Car Hire Tuscany: Tuscan coastline
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The Tuscan coastline is home to some real
hidden gems: unspoilt beaches, secret coves and clean temperate
waters. Tuscany’s reputation as an artistic and cultural
heavyweight, while well-deserved, has perhaps distracted attention
from something the locals know very well: though small, the
northern part of its coastline contains a string of beaches that
rival any traditional seaside destination.
The Verisilian Coast, which stretches from Sarzana in the north almost as far south as Pisa, harbours a startling array of beachside cities that cater for pretty much all tastes. Whether you’d rather lose yourself in the quiet culture of the Marina di Carrara, enjoy the end of season firework display at the Marina di Massa or marvel at the bathing beauties on Forbes’ “top ten topless beaches”-listed Santa Maria beach, there is definitely a seaside destination here for everyone.
Take a drive down the E12 and you will pass Viareggio, Tuscany’s largest beach town, whose Carnevale draws over one million visitors each February. An ideal combination of ramshackle old port streets and modern elegance, Viareggio also boasts some of the best nightlife on the coast.
Culture vultures can hit Torre di Lago Puccini in summertime for an extravaganza of ballet, opera and concerto in its Puccini festival. The festival is held every summer with most events taking place on the composer’s own lawn!
Forte dei Marmi holds the busty Santa Maria beach: not to mention the richest outdoor market in the world, where the glammed-up occupants of the town’s exclusive villas meet to bicker over stalls of designer handbags. As if that wasn’t enough, the town holds a yearly “Political Satire Festival”, in which the world’s top cartoonists vie for the crown of top satirist and extravagant cabaret shows finish off every night. The coastal scenes of The English Patient were filmed here, so if the movies are your thing then Tuscany’s most glittering coastal resort is well worth a visit.
Keep heading south past Livorno and San Vincenzo and you’ll find the charming Baratti, a cove overlooked by a medieval fortress and surrounded by Etruscan ruins. You can rent boats here to idle away a summer’s afternoon or go diving over wrecks and rocky reefs. Or make your way to the port of Piombino, from whence you can take a ferry to the historic island of Elba, site of Napoleon’s exile prior to the Battle of Waterloo.
Discover the Tuscan coast – a hidden miracle in Italy’s most diverse province.
The Verisilian Coast, which stretches from Sarzana in the north almost as far south as Pisa, harbours a startling array of beachside cities that cater for pretty much all tastes. Whether you’d rather lose yourself in the quiet culture of the Marina di Carrara, enjoy the end of season firework display at the Marina di Massa or marvel at the bathing beauties on Forbes’ “top ten topless beaches”-listed Santa Maria beach, there is definitely a seaside destination here for everyone.
Take a drive down the E12 and you will pass Viareggio, Tuscany’s largest beach town, whose Carnevale draws over one million visitors each February. An ideal combination of ramshackle old port streets and modern elegance, Viareggio also boasts some of the best nightlife on the coast.
Culture vultures can hit Torre di Lago Puccini in summertime for an extravaganza of ballet, opera and concerto in its Puccini festival. The festival is held every summer with most events taking place on the composer’s own lawn!
Forte dei Marmi holds the busty Santa Maria beach: not to mention the richest outdoor market in the world, where the glammed-up occupants of the town’s exclusive villas meet to bicker over stalls of designer handbags. As if that wasn’t enough, the town holds a yearly “Political Satire Festival”, in which the world’s top cartoonists vie for the crown of top satirist and extravagant cabaret shows finish off every night. The coastal scenes of The English Patient were filmed here, so if the movies are your thing then Tuscany’s most glittering coastal resort is well worth a visit.
Keep heading south past Livorno and San Vincenzo and you’ll find the charming Baratti, a cove overlooked by a medieval fortress and surrounded by Etruscan ruins. You can rent boats here to idle away a summer’s afternoon or go diving over wrecks and rocky reefs. Or make your way to the port of Piombino, from whence you can take a ferry to the historic island of Elba, site of Napoleon’s exile prior to the Battle of Waterloo.
Discover the Tuscan coast – a hidden miracle in Italy’s most diverse province.
