Forte dei Marmi and Versilia

main gateway with extensive European routes

convenient for arrivals combined with Florence

alternative from the Ligurian side

wider long haul network

Leafy, exclusive and beautifully kept, with villas in pine gardens a short cycle from the beach clubs.

A historic town of piazzas, art galleries and sculptors' studios, with its own beach at Marina di Pietrasanta.

The most prestigious residential quarter of Forte dei Marmi, with large villas in walled gardens.

Olive covered slopes behind the coast offering cooler evenings and sea views, ten minutes from the beach.

A lively seaside city of Liberty style seafront buildings, a long promenade and a working harbour.

Quiet villages at the foot of the marble mountains, close to Forte yet away from the summer bustle.

Positions are approximate: the exact address is shared once your stay is confirmed.

Beach clubs with neat rows of striped umbrellas, private cabanas and restaurants define the seaside ritual here. Booking a cabana for the week is a local tradition.

A long square framed by the cathedral of San Martino and the Sant'Agostino complex, often hosting monumental contemporary sculpture.

Take a guided four wheel drive tour into the quarries above Carrara or Seravezza, where Michelangelo chose his stone.

A Medici residence built in the sixteenth century, part of the UNESCO listed Medici villas and gardens since 2013.

A seafront promenade of Liberty and Art Deco buildings, with cafés, shops and sea views.

The composer's lakeside home, where he wrote many of his operas and is buried in a small chapel.

The eighteenth century fort that gave the town its name, at the centre of the main square.

Watch artisans carve marble and cast bronze in the foundries where international artists have their works made.

Climb into the Apuan quarries for dramatic views of white cliffs and the coast below.

Bicycles are the local way of getting about, from villa to beach to market.

A private charter from Viareggio follows the coast north to Portovenere and the five villages, with swimming stops on the way.

Hear Puccini performed outdoors by the lake that inspired him.

Mountain trails rise steeply from the coast to peaks with views over the whole of Versilia.

Wide golden sand lined with impeccably managed beach clubs and a view of the marble peaks.

A long stretch of beach clubs backed by the pine woods of La Versiliana park.

Relaxed and family friendly, with a lively promenade and calm, shallow water.

A wild dune beach between Viareggio and Torre del Lago within the regional park.

A quieter beach at the northern edge of Forte dei Marmi, near the mouth of the Versilia river.

What to eat

What to drink

A walled city of Romanesque churches and towers, best explored by bicycle.

The Leaning Tower and the marble ensemble of Piazza dei Miracoli.

Five clifftop villages linked by coastal paths and a local train.

Marble quarries, workshops and the home of the famous lardo.

Renaissance art and architecture for a full day away from the beach.

May brings warm days, quiet beaches and green mountains, ideal for walking and art visits. The beach clubs open from around Easter and fully by late May.

June to August is the heart of the season, with beach life, festivals and busy evenings. July and August are the most sought after weeks, so book early.

September offers warm sea and calmer beaches, perhaps the most pleasant month of all. By October most beach clubs close.

Quiet and local, with the snowy Apuan peaks above an empty shore. February brings the Viareggio Carnival.