jacolis

Hi all,

We will be driving from Nice to Pisa and plan to stop and spend a night or two on the riviera. We have two kids (ages 6 & 8) and would like to spend a day at the beach. Can anyone comment on the beaches? I have read that the beaches on the Italian riviera are rocky/pebbly and am wondering if it is the same on the French side? Also, I understand that you have to rent loungers on the Italian side and it is quite pricey.

I am intrigued by perhaps stopping in Camogli or else Lerici (with possiblity of boat trip to the Cinque Terre). Or are we better off going to the beach on the Cote d'azur and driving straight through to Italy?

We will also be in Tuscay for a week so have the possibility of going to the coast (Viareggio) so not sure if we should save our beach time for then.

Merci/grazie!

Lisa

bobthenavigator

The beaches all the way from Pisa to Nice vary widely. One of the best I have found is in Levanto, right next to the CT.

yipper

I also recommend Levanto.

maxima

The beach in Nice is pebbles/rocks, not sand.

The beach in Viareggio is wide and sandy and frequented by families. If you are spending the day at the beach it pays to be comfortable.

goldenautumn

I think it is nice to break up the drive.

Camogli is a pebble beach but the entire town is pedestrianized so it makes it a nice place with kids. You don't need to rent a beach lounger. There are several areas of the "spiaggia" that are completely open to the public. You can also take a boat ride to an exquisitely beautiful cove with an abbey, San Fruttuoso di Camogli. You can google up pictures on the web. All the beach kiosks along the Italia Riviera sell little plastic aqua shoes very cheaply.

Levanto is also a quite nice place, but if you are looking for a sand beach, Sestri Levante is even nicer, and it is closer and easier to get to from the highway. It actually has two sand beaches on either side of its peninsula, and a very lively Italian-family atmosphere, with long promenades and merry go rounds. Its double bays were named by Hans Christian Anderson, who used to summer there.

If you are traveling in summer, you need to book well in advance and get a hotel with guaranteed parking. In high summer, huge sand beaches like Viareggio can be really very hot with burning sun. If you are thinking of a beach "day", think of someplace where you have a small town to enjoy and get out of the sun for part of the day. From near Pisa, I would pick Forte dei Marmi sooner than Viareggio, or Lerici (but go early to get a parking space).

goldenautumn

Also, something to consider is that Levanto is one of the very few beaches along that coastline that gets waves, enought that it is a destination for surfers. Your kids are fairly small, and the other beaches -- Camogli, San Fruttuoso, Sestri Levante -- all are waveless and without undertows or rip tides.

goldenautumn

You only find these signs on the beach in Levanto:

http://serfismo.blogspot.it/2008/11/...i-di-surf.html

jacolis

Thank you all so much!

jacolis

Hi all,

Just a quick report back -- we ended up spending 3 nights in Sestri Levante and it was a wonderful location!

We really enjoyed the town with its two sandy bays. We really enjoyed trying the Ligurian food and liked the fact that the town was quiet (after the craziness of Cinque Terre on one of the days I was so glad to return to Sestri L!). We splurged a bit on the hotel as this was our "beach time" and really wanted to be on the water on a sandy beach:
http://www.hotelhelvetia.it/

The view outside our bedroom window was gorgeous.

I never would have found out about this town but for Fodor's so molto grazie!

montysc

Thanks for the update on your trip - We looked into the Hotel Helvetia several years ago, but didn't end up staying in Sestri Levante (we just stopped in for a quick look). Good to hear it is a good place to stay as we are planning our next trip in that area now, and we are trying to decide where to make our base.

As a side our town of Santa Cruz, CA is a sister town to Sestri Levante.

stevewith

Thanks for reporting back you enjoyed Sestri Levante. It is great destination with kids, and the Helvetia is one of the most charming settings in town. Sestri Levante also has quality food in all price ranges.

montysc,

You should definitely tell the local tourist office in Sestri Levante that you are from Santa Cruz. Bring them some picture postcards, too, if you have them. People in the office would probably really enjoy seeing them.

jacolis

Hi Montysc,

Just thought I would add a bit more info about SL in case you end up going next year. There is a fun osteria about 20 seconds from the Helvetia that had a reasonably priced set menu of Ligurian specialties for 17E a person. It is called Il Polpino and the kids liked trying the different pastas (testaroli in pesto sauce and this neat fried pasta called panigacci I think). The meal also includes some local charcuterie and cheeses and the same fried pasta with nutella for dessert! We had another good meal at La Mainella (local fish but also had the trofie in pesto). There are two excellent gelaterias also nearby - 100% naturale and Angel's. We didn't know in advance but there is an open-air ampitheatre in the town. I wish I could have gotten tickets to see the Verdi opera that was being performed one of the nights we were there!

I am sure you will love SL. It is a good location to see other scenic towns in Liguria (Cinque Terre if you want to brave the crowds), Camogli, Portofino & the Abbey of San Frutuoso, Chiavara, etc.

My husband is not a good sailor but I also noted a beautiful trimaran charter that leaves out of the Bay of Silence right next door to the Helvetia.

Also I don't know if you are going with kids but they had a little amusement ride and bungee trampoline every night in front of the Bay of Fables (I was really hoping that pasta dinner woudln't come up again after their nightly bungee jump post-dinner!).

One thing to note about the Helvetia is that you still have to pay to use the beach loungers on the beach. We just got loungers at the pool and walked down to the beach area when we wanted to swim in the sea. The pool area itself is quite nice. One day we rented loungers but further down the beach at a place where we could have lunch "lounger side". I literally was in that beach chair all day enjoying capuccinos, octopus salad for lunch and checking out the wares from the various vendors strolling the beach!

stevewith

That's great you found Il Polpino! The owners also run Polpo Mario, which serves a whole raft of great octopus dishes.

Sounds like you really got into the spirit of living on the Riviera.