Lido di Jesolo Holidays

This vibrant Italian seaside town's raced to become one of Italy's favourite go-slow holiday spots. It's set on the edge of Venice Lagoon, and has an impressive collection of top-end hotels and high-rise apartments close to the waterfront. The other way, there's a sparkling marina, a dozen piazzas brimming with trattorias and all-night discos, plus Via Bafile, Europe’s longest car-free avenue.

Lido di Jesolo’s beach is a 15-kilometre swathe of golden Dolomite sand, lapped by the rolling waves of the Adriatic Sea. The Lido section in the east is filled with sandcastle-building competitions, games of beach rugby, and a portfolio of watersports. For a more chilled spot, try the outlying sands of La Pineta in the west – they’re backed by pine forests and the pace is much more easy-going.

Lido di Jesolo packs in tonnes of family-friendly attractions. For starters, there’s Aqualandia, Italy’s number-one waterpark and home of one of the world’s tallest slides – the 42-metre Spacemaker. Then there’s New Jesolandia, a fairground that has a giant ferris wheel, chair-o-planes and a skyflyer. And next door's Pista Azzurra, the go-kart track where F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher raced as teenagers.

A 90-minute ferry ride across the lagoon takes you to Venice. This fairytale, canal-spliced city is dotted with gondoliers and sinking palaces filled with Renaissance masterpieces. St Mark’s Square's a breathtaking setting for a morning cappuccino. And rumour has it that a kiss under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset will bring you eternal love.