the times Saturday May 28 202242 Travel
The Rialto Bridge on the Grand CanalInsider Italy
Richard Mellor escapes the crowds on a two-wheeled
tour of the quieter isles, villages and
beaches surrounding the city’s lagoon
Island-hopping in
Venice — by bike
gether five itineraries for
cyclists, taking in lesser-visited
spots around the lagoon from
scented pine woods to ancient
fishing villages such as Caorle.
The support for bicycle travel hereconnects to continuing efforts to ease Ven-
ice’s overtourism. When pre-pandemic
annual visitor numbers soared to 30 mil-
lion, the city responded by banning cruise
ships from central canals; a trial beginning
next month will require day-trippers toF
rom the white-marble bridge
I stand on, a canal stretches
away from the Venetian
lagoon. Colonnaded palazzi
line one side, opposite wonky
buildings in shades of vanilla,
peach or beetroot. A church
looms overhead, its belltower recurring in
the placid green water. It’s an exotic,
enchanting scene. But this is not Venice.
It is, instead, Chioggia, at the far south of
the Venetian lagoon. Look closely and de-
spite its “piccola Venezia” nickname,
you’ll actually see many differences.
Chioggia is also formed from islands, but is
much smaller, with just three canals.
It’s thought to be older than Venice, butthere are far fewer tourists
and almost no selfie sticks.
The air is saltier. You might
see a car. Fishing boats
have the monopoly, with
gondolas entirely absent.
And whereas Venetian
waiters tend to have word-
perfect English, few here
— including in my favour-
ite, Pizzeria Vigo, where a
decent margherita costs just
€6.50 (£5.50) — speak more
than a smattering of “Inglese”.
Another distinction is that you
can cycle in Chioggia — which is why
I’m here. The tourist board has put to-Cycling around
the lagoon