Corso del Popolo

The Corso del Popolo is the spine of Chioggia: a single broad, straight, arcaded street running the length of the island from the cathedral at one end to Ponte Vigo and the lagoon at the other.

Running parallel to it, one block east, is the canal Vena, lined with moored fishing boats. The town is built on that pairing -- a street for people and a canal for boats -- and everything else branches off it in narrow lanes called calli.

It is where Chioggia does everything: the market, the passeggiata, the cafés, and the fish.

This is a working street in a working town rather than a tourist quarter, and the fishing quay along the Vena is a workplace. Keep clear of the boats and the handling of catch.

Chioggia's summer pressure comes in a daily wave from the Sottomarina beaches and concentrates on this one street between about eleven and four. Coming early, late or out of season is better for everyone.

Buy the fish. This is one of the Adriatic's major landing ports, and eating what is landed here -- rather than what is on a tourist menu -- is the most direct support the town's own economy gets.

The Corso is a public street -- free, open, and pedestrianised along most of its length.

Walking it end to end, from the cathedral to Ponte Vigo, takes about fifteen minutes without stopping, and an hour or two if you look at the churches and detour down the lanes to the canal.

The street is flat, paved and step-free, and is the most accessible part of Chioggia. The lanes down to the canal are level too, though narrow.

The fish market operates in the morning and is closed on Mondays. Most shops keep a long midday closure.

Chioggia is reached by bus from Venice, by boat from Pellestrina, or by car with parking at the edge of the historic centre.