Top Ten Italian Beach Resorts
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By Dion Protani
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Latest update: 5 September 2023
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The Top Ten Italian Beach Resorts are the select few from thousands of contenders that make up the country's 7,500 kilometres of coastline as well as the hundreds of Italian islands.
With so many contenders to sift through, the first task was to determine what it is that constitutes a beach resort in the first place. The winning ten selections share a common thread of dazzling azure water, a great selection of accommodation on or close to the beach, ease of access, facilities such as shops and restaurants, as well of course as lovely fluffy sand to lie back and sunbathe on. |
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So with those criteria laid out it narrowed down the field somewhat and then it was left to that little extra wow factor that each of the beach resorts below possess. The terminology is important here because some of the best seaside towns of Italy have been excluded from this list; those towns score heavily in many ways but as this list is based primarily around the idea of beaches, the likes of Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Polignano a Mare didn't quite make the cut as their beach areas are smaller than those of the resorts below.
There's also a notable absence of two of Italy's most famous resorts: Rimini is perhaps the most popular coastal resort in Italy with endless miles of sandy beaches and hundreds of hotels. Viareggio in Tuscany to a slightly lesser degree shares many of those same attributes but with the extra advantage of some beautiful period architecture. However, it's the very size and popularity of those two coastal resorts that means they just miss out on the top ten beach resorts of Italy, all of which have just enough in terms of accommodation and length of beach, whilst exuding just a little bit more in terms of aesthetics.
Just as a number of seaside towns have been excluded from the list, so have some of the best beaches in Italy. Whilst the incredible Spiaggia dei Conigli is ranked at the very top of that list, it would be a stretch of the imagination to describe it as a resort; it requires a bit of a jaunt to get there from the main town of Lampedusa and there are very few accommodation facilities around it or close to it. So those lists of beaches in Italy are arrived at in a slightly different way with the emphasis purely on the beach itself rather than its surroundings.
So with that all explained, here are the top ten Italian beach resorts with the best at the top.
There's also a notable absence of two of Italy's most famous resorts: Rimini is perhaps the most popular coastal resort in Italy with endless miles of sandy beaches and hundreds of hotels. Viareggio in Tuscany to a slightly lesser degree shares many of those same attributes but with the extra advantage of some beautiful period architecture. However, it's the very size and popularity of those two coastal resorts that means they just miss out on the top ten beach resorts of Italy, all of which have just enough in terms of accommodation and length of beach, whilst exuding just a little bit more in terms of aesthetics.
Just as a number of seaside towns have been excluded from the list, so have some of the best beaches in Italy. Whilst the incredible Spiaggia dei Conigli is ranked at the very top of that list, it would be a stretch of the imagination to describe it as a resort; it requires a bit of a jaunt to get there from the main town of Lampedusa and there are very few accommodation facilities around it or close to it. So those lists of beaches in Italy are arrived at in a slightly different way with the emphasis purely on the beach itself rather than its surroundings.
So with that all explained, here are the top ten Italian beach resorts with the best at the top.
Taormina
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I could justifiably have reached this point and said that choosing the number one beach resort in Italy was a difficult choice but in the end it was quite easy as one resort stands out. The Sicilian town of Taormina is the most popular destination in the island region, attracting millions of visitors with the impressive monuments of its hill town such as the amazing Ancient Greek Theatre.
The hill town though provides just one half of Taormina's charm with the other half belonging to its wonderful coastline. A scenic cable-car connects the hill town to the beaches and that little journey provides the incredible views of beaches like Isola Bella which is flanked by the clear waters of Mazzarò and Spisone. |
Isola Bella, Taormina
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Vieste
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Were it not for the unbeatable claims of the eventual winner, the seaside town of Vieste would have been fully-deserving of the first prize. The main resort on the stunning Gargano Peninsula, it first reels you in by the charm of its centro storico where a thin promontory of charming houses culminates with a pretty church.
Vieste's centro storico is one of the most emblematic images of coastal Italy but it's a good deal more than a mere bauble. Either side of the iconic centre are two enormous expanses of sandy beach stretching out into the distance. Not only that, but the scenic coastal road that winds away from the town centre provides some of the most dramatic landscapes of rocky coastline in Italy. |
Vieste, Puglia
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Sestri Levante
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The prettiest coastline in northern Italy is that of the Riviera di Levante in Liguria and prettiest of all is the town of Sestri Levante.
This same town has already secured first place in my list of best seaside towns in Italy with its array of colourful houses arcing around the incredible Baia del Silenzio. When you climb the gentle hill that leads away from the bay the brightness of the water really starts to show and this is just the smaller of the town's two main beaches. It has a wonderful selection of accommodation, dozens of great restaurants, lots of shops and endless places to visit nearby. A fabulous resort. |
Baia del Silenzio, Sestri Levante
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Tropea
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The seaside town of Tropea comes in at number four on the list and offers a variety of treats. Overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea in the southern region of Calabria, it was recently awarded the title of Borgo dei Borghi 2021. The prestigious title translates as "village of villages", beating off competition from hundreds of other beautiful contenders throughout the Italian peninsula.
However, this award applies mainly to Tropea's hill town which overlooks the beach. The narrow streets of the centro storico are full of charm but its beaches are quite spectacular. From the little monastery on the rock splitting the two main beaches you get the full effect of the startling aquamarine water edged by fluffy sand. |
Santa Maria dell'Isola, Tropea
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Santa Teresa Gallura
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We're now into the top five beach resorts in Italy which includes some stunning locations. Sardinia has many hundreds of wonderful beaches but in terms of beach resorts you have to go a very long way to beat Santa Teresa Gallura.
Situated on the north-western tip of Sardinia hit faces the French-owned island of Corsica across the narrow strait of Bonifacio. From Santa Teresa's little port you can sail across to Corsica but you're more likely to want to stay put with the incredible Rena Bianca Beach central to the town whose colourful buildings make it one of the most charming seaside locations in Italy while a short distance west of the town is the Capo Testa headland with more beaches. |
Rena Bianca Beach, Santa Teresa Gallura
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Cefalu
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The claims of the seaside town of Cefalù could not be ignored as it offers a little bit of everything. Of course, we have a selection of beaches with one area of town providing a long expansive strand while within the historic centre provides one of the most iconic images of Sicily with the pretty houses overlooking the azure waters of a smaller area of sandy shoreline.
It could be argued that Cefalù's popularity as a beach resort sees its historic charms overlooked and this is why it ranks so highly on this list. The centro storico conceals one of the most important religious buildings in Italy with Cefalù Cathedral another UNESCO World Heritage Site displaying incredible Byzantine mosaics. |
Cefalù, Sicily
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Gallipoli
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The Salento area of Puglia is a beach-lovers dream with hundreds of places to choose from where the water is clean, shallow and edged by attractive rock formations. Best of all is the seaside town of Gallipoli which manages to combine the best of everything: a charming historic centre guarded by a seafront fortress, great restaurants, a good selection of shops around its narrow streets and some wonderful Baroque architecture.
Most importantly in terms of making this list, Gallipoli has some spectacular beaches, including the incomparable Spiaggia della Purità, the Beach of Purity in its centro storico, along with some larger beaches in the newer area of town. |
Spiaggia della Purità , Gallipoli
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Biodola
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It was tempting to try and include beach resorts from different areas of the country just to provide more variation and I had I gone down that route, the island of Elba in the Tuscan Archipelago would most definitely have needed some representation.
However, this list of beach resorts has been picked purely on merit and the stunning Biodola deserves its place among the higher echelons of this category. Biodola isn't a town as such, it's just a large beach area with beautiful soft sand, a good selection of bars, restaurants and accommodation but most of all, just look at that water. |
Biodola, Elba
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Monterosso al Mare
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Forming part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Cinque Terre is a prodigious start when building the case of Monterosso al Mare.
The five villages are situated one next to the other, a short distance north-west of the port town of La Spezia in Liguria. There's no doubting the aesthetic beauty of the other four villages but what Monterosso al Mare has and the others don't is a beautiful expanse of sandy beach, tinged with delightful cobalt water. Accessibility here isn't quite as simple as the other 9 beach resorts on this list, but the fact that cars are almost unseen in the Cinque Terre can also be argued in its favour with train the best way in. |
Monterosso al Mare, Liguria
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Sperlonga
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Hugging the Tyrrhenian Coast in the central region of Lazio is the seaside town of Sperlonga. The pretty village area in the centre has been voted among the borghi più belli d'Italia, Italy's most beautiful villages, and with its whitewashed walls and intriguing narrow streets it's easy to understand why.
The village sits on a hill overlooking two huge expanses of sandy beach stretching out in each direction with a selection of free and private areas where you can pay for a sun bed and umbrella. Sperlonga has a very Italian feel to it, having not quite penetrated the international market but it's certainly a place where dipping your toe in the water will be well-rewarded in every sense. |
Sperlonga, Lazio
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So congratulations to Taormina for sealing the prize of Best Italian Beach Resort. That's quite an accolade for a town that is sitting towards the top of another category, the best hill towns of Italy. Hundreds of beaches, beach resorts and seaside towns just missed out on this list including the beautiful Sirolo and neighbouring Portonovo in the Marche region on the Adriatic Coast. Alghero and Cala Gonone in Sardinia came close as well whilst numerous of Sicily's other beaches such as Mondello, Marinello and the Scala dei Turchi also came close.
To mention all of those that just missed out would take a long time and take up a lot of space and remember, this is all just in my personal opinion having visited each place. Let me know what you think of my selections via the social networking channels at the bottom of the page and keep an eye out for the next Top Ten on Friday version of the Italy Review Blog.
To mention all of those that just missed out would take a long time and take up a lot of space and remember, this is all just in my personal opinion having visited each place. Let me know what you think of my selections via the social networking channels at the bottom of the page and keep an eye out for the next Top Ten on Friday version of the Italy Review Blog.
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