What is the difference between a lido and a swimming pool?
The key difference between a swimming pool and a lido is that a pool can be indoors or outdoors, whereas a lido is always outdoors. In many cases, a lido is located next to an outdoor body of water like a beach, and it will have additional facilities like saunas and sunbathing areas. In British English, a lido (/ˈliːdoʊ/ LEE-doh, /ˈlaɪdoʊ/ LY-doh) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities.The original ‘Lido’ was, and still is, an island in the lagoon of Venice where, since the 1850s, Venetians have enjoyed seawater bathing, glitzy hotels and spa treatments. The word ‘lido’ itself derives from the Latin ‘litus’, meaning shore.From the Wordsense dictionary online: ‘Lido’ means ‘beach, shore’ in Italian. The first modern beach resort was an Italian destination called Lido di Venezia, an island with a long beach. The name is aspirational, evoking glamorous Venice. UK in the ’30s.What do you wear to swim in a lido? All you need to swim in our lidos is swimwear that you feel comfortable in. For our unheated lidos and lakes, you might want to bring a wetsuit, especially when the weather is cooler.Is Venice Lido worth visiting? The answer is: certainly yes! As you see, Venice Lido is not just a place to go sunbathing in summer, but an island full of things to do, including a long and relaxing walk along Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, a street that crosses the island from the vaporetto stop to the beaches.
What exactly is the lido?
In British English, a lido (/ˈliːdoʊ/ LEE-doh, /ˈlaɪdoʊ/ LY-doh) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities. The town’s name comes from the Italian word lido, which means shore or bank. The Italian root derives from litus, the Latin word for shore. By the mid-19th century, Lido’s reputation as a chic vacation destination for the well-to-do made it the envy of seaside resorts everywhere.All mainstream and luxury cruise ships have at least one pool; river and expedition ships often do not. In general, cruise lines put their pools on the topmost deck, referred to as the Pool Deck or Lido Deck.The term “lido” has Italian origins, meaning a public swimming area or beach, and the cruise ship Lido Deck stays true to that spirit.
Why is it called a lido?
The word comes from the Lido of Venice, a spit of land known for its beaches and upmarket hotels. It marks a period when several open air swimming baths are built, all borrowing from the glamour of Venice by calling themselves lidos. What is a lido? In the 1800s, the Italian word ‘lido’ was used for trendy European beach resorts. In the UK, ‘lido’ – pronounced ‘lie-doh’ – refers to public outdoor pools with an area to sunbathe, often with a poolside cafe.