Viareggio, within sight of the historic gems of Pisa and Lucca, is one of Tuscany's top beach destinations and most popular resorts.
In addition to its long and very wide beaches, Viareggio offers a cosy centre with a canal full of great restaurants, pizzerias and many shops.
Beaches and swimming
Viareggio is the number one beach destination not only in Tuscany, but on the entire west coast of Italy. The local beaches are truly epic and among the most spacious in all of Europe.
The stretch of beaches starting in Viareggio continues an incredible 20km continuously further north to the beautiful town of Massa.
But it's not just the length of the beaches that impress, but also their impressive width, which is at its greatest in Viareggio, reaching up to 200 metres in places!
The entire strip of beaches around Viareggio is covered in fine white sand and enjoys a truly rich background.
Practically all the beaches in the town are filled with sunbed and umbrella hire shops, with prices per day around 25 eur per set. The entire 20km of beaches are lined with a variety of bars and restaurants, with something for everyone.
The entrance to the sea is gradual and the waves are usually only gentle. The beaches are well maintained and very clean and are not surrounded by ugly concrete hotel complexes, but smaller typical Italian houses.
The town and parks
Viareggio itself has a rather unusual rectangular street network for Italy, which makes it easy to find your way around. Expect typical 19th and 20th century Italian houses, hundreds of restaurants and shops selling all sorts of goods, rather than a historic centre.
Viareggio is also renowned for the beautiful Parco di Ponente, the city park between the centre and the beach, as well as the extensive forest park that stretches south along the beach for up to 10km from the centre. It is an ideal place for walks in the woods full of pine trees along marked forest paths.
Accommodation Viareggio
The resort is a popular place to spend a beach holiday, stay here for 4-5 nights if you're heading to Tuscany mainly for the sea. In addition, thanks to the excellent rail links, it can also serve as a starting point for entire holidays and excursions in the surrounding area.
In the town you will find dozens, maybe hundreds, of different types of accommodation. Expect prices for 2* to 3* hotels in the summer beach season to be between 103 eur and 165 eur per night in a 2-bed room, and a third of the price in the low season. Viareggio can thus serve as a cheap starting point even in winter, and accommodation in the low season is cheaper than in Pisa or Lucca.
- Hotels in the centre ( 110 eur per night) - Hotel Albachiara, Hotel Vittoria, City Hotel
- Best hotels on the beach - Hotel San Francisco, Hotel London, Hotel Sole e Mare
How to get there
The fastest and most convenient transport is by train to Viareggio station in the centre of town, about 700 metres from the beach.
Trenitalia's regional and long-distance services stop here; for timetables and to buy tickets online, visit trenitalia.com. Examples of connections to/from Viareggio:
- Pisa - 2-5 times per hour, 23 minutes
- Lucca - 2 times per hour, journey time 17 minutes
- Florence - 2-3 times per hour, journey time one and a half hours
- Cinque Terre (Vernazza) - 2x per hour, journey time 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Rome - approx. 2 times per hour, ride takes 3.5 hours
You can also get around Viareggio and its surroundings by bus on a very dense network of lines. Tickets can be bought at any "Tabacchi" newsagent or supermarket and for city services cost 1,50 eur, for intercity from 2,50 eur to about 6 eur depending on distance. You can also use the Tabnet app(Google Play / App Store).
Line maps are available in .pdf format on the lucca.cttnord.it website.
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