Tuscany Coast overview

Famed for its glorious mild climate, and with easy access to the beautiful Tuscan countryside, the north Tuscany Coast also known as the Versilian Riviera, boasts stylish resorts with palm lined promenades, grand hotels and delightful beachfront restaurants.

The city of Viareggio is located in northern Tuscany, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Viareggio is one of the most popular beach resorts in Tuscany and is also home to Carnevale di Viareggio, one of the largest carnival festivals in Italy.

The Versilian Riviera is particularly popular with wealthy, sophisticated Italians who tend to take their holidays in July and August.

Tucked away in Tuscany's northwest corner, Forte dei Marmi is the most exclusive resort in the area with its tasteful beach huts, picture perfect sand and acres of bicycle lanes making it an idyllic retreat as a perfect beach destination as well as for Italy's high society. And despite the more recent arrival of nouveau riche foreigners, Forte dei Marmi manages to keep the scene discreet and the super yachts at bay.

Its long stretch of beach is full of chic beach clubs and the town oozes with sophisticated restaurants and designer shops. Just to the south of Forte dei Marmi lies Viareggio, the main coastal town on the Versilian Riviera. It is a popular and busy seaside resort famed for its beautifully maintained beach and fabulous old buildings with Liberty-style and neo-classical facades lining the town's famous promenade.

It was one of the first seaside resorts in Europe and is still enormously popular today, both with Italians and foreign visitors, particularly those in the yachting community. The Tuscany coast has an abundance of vineyards, lemon groves, cypress trees, and bougainvillea plus fragrant pine forests tucked on the foothills of the Apuan Alps providing a lovely contrast to the honey-coloured sands of the coast.

Tuscany Coast hotels

Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte

Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte boasts fantastic views as it is situated across the road from the renowned seafront promenade in Viareggio

Hotel Byron

15km to the north of Viarregio, in the heart of an exclusive area of Forte dei Marmi, on the Versillian coast

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Hotel Cala del Porto

Nestling amongst pine trees typical of rolling Tuscan hillsides with views of the Gulf of Follonica

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Hotel Il Negresco

Situated close to the lovely Versilian beaches in the chic town of Forte dei Marmi, 15km to the north of Viareggio

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Hotel Plaza e de Russie

Situated on the seafront promenade in Viareggio, the majestic Hotel Plaza e de Russie was built in 1871

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Villa Roma Imperiale

Situated in the elegant coastal resort of Forte dei Marmi, 15km to the north of Viareggio

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Tuscany Coast sightseeing

The coastal strip of the Versilian Riviera, from Forte dei Marmi in the north to Torre del Lago in the south, boasts more than 20km of beaches with countless bagni or bathing establishments, nature parks, pine woods, natural lakes and some splendid countryside. The close proximity to Lucca and the motorways leading to other great art cities of the region means that Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi are well located to plan day trips to Pisa and Florence.

And, there are also plenty of local towns to visit: Pietrasanta, a busy little town, is historically and artistically the chief town of inland Versilia and famous for its marble workshops. The town has a pleasant historical centre, and the main piazza often features exhibitions of modern sculpture.

Camaiore, lying at the foothills of the Apuan Alps, has some interesting shops and restaurants bordering its long central main street, and boasts fine examples of Romanesque churches and architecture.

Opera fans will want to visit Torre del Lago, a quiet seaside town boasting an annual opera festival held in an open-air lakeside theatre close to the former home of Giacomo Puccini

Tuscany Coast cuisine

Dining features highly on any tourist's menu in Tuscany with olive oil and wine playing major roles. Generally the gastronomy is traditional and succulent. Relying heavily on fresh produce, meats are simply roasted or grilled, with elaborate sauces saved for pasta dishes. Trattoria and ristorante signs hang over similar looking establishments; generally a trattoria provides a more casual setting, and a ristorante implies more expensive cuisine.

Osterie are simple tavern-like wine shops perhaps serving hunks of cheese, and tavola calda or rosticceria are cafeteria-style eateries. Do beware that most Italian eating establishments sometimes close for holidays, often for a couple of weeks during August.

The Versilian Riviera region is especially famous for its excellent fish restaurants: and the local light dry wines from Montecarlo near Lucca go well with most fish dishes.

Tuscany Coast offers

Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte

Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte boasts fantastic views as it is situated across the road from the renowned seafront promenade in Viareggio

4 offers

Hotel Byron

15km to the north of Viarregio, in the heart of an exclusive area of Forte dei Marmi, on the Versillian coast

3 offers

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Hotel Cala del Porto

Nestling amongst pine trees typical of rolling Tuscan hillsides with views of the Gulf of Follonica

2 offers

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Hotel Il Negresco

Situated close to the lovely Versilian beaches in the chic town of Forte dei Marmi, 15km to the north of Viareggio

6 offers

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Hotel Plaza e de Russie

Situated on the seafront promenade in Viareggio, the majestic Hotel Plaza e de Russie was built in 1871

3 offers

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Villa Roma Imperiale

Situated in the elegant coastal resort of Forte dei Marmi, 15km to the north of Viareggio

3 offers

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