Caorle Beach

Caorle, about 70km northeast of Venice in the Veneto, wraps a perfectly preserved medieval fishing town around two long Blue Flag beaches of fine golden sand: Spiaggia di Levante to the east and Spiaggia di Ponente to the west of the historic centre. The sand is soft and pale and the Adriatic here shelves gently into shallow, calm water with good clarity, making both beaches reassuring for families and unremarkable for surf. The shore is broad and open rather than enclosed, with daytime breezes enough for light windsurfing. What sets Caorle apart is its character: the pastel-painted houses of the centro storico, the cylindrical eleventh-century campanile of the Duomo, and the rock sculptures carved into the seafront breakwaters along the Scogliera Viva give the resort a charm the larger purpose-built resorts lack. The vibe is relaxed and distinctly Italian-family, busier and more sociable in the centre and quieter towards the edges, with excellent fresh seafood in the town's trattorie thanks to its working fishing fleet. Amenities are well developed without being overwhelming — beach concessions with sunbed and umbrella rental, restaurants and bars, showers, water-sports rental, and several campsites and holiday villages on the outskirts. Lifeguards patrol the main stretches during daytime hours in season. Access is straightforward: Caorle is reached by car with paid parking near the seafront, or by ATVO bus from Venice (roughly 1.5 hours, sometimes with a change). There is no train station in Caorle itself, the nearest railheads being Portogruaro and San Donà di Piave, from where buses continue to the coast. The compact old town means the beach, restaurants and sights are all within an easy flat walk of one another.