Airport Venezia / Lido (LIPV)

If Venice is "the most beautiful city in the world - Lord Byron, then the claim on the airports website, quoting the BBC, that "this is the third most beautiful airport in the world" must add, for pilots, a reason to visit - if they still need one.

Absolute gem of a VFR grass airfield slightly spoiled by Italian stereotype officialdom Beautiful art-deco terminal building with great era-like decoration. A pleasant restaurant on the field.

One can take the airfield water taxi to San Marco for €70 for the 7 minute crossing. Cheaper public transport alternatives are available but you have to either take a taxi or a 20 minute walk to the main Lido landing stage for these.

Definitely an airfield to visit.

Four Warnings:

Even after you have filled in the web site for Customs, allow at least half an hour arriving/departing for Italian bureaucracy to inspect your passport.

Being an Island, the cost of fuel on The Lido is always going to be prohibitive and, also, often in short supply. For ALL Italian fields, if I am desperate for Avgas, I always double check by phone/email that they have a supply. Sometimes with high Italian prices, it is more convenient to upload only what is necessary and then complete one's take-up elsewhere.

The Grass runway is perfectly adequate for those who are used to such surfaces; but the field is not very good at 'loosing' water after a heavy downpour: The Fire Truck had to pull a couple of planes out of the mud whilst I was there + it was very wet underfoot when doing the pre-flight.

The run-off the grass to the Apron is LETHAL. Ensure that you use the 'white' gateway. The rest of the edge of the grass is a deep hidden ditch which could easily result in a prop-strike for the unwary.

Nothing is cheap in Venice, but The Lido is far more reasonable than the city itself. Above all, it is far more 'crowd free' than the main island which made the evenings/eating/relaxing far more pleasant. I stayed at Hotel New Reiter**** https://www.newreiterhotel.com/en which is in the main thoroughfare Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta 57. It was about 15 minutes walk from the airport and each day it was only a few minutes to the end of the street to get The Vaporetto into Venice.

The Victoria Palace Hotel**** https://www.viktoriapalacehotel.com/ was recommended to me but I haven’t stayed there. It is a 10mins walk from the airfield with the waterbus stop 15mins further on. If you want to get directly to the main city of Venice, The Car Ferry http://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/actv-ferry-boat goes hourly from very close to the airfield. Foot passengers can travel on that for the price of an ordinary Vaporetto ticket. At the other end of Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta is the famous 'sea shore' immortalised in Thomas Mann's novel (& film) Death in Venice. The Grand Hotel des Bains is now a sad sight; but it still resonates with its iconic grandeur. If you get 'sight seeing' overkill from Venice, I can recommend The Lido as a wonderful antidote: Nice walks/beaches/space. Bicycles can easily be hired (I took my own in the plane) and the whole of The Lido can be leisurely explored. If, also, you have had too much of pasta, can I recommend the Indian Restaurant Buddha Soul Resto http://buddhasoulresto.net/ right opposite the Hotel New Reiter.

Great approach, late change from IFR to VFR with steep descent. AVGAS quite expensive, but gets you a parking spot on the concrete apron. Two days parking 65€. Be aware of the high trees on short final when landing on 05 (preferred runway). Grass runway in good condition. They have an own harbour and call you a watertaxi which brings you to 70€ directly to your hotel. At departure, Info Radio will get you the IFR clearance which makes the pick-up very easy. The airport is stunningly beautiful and you should not miss a visit - highly recommended.

Nice and very kind

Three days with TBM: €158, parked on the paved apron. Customs/immigration clearance was surprisingly quick for Italy. No ATIS on Tuesdays; the flight plan must be closed by phone. On departure, AFIS coordinated the IFR pickup. Runway feels practically like concrete, absolutely level. Water taxi comes right to the terminal; charged us €75.