Small Beach Villages near Florence (or Venice)
 

Hello fellow travelers,

I am currently in the works of planning a trip to Italy for next summer. We plan on staying for about three weeks, dividing our time between Florence, Venice, and some beach town. This is where I need your help.

During our last trip to Italy, we spent a week in Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. It was perfect for our needs! It was quaint, not touristy at all, and the beaches were uncrowded during June. We would like to find something similar, but closer to Florence/Venice. If nothing like this exists, we would probably return to Atrani (but we always like to try new things).

We looked into the Cinque Terre, but it seems a little too touristy for our tastes. Some of the smaller villages around the CT also look nice, but I've heard that they can get pretty crowded during the summer as well.

We also wouldn't mind looking into some beach towns in southern France.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :)

Just think of Atrani as a model ;)

Can you be more specific about when next summer?

For a good part of the summer, Camogli is no more crowded than Atrani (probably less so), but during most of August, it is very crowded. Some other towns on the Italian Riviera you might check out are

Tellaro (but it has fewer restaurants than Atrani)
Moneglia
Zoagli (although it has some modern development)
Noli (which is closer to France)

Towns on the Tuscan coast you might check out are:

Castiglioncello (some modern development)
Baratti
Castiglione della Pescaia
and consider going to the island of Elba

The Adriatic coast near Venice is bit more problematic, I think, if your base line wish is someplace like Atrani, a picturesque seaside town (and not too many mosquitoes). There is a lot of cheap resort development along the upper Adriatic coast. Others may know better, but the only place I can think to suggest is Muggia near Trieste. However, if you are willing to drive all the way back to Atrani, there are probably scenic seaside towns in Le Marche worth checking out. Just don't know which ones. (Somewhere around Sirolo?)

No Italian beach will be crowded in June. There are tons of good beaches in Tuscany and in Veneto.
I like best the beaches of Elba Island and Giglio Island; for beaches closer to Florence, you may check Follonica or the tons of beaches alang the large sandy strip between Pisa and Bocca di Magra/Lerici.
As to the Veneto, my favourites are Grado and Chioggia/Pietrasanta.

Oh sorry! I skipped right past that you'd already mentioned you were going in June.

Then definitely check out Camogli. I can't remember if Atrani has a sandy beach. Camogli has pebbles (as does most of the Riviera) if that makes a difference to you. Some of the sandier beaches along the mediterranean coast don't have towns attached to them, and this can be particularly true in Tuscany.

Although most beaches favored by Italians aren't crowded in June, le CInque Terre towns and beaches are crowded, and towns that get cruise ships pulling in can get overwhelmed (like Portovenere, or seacoast towns in France).

Friends of mine really love Viareggio - a beach town not all a resort - close to Florence - near Pisa - can day trip easily to Cinque Terre for a day by train or car.

Venice has it own Lido or beach area - a short vaporetto ride from St Mark's Square - the archetypal seaside resort - hotels are outside of high beach season a fraction of what you'd pay in Venice proper.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

Sandralist: You were super helpful! Camogli looks really beautiful, and I'll definitely look into it more :) And Atari's beach was mainly pebbly, so that's no problem!

PalenQ: I'll definitely look into Viareggio! I don't think we'll stay in the Venice Lido (other people in my party have already shot that idea down haha). But thanks for your responses :)

Nothing wrong with Viareggio (LOVE their Carnivale every year!) but we prefer Forte dei Marmi just to the north of V.; the (reverse) view of the mountains from the sea is more spectacular and the whole town is more up-scale/refined with fantastic shopping, restaurants, and local artwork in the parks etc.

If you're into Thai cuisine, just up the coast at Marina di Carrara is one of the best Thai restaurants in all of Italy. Very small husband (serves)/wife (chef) place only open for dinner, so reservations a must. Don't worry if you can't reach them on the cell phone #, he see your number and call you back sometime during the day. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...sa_Carrar.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=viar...w=1745&bih=868

Forte dei Marmi sounds wonderful and is in the general Viareggio conurbation I think.

Forte dei Marmi is hugely expensive and before the political and economic situation soured for Russians, it was THE hangout for newly-minted Russian gazzilionaires who bought up half the real estate market.

The OP has asked for a seacoast town that is "quaint" and not touristy. Forte dei Marmi is not quaint and the town in wall-to-wall luxury shops for the tourist trade. The OP's model is Atrani on the Amalfi coast, which is highly scenic, and there is really nothing particularly scenic about that stretch of the Tuscan coast. It a center for huge beach establishments because it is flat and sandy. That's all.

True, sandralist. I had told the op Forte dei Marmi was more upscale but was suggesting it because they are looking for something close to Florence, if I understood correctly. I still enjoy FDM--love walking out onto the pier, watching the old guys fish and play cards etc. It's hard to find "quaint" anywhere along the Tuscan coast, unless you find Liberty Style architecture quaint.

It also is not clear op's mode of transportation...for some reason I was assuming train, which also would limit the options.

Though I have not personally visited here, I know several people who have suggested Lerici as a 5-terre alternative...supposedly not yet discovered by the masses. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...taly&FORM=IGRE

Yes, Lerici is nice although it is bigger than a village like Atrani or Camogli. There are boat options from Lerici to le Cinque Terre, and it is not all that difficult to catch a bus or taxi to the La Spezia train station and head to le Cinque Terre that way. However, there are also panoramic hikes and scenic walks right in the vicinity of Lerici, with no crowds at all.