The Italian capital of seaside holidays has become easier to reach (2025)

Picture this – a family happily building sandcastles by the sea, waves gently rolling into shore as the sun beats down. La Dolce Vita might have been set in Rome, but film-maker Federico Fellini was born here, on the glistening shores of the Adriatic in Rimini in 1920. His hometown proved to be an enduring inspiration.

Back then, the city was well-established as a tourist resort, thanks to its miles of golden beaches. A bathing facility opened in 1843, but the Grand Hotel Rimini cemented it as an upmarket seaside resort in 1908.

Even after the devastation of the Second World War, when most of the city was destroyed, Rimini was rebuilt with holidaymakers in mind. By the 90s, it was a raucous playground of beach clubs and parties, Italy’s capital of seaside hedonism, its Benidorm, or Blackpool. The neologism “Riminizzare” – exploitation for tourism’s gain – entered the lexicon.

Rimini needed a rethink. A 20-year plan was launched to revitalise the fading resort by 2027, improving mobility, the seafront and the historic centre. “We based all our economy along the seaside and forgot we have other treasures in the city,” explains my guide, Monia Magalotti, as we stand outside the 15th-century Castel Sismondo.

“A few years ago, this was just a traffic junction with an ugly parking lot. As a tour guide, I would rarely bring people to the castle in the old days.”

Today, the area has transformed. After several incarnations – including a prison – the Renaissance residence of the ruling Malatesta family is now the Fellini Museum, exploring his films and characters and how his ideas were shaped by his memories. It is buffered by the Piazza dei Sogni (Square of Dreams), a pedestrianised cultural space with an art gallery, theatre, cafés, wine bars and restaurants.

We walk to the Piazza Cavour, on which Fellini modelled some of his film backdrops, including the pine cone-topped Fontana della Pigna.

We turn onto Corso d’Augusto, which links two Roman city gates. As a Roman settlement, Rimini was where Julius Caesar is said to have uttered the words “alea iacta est” (the die is cast) before the Roman Civil War. His statue graces a corner of the Piazza Tre Martiri, while Roman ruins can be found all around the city.

I leave Monia in Borgo San Giuliano, an old fishermen’s village where a cluster of colourful houses feature murals of scenes from Fellini’s films. I follow the Porto Canal towards the sea.

At the marina, I meet Andrea Manusia from the Emilia Romagna tourist office for a passeggiata along the coast. As we stroll the pathways, my eye is caught by the Rimini Eye ferris wheel, the 18th-century lighthouse and the miles of sand with hundreds of rows of sunloungers and parasols of the beach clubs that speak to Rimini’s 90s heyday.

The discos might have been replaced by more low-key DJs, but the beach still attracts around seven million visitors a year, most of them Italian or Eastern European families. However, Rimini is making improvements to attract a new market, particularly outside the peak summer months.

“Even at the seaside, we are making changes,” Andrea says. “You can cycle along the beaches and around the city safely. We are transforming Rimini as a future city.”
There are now more than 130km of cycle paths in and around the city, including a flat 15km “sea view” route that runs along the waterfront.

In the past two years, the seafront has been transformed into a modern, sleek urban park with lawns, paths, trees, shrubs and plenty of places to sit and appreciate the view. It joins the city with the sea, and the many beach clubs that line the shore.

The revitalisation is paying off – flight search engine Skyscanner has reported significant interest in Rimini in the past two years. EasyJet will launch a new route from Gatwick next week, and British Airways from Heathrow in May.

In the city centre, the covered Mercato Coperto di Rimini is heaving on a Thursday morning.

“This is mantis shrimp, it’s really good right now,” explains Patrizia, pointing at a pile of translucent wide-bodied crustaceans. She runs cooking classes in her home and often starts with a market tour. “And these clams, they are good now too.”

Back in her kitchen, she shows me how to make piadina flatbread and the local pasta strozzapreti – strangle the priest.

“The story goes, local people made this pasta as revenge for a priest who took lots of taxes from them,” Patrizia explains as she rolls and twists the dough into worms of pasta. “This action is like strangling the priest. Strozzapreti!”

We then make a sauce that combines the natural saltiness of the clams from the market with freshly chopped tomatoes and parsley.

Beyond the city, the Rimini Wine Route drapes the Conca and Marecchia valleys, where sangiovese and white varieties such as trebbiano are cultivated in the hills that gaze over the Adriatic.

The Rimini DOC is a small production region, yet the wines are excellent and easily rival those from neighbouring Tuscany.

I am introduced to Giacomo Bianchi, a third-generation winemaker at Podere dell’Angelo, the closest winery to Rimini. His grandfather bought the property in 1923.

He offers me a taste of a young 2023 white Rimini blend, as well as a classic sangiovese, each with a story of how the bottle came about, including the label designs inspired by the Rimini coast and Fellini’s film posters.

“I am influenced by Rimini, its lifestyle and environment,” he says. “Rimini is la dolce vita!”

“But that film didn’t end so well,” I say.

“Sometimes you have sad times in your life,” he smiles. “But who says it can’t still be la dolce vita?”

How to get there
Rimini will be served by easyJet, British Airways and Ryanair this summer.

Where to stay
The modern, central DuoMo Hotel has double rooms from €128 (£110).

What to do
Cookery classes can be booked through Cesarine, and start from €76 with Patrizia.

More information
visitrimini.com