Guide to Venetian Riviera

Beaches

Lido di Jesolo offers up all the froth and bubble of a classic Med holiday resort. Think parasols and buckets and spades aplenty, plus plenty of watersports to make the sea as tempting as the sand. As beaches go, it's long. Ten miles long, in fact. And there's a real sense of organisation to it. Row upon row of sunbeds are laid out with military precision. Lifeguards keep their eyes fixed on the shoreline. And showers see to it you dodge those wet-sand-and-suncream moments. Add extras like mini-golf, volleyball and climbing frames and you can see why it's such a hit with families. Behind this great strip of sand lies a promenade pocked with restaurants, cafes and ice-cream parlours, plus plenty of little shops for those sandy essentials. And the great thing about Jesolo is that it's all really close to your hotel. Tasteful, low-rise hotels – soaring tower blocks need not apply – face out on to the beach. And even if you're not staying in one of these, chances are you'll only have to cross the main road before you're digging your toes in the sand. It's worth remembering a lot of hotels have nabbed their own stretch of shoreline and put up the 'private property' signs. You can still pay to use the sunbeds here though, or just stick to the public stretches instead. Jesolo aside, another place has recently crept on to the radar – the seaside town of Bibione. The Italians have been coming here for years but just lately it's become the new darling of the travel savvy. And when you catch a glimpse of the beach, you'll understand why. It skirts the coastline for 11 glorious kilometres, with ivory sands melting into the deep blue of the Adriatic. Factor in a pinewood backdrop and a gently shelving shoreline and you can understand the appeal. A little closer to Venice you've got another place to unroll your beach towel - Lido. Not to be confused with Lido di Jesolo, this is actually an island southeast of Venice – a slender sandbank that sits between city and sea. In the early 20th century it was Europe's most happening seaside resort, all grand hotels, stripy cabanas and style-conscious holidaymakers. It's got a string of great beaches to laze on, but today Lido's most famous for hosting the Venice Film Festival every September. That's when the place turns into movie star nirvana with everyone from Tom Cruise to Johnny Depp spotted on the shores.

Eating out

• A bite to eat's never far away in Lido di Jesolo. A long thin strip of a resort, its main road snakes for 14 kilometres and is packed with places to eat. In the summer, it's a car-free zone after 8pm so you can roam from restaurant to restaurant without having to dodge Fiats every second step. For the most part, cuisine's more hearty than haute but it's good nonetheless and very much Italian in style. Expect packed-out pizzerias. Trattorias that have been in the family generations. And gelaterias that demand you leave your diet at the door. As you'd expect, pizza and pasta crop up regularly but it's in the fish department that Venetian chefs excel. Just outside Lido di Jesolo there's an old fishing village called Cortelazzo that does a great trade in ocean fare. But for an even better selection, it has to be Venice. The city's kitchens regard the waters of the lagoon as one big ice-box. Dig your fork into pasta tossed with clams. Risottos stirred with cuttlefish. Scallops smothered in parmesan. The list goes on. One dish that'll appear on every menu worth its salt is 'sarde in saor' - sardines in olive oil, with an onion, raisin and pine-nut sauce. Another Venetian favourite – and one that's not from the sea – is 'fegato alla Veneziana', thin slices of calf's liver on a bed of onions. The city's dining scene has a reputation for being pricey and, granted, some restaurants charge exorbitant rates for the simplest gap-filler. But steer clear of the tourist hubs – like St Mark's Square – and invest a little time in the backstreets and you'll find budget-friendly alternatives. That said, if you are searching for a restaurant to dress up in, pick one of the famous hotels – Danieli and Cipriani. All white-jacketed waiters and chandeliers a-shimmering, they're the last word in luxury. At the other end of the scale, try one of the bacaros. It's the Italian equivalent of a tapas bar where crowds stand at the counter barking orders like city traders on an exchange floor. Instead of tapas, it's 'chichetti' – a square of mortadella ham here, a rice-stuffed tomato there – with plenty of wine to wash it down. Choose from big names like Soave or Prosecco. Top of the region's dessert list? Tiramisu. Just loosen that belt a notch first.
  
  
• Miravalle, Lido di Jesolo Enjoy traditional Italian al fresco at this atmospheric place in the heart of Jesolo's old town.
  
  
• Da Romano, Venice Run by a descendant of the original owner from the 1800's, this postcard-pretty restaurant knows a thing or two about fresh fish dishes.
  
  
• Locanda San Vigilio, Lake Garda Seafood is the speciality at this upmarket eatery, which comes with a side-order of lake views.
  
  
• Il Desco, Verona Housed in a 16th-century palazzo, this is one of Italy's finest restaurants serving pricey but perfetto Italian cuisine.
  
  
• Al Bragozzo, Trieste This lively eatery is one of the local's favourite hangouts and adjusts its menu weekly, according to the local produce available.

Nightlife

• One night you're at the Fenice opera house in Venice. After a show, a nice meal, a glass of wine, an espresso or two. The following day? Quaffing cocktails and dancing 'til dawn in Lido di Jesolo. On the Venetian Riviera, you set the post-sunset pace. If Jesolo's your base, you could quite easily go for a different cafe-bar-club combo every night and barely even scratch the surface. Every fourth door on the main road is a watering hole of some description. Piazza Mazzini's at the heart of it all. The town's biggest square, it's bordered by cafes and cocktail bars. For less bustle though, try Piazza Nember, which has got a much more reserved feel to it. Over in Venice, the key to a good night out is wandering without a plan. Stroll from piazza to piazza and you'll be tripping over wine bars and coffee houses along the way. The busiest square is probably Campo di Santa Margarita in San Polo, the students' favourite stomping ground. If you're coming up against some big price tags on your travels though, delve into the backstreets and seek out the bars that time – and inflation – forgot. The funny thing about Venice is that some of the most famous places are barely worth a second glance from the outside. But swing through the doors and you feel like you've stepped into another world. That's certainly true of the city's most famous drinking den – Harry's Bar. If you don't already know, this is the place that brought us the Bellini, a classic combination of fresh peach juice and sparkling Prosecco. Order a cocktail, sit back and indulge in a little celeb spotting – everyone from Woody Allen to Nicole Kidman has pulled up a stool in this Italian institution. If you fancy venturing a little further afield, try the famous university town of Padua. Piazza delle Erbe is where the students put the world to rights round tiny tables. Order a spritz – an aperitif made with Campari and Cynar, white wine and sparkling water - and watch the debates get more and more animated as the night goes on. For the ultimate in romance, meanwhile, watch an opera unfold at Verona's Roman amphitheatre, the city's world-famous opera venue.
  
  
• Gasoline, Lido di Jesolo Harley Davidsons parked outside, number plates lining the walls and peanut shells all over the floor – okay so it's not traditional Italian but it sure is good fun.
  
  
• Primafila, Lido di Jesolo This smart bar at Hotel Eden is the place to sip cosmopolitans in a chic setting.
  
  
• Vanilla Sky, Lido di Jesolo Dance beneath the stars at Aqualandia's newest addition – a nightclub with a retractable roof. It's a summer-time favourite.
  
  
• Caffe Florian, Venice If Casanova was a waiter he'd have worked the tables here, in Europe's oldest cafe. Listen to tinkling ivories in a romantic cocoon of wood-panelling and red velvet.
  
  
• Il Cafe, Venice Hang out with the bohemian set in this cute and not too costly bar, where the barman pours generous-sized drinks and acts as an impromptu DJ.

Shopping

Gucci. Armani. Versace. All the big names stack up in the Venetian Riviera – this is Italy after all. But it'd be a mistake to spend all your euros in the high-end fashion houses. When it comes to handicrafts, the locals here have got serious talent. And with relatively little legwork you can go home with a masterpiece. Think Venetian glass in every colour of the rainbow. Lacework that looks as if it's been toiled over for decades. And masks that would land you first place in a masquerade ball. If you're serious about glass, your best bet is Murano. Watch master craftsmen at work, then pick a piece to cradle carefully on the boat to Burano – the place to go for lace. For masks it's got to be Venice. There's no shortage of mask shops where you can see artisans hard at work, but for a one-of-a-kind, theatre-standard mask, try La Bottega dei Mascareri near the Rialto. They're out of this world. Masks aside, the best shopping to be had is on the St Mark's Square to Rialto stretch. That's where the fashion titans share street space with some great little gift shops. Elsewhere, the stores around the Mercerie do a mean trade in leather. The arcades of St Mark's Square shelter some of the city's best jewellers. And the Rialto food market keeps the city's restaurants in business and you in cheap eats. Over in Lido di Jesolo, the main road has got everything from look-but-don't-spend boutiques to bucket-and-spade kiosks. Piazza Mazzini's the main square that packs in some tempting shops. Leather's a speciality of Jesolo's and you'll find everything from squishy have-to-have-it handbags to leather shoes so polished you could do your hair in them. Add to the mix toys, tapestries and more model gondolas than you can shake a Cornetto at, and you've got a considerably heavier suitcase than when you started.