Home to an abundance of somewhat overcrowded beaches, this sandy, narrow island is about eight miles long and can be reached from the mainland via the car ferry which leaves from Tronchetto (the car park island), or by the regular influx of vaporetti, along the Grand Canal, which take about ten minutes. The Lido is the only island in Venice with roads although a car is not really needed as there are regular bus services.
Frequented by famous authors such as Shelley and Byron as well as Thomas Mann, who set his literary masterpiece 'Death in Venice' on the island, it is primarily a seaside resort, which by the turn of the twentieth century was the most exclusive in Europe. Nowadays the island still attracts the literati, particularly in late summer, during the International Film Festival.
Besides the beaches and water sports available on the island, at the southern end of the Lido there is a golf course and to the north, in San Nicolo, the Aeroclub G Ancillotto offers lessons in flying and parachuting. Every year, at the Porto di Lido there is an annual festival, La Sensa, (Festival of the Ascension) which for centuries has celebrated Venice's marriage to the sea, in which traditionally a wedding ceremony takes place between the Doge and the sea, amidst a procession of decorated boats. Today the mayor of Venice plays the part of the Doge.