth century.

In the lagoon

From Punta Sabbioni to Lio Piccolo and Cavallino (25 km)

You will find yourself emerged in the magical environment of marshes and reeds, surrounded by the combination of the nature typical of marshes and the vegetation and shrubs growing on the land facing the sea, the nesting site of many kinds of birds. You’ll cycle along former military roads where you can still see the look-out towers and small military bastions that were built at the beginning of the twentieth century, discovering hamlets the world has forgotten on the way, such as Lio Piccolo and the thick pinewoods of Cavallino.