We are spending some time in Italy between Florence, Venice, Cinque de Terra and wanted to rent somewhere where the beach would be close. I also wanted to know if anyone has been to a family beach where there is no topless.. We are going with 2 young children. The dates are between Sept 30 to October 15th.. I looked at some villas but they were very expensive. Any advice?
Thanking you in advance.
Martha
Where have you looked? I typically use airbnb, booking.com, and vrbo. I have heard Sestri Levante has a nice beach for children.
It is actually fairly uncommon to see topless sunbathers in Italy, and not something I would worry about.
Look at Levanto and Sestri Levante, a little north of the Cinque Terre. Monterosso in the Cinque Terre( note spelling) also has a beach, not topless. It is very late to be looking for accomodations in this highly touristed area. Good luck in finding a place to stay for your family.
hey martica
you can look at sottomarina, the lido near venice, treporti, chioggia: livorno and south, orbetello, follonica outside of florence with booking.com. we took a vaporetto to lido when we were in venice, walked to the beach which looked nice to us. some places have pools and off the beaten track of what you think italy is about, but at least some fun for your kids and you guys. look that there is public transportation or will you have a car. if driving get and international driving permit at AAA and check for parking at place you stay. may have to pay or not that close and paying. good luck
aloha
Thank you!
The Lido of Venice has a beach. Check for hotels there. But you can stay in Venice proper and still be close enough to the beach.
Florence is at least 100km (60miles) from the coast, so over one hour away. Viareggio, Quercianella, Castiglioncello, are the closest nice beach towns, which also offer easy rail access.
Cinque Terre is on the coast. The best beaches are in Monterosso. But nearby you can find beaches in Levanto, Bonassola, Framura.
Don’t worry about women breasts. Although you might see some flying around, they are not known for harming children. The same cannot be said about bullets flying around American schools.
As a teen I was deeply harmed by breasts flying away from me. It took years to recover...
Dario!!! 😂🤣😂🤣!!!!!!
True story. In 1995 I visited Cervo, a beach town in Liguria near Alassio. We were camping in a motorhome we had rented in Paris. My children were 11 and 13 years old, with my boy the younger of the two. After we were guided into a camp site, we decided to walk down to the beach so headed toward the breakwater. At the very end of the breakwater was a woman on a cot, her breasts bared to the Mediterranean sun. She was reading a book, and as my son passed her, she greeted him with a "Buon Giorno!" and a smile. His eyes were huge, and he became beet red as he looked first at me, and then at his mother for guidance. We replied, "buon giorno" and smiled as well.
I am pretty sure therapy has made him almost normal after that encounter.
Roberto you just cracked me up!
No matter where you choose to go, that is late in the year for Italian beaches. They are not really "open" as far as having lounge chairs and services, but if you bring your own towels and watch out for yourselves (no lifeguards!) you can enjoy some time on the sand without a lot of company.
BTW, we had a 5-star ocean-front room in Pesaro around the first of October last year. Lovely weather and only a few souls on the beach. Too cold for Italians, though, only in the 70s.
EDITED TO ADD: we paid half-price for that room as it was off-season. You might ask for a better off-season rate at the villas you like.
Viareggio has a nice beach, lots of options for a stay (we'll be there and found a great 2-bedroom apartment two blocks from the beach), and its location gives easy access to Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca and the surrounding areas, and of course, Florence if you won't be staying in Florence.
We ARE staying in Florence for 5 nights. Any beaches nearby? we are going to cinque terre for a day tour....
The closest beach in Florence is this one, on the river Arno.
The next closest is 100 km away, in Viareggio, easily accessible by rail from Florence. You will pass by Viareggio on the way to Cinque Terre.
Also easily accessible via rail from Florence is Castiglioncello, which is small and quaint, with nicer water, or just before it, Quercianella, if you don’t mind rockier beaches.
All of the above are about 1.5 hours from Florence by train.
