Archive for 'Tuscan Coast'

Seaside towns in Italy are particularly dreamy places for a vacation as they combine all of the best traits of a beach holiday with the charms of the food, culture, and style of a getaway in Italy. Spend days gazing at incredible works of art, going wine-tasting, enjoying delicious meals, wandering around pretty little historic towns and grand architectural gems, playing on the beach, working on your tan, and more, all in the one holiday and maybe even the one day! From the famous backdrops of the picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre to the perfect beaches ringing Sicily to the lovely towns of the Tuscan Coast, there are lots of excellent seaside destinations to choose from for those looking to vacation in Italy and this is your guide to some of our absolute favourites among them...

The Tuscan Coast is dotted by lots of incredible surprises and little gems, among them being the vibrant seaside city of Viareggio in the Province of Livorno and its epic Carnival celebrations and the famous Elba Island, to which Napoleon was notoriously exiled. Not far from Elba is another, lesser-known delight, the island of Pianosa. One of the smallest islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, it is an almost entirely uninhabited beauty located in the glimmering Tyrrhenian Sea and is a must-see for those who have found a vacation rental on the Tuscan Coast and are interested in exploring the most interesting and lovely hidden corners of the area.

So incredibly flat that it is barely visible, and often described merely as looking like a darker blue line in the sea, Pianosa was first inhabited in the late Stone Age and then was a Roman settlement before Pisa and Genoa began to fight over the land in the 12th and 13th centuries. Variously inhabited by pirates, fishing colonies, and military officers, the island became a maximum security prison in 1868 and remained home to prisoners, with many particularly dangerous Mafia criminals among them, until 1998. Upon the closure of the prison, almost everyone left with just a few people remaining on the island today.

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Tuscany's cuisine is impossibly famous worldwide but while the savoury food is more well-known, Tuscany is also home to plenty of delicious treats, amazing pastries, tasty snacks and wonderful cakes. Many were originally and traditionally only made for special occasions and during the key religious holidays of the year such as Easter and Christmas but, today, they can be sought out and purchased whenever you want.

Isola del Giglio, or Giglio Island, is a bit of a hidden secret among Italians that is considered a pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea. An exotic paradise that is 90% covered by wild Mediterranean vegetation and boasts around 700 botanical species and that is surrounded by crystalline waters in shades of emerald green and azure blues, it is a scenic beauty. While the terrain is mountainous and there are all sorts of routes to trek and take in the beautiful views that abound, the coast of the island is the most popular feature among tourists. You can explore the dramatic landscapes of the rocky cliffs and beaches, you can go scuba diving to admire the fish, caves and ancient shipwrecks, you can go boating, you can spot dolphins and whales, you can take in the sunsets or you can simply hang out.

The Tuscan coast is home to some truly lovely little seaside towns and if the bright and fun Follonica is the Miami of Tuscany, then Punta Ala is a more low-key but equally charming option. Lesser-known and a bit of a hidden gem, Punta Ala is located on a stretch of the coastline between Pisa and the Maremma Natural Park. Expect a marina full of thousands of sailboats and racing yachts, private beach clubs, regattas, excellent restaurants, seaside bars, ultra-bright blue water and air fragranced with pines. If you have found a vacation rental on the Tuscan coast, it is a perfect spot to go and get away from it all.