The Lido di Venezia is a narrow, 12-kilometer barrier island that separates the Venetian lagoon from the open Adriatic Sea. It is the only part of the Venice municipality where cars drive on proper roads, trees line the streets, and buildings have front gardens, giving it a character that feels closer to a seaside resort town than to the car-free labyrinth of the historic center. The Lido's golden age was the late 19th and early 20th century, when it became one of Europe's most fashionable beach destinations. Grand Liberty-style hotels, including the iconic Hotel Excelsior and the Grand Hotel des Bains (the setting for Thomas Mann's novella "Death in Venice"), rose along the seafront. Every September, the Lido takes center stage as the home of the Venice Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the world, held at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. Outside festival season, the Lido is a pleasant, low-key place to spend a day: the public beaches at the northern and southern ends are free, the private beach clubs (stabilimenti) offer sun loungers and cabanas, and the wide Lungomare promenade is ideal for cycling. For visitors staying in central Venice, the Lido provides a welcome change of pace, with sand, sea air, and open sky.