Travel Eye on Viareggio (Italy)

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Overview:

Viareggio is backed by a considerable residential area, the touristy development starts from the marina end and stretches for nearly 2 mls along the inland side of a very busy and rather narrow seafront road. A broad traffic-free promenade lined with all manner of shops and restaurants parallels a long, fine sandy beach. There is a subtle variance in atmosphere between N and S.

The south end is characterised by a mass of mundane middlemarket and budget accommodation serviced by numerous shops, bars and cafes dating from the 1960s and 70s. On the N stretch visitors will find several much older, more upmarket properties dating from the resort's chic heyday in the early 20th century.

Here bars and many designer boutiques and restaurants cater more for the elite, and hotels still claim regular celebrity visitors. Typically Italian in its atmosphere, the resort overall is a fairly anonymous, flat seafront development with no clearly identifiable centre, although for our purposes we have chosen Piazza Mazzini as the geographical focal point.

This area is predominantly middlemarket mature couples and beach-orientated families, with a smattering of well-heeled visitors frequenting the larger hotels at the N end of town.

There are a large contingent of hotels line the inland side of the main seafront road and adjacent side streets, providing a broad range of 2-, 3- and 4-star accommodation, with some fairly luxurious establishments found at the N end of town. Little in the way of self-catering.

Locality:

Viareggio is situated on the NW coast of Italy; the most southerly and largest of the string of resorts which comprise the Riviera della Versilia (13 mls NW of Pisa and Galileo Galilei airport). It stretches roughly N to S along a broad, flat coastal plain backed by the Tuscan Apuan hills several miles inland.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

The beach is a broad expanse of fine yellow sand stretches the entire length of the resort. It is now entirely operated and maintained by independent concessionaires who are responsible for its cleanliness and who charge daily fees for a place among the ranks of sunbeds and parasols.

The broad traffic-free promenade that parallels the beach is dotted with various beach- and souvenir-orientated shops as well as numerous upmarket fashion boutiques and jewellers. More choice and sophistication can be found in nearby Pisa.

The daytime activities are principally beach-based. The water sports include jet-skiing, parasailing, water-skiing, pedalloes and windsurfing. and beach volleyball.

For the evenings there are a large number of unsophisticated cafe bars, but only a couple of genuine discos and clubs.

For food there are multiple bars with food options, informal traditional pizzerias and restaurants along beachfront promenade and in adjacent streets. Ubiquitous pasta, abundant local seafood and good regional wines.