Across the bridge from the old town, Sottomarina is what gives Chioggia its other identity: a beach town with miles of pale sand on the Adriatic side of the spit. The beach itself is wide, gently shelving, and lined with the standard Italian summer infrastructure of lidos, umbrellas, and changing huts.
Behind the beach, Sottomarina is a busy resort town in summer and a slightly forlorn one out of season, with grids of low apartment blocks and a string of restaurants that pump out fish and pizza all evening. The free public beach at the south end is wilder, with dunes and patches of pine forest behind. Reachable by a 20-minute walk over the bridge, or by frequent local bus from the corso.