Marina di Pietrasanta holidays

Holidays to Marina di Pietrasanta take you to a popular Italian coastline that comes with a long, sandy beach, Tuscan cooking and some great countryside walks.

An Italian favourite

Marina di Pietrasanta is part of Italy’s Tuscan Riviera. This elegant seaside place is backdropped by the mountains of the Apuan Alps, which make for great walking territory, and is dotted with bars and family-run trattorias. The main coastal road, Viale Roma, has a good line-up of restaurants and discos, and runs right alongside the busy sandy beach.

A sociable beach

You’ll be sharing sand space – all 5 kilometres of it – with lots of Florentine and Milanese families, who come here to spend their summer. They like the fact that the sea stays shallow for quite a long way out. The stretch is divided into sections run by beach establishments – for a fee you get sunloungers, parasols, showers and bars – though there are free areas where you can bring your own towel, too.

Walks and cycle rides

Marina di Pietrasanta has more than just beach life. You can hire a bike to cycle around the pine-forested Versiliana Park here, or follow the path up from the beach to the Medieval town of Pietrasanta, about 3 kilometres away. And there are more cycling opportunities – not to mention fantastic walks – along the well-marked trails of the Apuan Alps Regional Park.

Daytrips near and far

It’s less than 5 minutes’ drive to neighbouring Forte Dei Marmi, which has an 18th-century marble fortress and designer shops. Or 10 minutes the other way takes you to Viareggio, which you’ll love if you’re into Art Nouveau architecture. And if you’re going further afield, it’s about half an hour to Pisa and just a bit more than an hour to get to Florence.