Veneto · Venezia
Chioggia
Italy's second fishing port, on an island at the south end of the Venetian Lagoon, called Little Venice for its canal.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 92.
The letter
Chioggia got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 46 min from Venice
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 47,265
- J8°
- F11°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N13°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 9°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Chioggia sits on a small island at the southern entrance to the Venetian Lagoon, twenty-five kilometers south of Venice and connected to the mainland and to its frazione Sottomarina by causeways. The Romans knew it as Clodia. By the eleventh and twelfth centuries it had grown into a salt-producing port and became a free commune in 1110.
The naval war that carries the town's name ran through 1378-81 and ended Genoese rivalry with Venice, leaving Chioggia under the Serenissima for the next four centuries. The defeat reduced the town to fishing, salt and limited Adriatic trade. The fleet never left.
The street plan is a herringbone of calli running off the town's single straight spine, with three canals threading between them and the bridges that gave the town its Little Venice nickname. Inland lies the historic island itself; across the causeway sits Sottomarina, the beach frazione facing the open Adriatic where the lagoon town has none. What Chioggia lost at sea it kept at the dock: a working port still built around the same trade that outlasted the war which was supposed to end it.
How to get there
From Treviso (TSF), about 1 h 10 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 49 min or Verona 1 h 36 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Venice, Verona or Bologna?
Coming by train into Venezia Santa Lucia? Chioggia is about 46 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Treviso airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Cathedral founded in the eleventh century, raised to episcopal seat in 1110, rebuilt from 1623 to designs by Baldassare Longhena.
Canale Vena
Main canal of the centro storico, lined with fishing boats and crossed by nine bridges including the seventeenth-century Ponte Vigo.
Mercato del Pesce
Wholesale fish market on the canal, open before dawn six days a week, the operating center of the Adriatic fleet.
Corso del Popolo
The single straight street that runs the length of the island, from Piazzetta Vigo to the cathedral, the spine of the herringbone street plan.
Sottomarina
Eight-kilometer beach on the lagoon's outer barrier, with sixty hotels and seventeen campgrounds, the seaside frazione of Chioggia since 1933.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
El GatoRistorante
El Gato carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Chioggia meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 47,265 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Padova, a city of 207,412, is 49 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 47,265, down 4.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Padua, 49 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,250 to €2,050 per m² to buy, €6.50 to €8.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 95% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 1 h 1 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 46 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, Romania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 41 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the Netherlands. There are 298 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 29% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Venice province ranks 53rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Venice, 28 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 37 km away. The nearest IB school is The English International School of Padua, 35 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is The International School of Venice, 30 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Venice, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.40, a meal in a pizzeria €13.99 and a man's haircut €23.96.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 17% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 18% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
FISHING PORT
Italy's second fishing port after Mazara del Vallo, with the wholesale market on Canale Vena operating before dawn six days a week.
WAR OF CHIOGGIA
The 1378-81 naval war ended here with Venice's victory over Genoa and reduced Chioggia to a fishing and salt port for four centuries.
SOTTOMARINA
Eight kilometers of fine sand on the lagoon's outer barrier, Bandiera Blu beach since 2005 and the summer outlet for the inland Veneto.
Common questions
- What is Chioggia known for?
- Italy's second fishing port, on an island at the south end of the Venetian Lagoon, called Little Venice for its canal.
- Where is Chioggia?
- Chioggia is a comune in the province of Venezia, in Veneto, at 2 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Chioggia?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 1 h 1 min by car.
- Can you get to Chioggia without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Chioggia?
- About 49 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Chioggia?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Chioggia?
- Monopoli, Roseto degli Abruzzi and Gallipoli.
- How many people live in Chioggia?
- 47,265 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Chioggia a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Chioggia is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Padova, is 49 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 95% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 2 m
- Population: 47,265
- Surface area: 187.91 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Chioggia appears in
- The best coastal towns within two hours of PaduaNear Paduacoastalwithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,674 residents · closest 49 min away
- The best coastal towns within two hours of UdineNear Udinecoastalwithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,674 residents · closest 43 min away
- The best coastal towns within two hours of VeniceNear Venicecoastalwithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,674 residents · closest 46 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of PaduaNear Paduawithin 60 mineats well6 towns · smallest 8,911 residents · closest 3 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of VeniceNear Venicewithin 60 mineats well6 towns · smallest 20,464 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of PaduaNear Paduaby trainwithin 60 min7 towns · smallest 3,897 residents · closest 3 min away
Similar
Towns like Chioggia
What all six share with Chioggia: on the Adriatic coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Chioggia got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.