my partner and i love to wrap up our europe trips with a few days chillin on the beach. thinking about viareggio, which is marketing itself as a gay-friendly destination. not so concerned with that as i am the town itself, hotels, restaurants, and most important the beaches? what did you think?

ciao laexile<BR><BR>when would you go? and what exactly are you looking for at the town: for example nightlife, discos, fun, highlife etc. or calm and elder people ;-)<BR><BR>if you want, e-mail me directly, i would love to give you some cool hints regarding spots where you have fun.<BR><BR>tanti saluti<BR><BR>christina

Not sure you'd call Viareggio a great destination. It's kind of tacky. Having said that, I admit to kind of liking tacky. We were there in late fall so the beach scene wasn't very active. But we were there on a weekend and the street action was pretty lively. It must have been passagiata time that we walked along the beach promenade because the place was almost body to body people. Neither the people nor the town appeared prosperous--this is not an upscale place, but they did appear determined to have fun. All in all I don't know what to advise you except if you like the Gulf coast of Florida, don't go. If you like the Atlantic side of Florida especially Ft. Lauderdale as it was when it was heavy-duty tee-shirt shops, go. And take all of this with a grain of salt, it's been over 10 years since I was in Viareggio--because my husband said he'd never go again. Hmmmm!

Hi Laexile<BR><BR>Viareggio is not a place for any action except shopping - they have even blocked the sea view with shops! It may be marketing itself differently now but any time I have been there I thought it was grossly over-priced and a bit grubby. <BR><BR>Riccione has always been know as the resort for gays here in Italy - it is also one of the centres of nightlife. (There are also got great shops in Riccione but not along the sea front).<BR>

I was in Viareggio this Spring,except some Art-Deco buildings,I am afraid there wasn't a lot to see,and all the shops lining by beaches(quite messy) didn't improve the view either.