This Italian City Is One of Europe’s Oldest Beach Resorts — but It Also Has a Lively Art, Bar, and Food Scene

Yes, bring your swimsuit to Rimini, but your appetite and curiosity, too.

If you think about Rimini at all, you probably picture the beach. This long strip of sand on the Adriatic Sea was the first place on the continent that really defined the idea of a beach vacation as we think of it today: days spent under sun umbrellas or splashing in the surf, lunch and dinner alfresco, disco dancing until dawn, then getting up and doing it all over again the next day.

“For Italians and many Europeans, Rimini is synonymous with trips to il mare [the sea], those annual, archetypal summer beach vacations,” says Rebecca Winke, a custom travel advisor with Italy Beyond the Obvious. “And while its nine miles of beaches are nice and well-equipped, there’s a surprisingly rich cultural side to Rimini that you’ll only find if you head inland, to the city’s historic center.”

“Rimini likely isn’t the first place most people think of visiting in Italy, but as the hometown of famed filmmaker Federico Fellini, it’s a must for cinephiles,” says Travel + Leisure contributor and Italy resident Laura Itzkowitz. “And it’s easy to combine a few days in Rimini with other places in Emilia-Romagna like Ravenna, Parma, Modena, and Bologna.”

So, take a closer look at this delightful city on the sea that has so much more to offer than just a beach scene.

Rimini, Italy

• Even if you don’t stay at Grand Hotel Rimini, a Liberty-style landmark and Fellini favorite, do stop in for a fancy drink on its fabulous terrace.

• Rimini is blessedly flat, which means you can bike from the town center to the beach, along dedicated bike paths, in a manner of minutes.

• Take a day trip to San Marino, the other petite country within a country, located 30 minutes inland from the Rimini coast.

• Rimini’s signature flatbread, piada (or a cassone when stuffed), is best enjoyed with a cold beer at beachside joint Cà Miriam.

• The legacy of Fellini, Italy’s most celebrated filmmaker, is felt all over the city, most notably at the multi-venue Fellini Museum Rimini.

Best Hotels & Resorts

Grand Hotel Rimini

Time stands still — in a good way — at this five-star, Liberty-style palace steps from the sea. Once he could afford to stay here, Fellini became a regular — it features in his Oscar-winning “Amarcord,” and the hotel leans heavily on its cinematographic ties. Rooms and suites combine airiness and old-style charm, and there’s simply not a more posh address in Rimini.

DuoMo Hotel

There’s not much subtlety in this modern design hotel, an outlier in that it’s located in Rimini’s historic center, rather than on the beachfront. Sleek rooms have padded vinyl floors that coddle bare feet, and the buzzy lobby level bar is all DJ sets and mixology.

Baia Imperiale

This long-standing beachfront hotel is mere steps from Rimini’s soft sands. Rooms are classic, airy, and functional; there’s an indoor pool and spa area when the sun is just a bit too hot; a beach club is reserved for guests; and the fifth-floor terrace is especially tempting for a cocktail.

Related: I Live in Italy — and These Are the Best Beach Towns in the Country

Best Things to Do

Hit the beach.

Visiting a Rimini beach club in the summer is one of the most quintessentially Italian experiences you can have. For the price of a sun lounger and an umbrella, you get access to a private beach area, as well as bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, and, usually, a playground, a restaurant, and a bar. Marina Lido operates several just south of Rimini’s panoramic wheel.

Visit the Fellini Museum complex.

Rimini’s favorite son is celebrated over three locations in the centro, and one ticket gets you access to all. “I especially love the installations in the Castel Sismondo, where a larger-than-life Anita Ekberg in that famous black dress from ‘La Dolce Vita’ reclines in one of the rooms,” says Itzkowitz. The Fellini Museum also hosts frequent screenings and other cultural events.

Ride a bike.

Given its location within the pancake-flat Po river valley, Rimini is highly suited to getting around by bike. There’s an 81-mile network of clearly marked paths, as well as broad avenues and plenty of places to lock up a bike. Many hotels, like the DuoMo, rent or loan bikes, or you can one from AleBike or one of dozens of vendors in town.

Explore Borgo San Giuliano.

Cross the ancient Roman Ponte di Tiberio to sweet Borgo San Giuliano, a former fishing village. “During the day, visitors come to admire the borgo’s colorful street art,” says Winke. “But once the sun goes down, there’s an open-air party scene here.”

Spend a day in another country.

If you have a car, make a day trip to San Marino, the country within a country located about 30 minutes from Rimini. The fifth-smallest nation in the world, San Marino is big on visual appeal, with a jutting fortress, narrow pedestrian-only lanes, and lots of souvenir shops.

Best Nightlife

Darsena Sunset Bar

Barhop your way along the beachfront, but make sure you include a stop at this Rimini hot spot, which packs in crowds from sunset to last patron standing. If the party scene isn’t for you, reserve a spot for dinner, but stick around long enough to watch the partiers descend.

Rose & Crown

Opened in 1964, Rose & Crown claims to be Italy’s first pub, and has the beer-soaked woodwork to prove it. The vibe here is traditional British-pub-meets-Italian-beach-party, and the results are fun, if a bit chaotic. The party and pub grub churn until 3 a.m. nightly.

Lilliput Cafe

This tiny spot in the centro storico packs a lot into a small space, with a menu of wine, craft beers, and cocktails, as well as some healthy lunch offerings and a generous aperitivo spread. There’s a neighborhood feel here, and in good weather, tables on the sidewalk outside.

Best Restaurants

Ristorante Dallo Zio

With a plum location right near the 1st century B.C.E. Arch of Augustus — the oldest Roman arch in Italy — Dallo Zio offers what Winke calls a “contemporary take on traditional Romagnola dishes, with great attention paid to sourcing local seafood and ingredients from the Emilia-Romagna heartland.” The menu is heavy on seafood, but with plenty of non-fish options, too.

La Terrazza della Dolce Vita

“Fellini always stayed at the Grand Hotel Rimini when he returned to his hometown,” says Itzkowitz. “And dining on the terrace on a warm evening feels like traveling back in time to his dolce vita heyday.” Offered only in the summertime, those dinners don’t come cheap, but it’s hard to put a price tag on the ambience.

Cà Miriam

Piada, the signature flatbread of Emilia-Romagna (called cassoni when they’re stuffed before cooking), is a go-to street food along Rimini’s beachfront. Cà Miriam is a popular spot to sample it a block from the seashore, and vegetarians should note it’s traditionally cooked with lard.

Best Time to Visit

If you’re coming to Rimini for its legendary beach scene, you have little choice than to visit from mid-June to early September. Crowds will peak in July and August, and hit a crescendo around Aug. 15, Italy’s national Ferragosto holiday. If you visit in this period, you’ll want to reserve your hotel, as well as beach loungers, well in advance. Note that in peak season, many hotels will impose minimum stay policies.

Weather and temperatures are also mostly reliable in April, May, late September, and into October, but many beach hotels, bars, and restaurants may observe shorter seasons. In the late fall, winter, and early spring, the sidewalks of Rimini beach roll up, though some hotels, like Grand Hotel Rimini, remain open. These are prime months to explore Rimini’s historical and cultural offerings without the summer crowds — just don’t come looking for a beach party.

Related: The Best and Worst Times to Visit Italy

How to Get There

Rimini has a small airport with connections within Europe, but for international flights, the closest options are airports in Bologna, Florence, and Venice, the latter of which is about three hours to the north. Otherwise, Rimini sees frequent Trenitalia trains to and from Bologna Centrale, the largest rail hub in Emilia-Romagna.

If you’re driving in, Rimini is on the coastal road that stretches the length of Italy’s Adriatic coast, and it’s also connected to Bologna via the E45 Autostrada Adriatica.

How to Get Around

Rimini’s centro storico, including Borgo San Giuliano, can easily be explored on foot, and from there, it’s a 30-minute walk to the beach. Bikes are an optimal way to cover Rimini’s flat terrain, and many hotels provide free loaners. There are also e-scooter sharing services through the Lime or Bit Mobility apps.

From Rimini train station, the Metromare shuttle links coastal stops between Rimini and Riccione, and there’s also a seasonal beach shuttle. The Start Romagna site has information about all public transportation modes in the area.