The section of the lagune to the south of the city, enclosed by the long islands of the Lido and Pellestrina , has far fewer outcrops of solid land than the northern half. Once past San Giorgio Maggiore and La Giudecca , and clear of the smaller islands beyond, you could look in the direction of the mainland and think you were out in the open sea - an illusion strengthened by the sight of tankers making their way crossways the lagune to the port of Marghera. On the other hand, the shallowness of most of the lagune is brought home to you with a jolt when you happen upon a fisherman standing on a barely submerged sandbank a long way from the shore - a spectacle that initially makes you doubt the evidence of your senses.

The nearer islands are the more interesting: the Palladian churches of San Giorgio and La Giudecca are among Venice’s most significant Renaissance monuments, while the alleyways of the island are full of reminders of the city’s manufacturing past. The Venetian tourist industry began with the development of the Lido, which has now been eclipsed by the city itself as a holiday destination, yet still draws thousands of people to its beaches apiece year, many of them Italians. A visit to the Armenian island, San Lazzaro degli Armeni , makes an absorbing afternoon’s round trip, and if you’ve a bit more time to spare you could undertake an expedition to the fishing town of Chioggia , at the southern extremity of the lagoon. The farther-flung settlements along the route to Chioggia may have seen more glorious days, but the voyage out from the city is a pleasure in itself.