Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

TOURISM

CALENDAR: When the beaches open in each Italian region in spring 2024

Italy's many privately run beaches have set opening dates that vary by region. Here's what you need to know if you're looking forward to an early beach trip this year.

Published: 10 April 2024 15:08 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 07:06 CEST
CALENDAR: When the beaches open in each Italian region in spring 2024
Opening dates for Italy's private beach clubs vary by region. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.

With mercury levels shooting up into the high 20s in many parts of Italy this weekend, your mind might be turning to thoughts of sun, surf and sand.

Before you grab your beach gear and head off to the coast, though, it’s worth knowing that as with many other aspects of life in Italy, there are rules and regulations governing when the summer beach season can officially start, which differ by region.

While public beaches can be accessed at any time, much of Italy’s coastline is given over to private beach clubs managed on a concessions basis, and these are subject to state controls on when they can open.

READ ALSO: Why are so many of Italy’s beaches privatised?

Each region and sometimes even local municipality has the power to decide when beach season begins and ends on a year on year basis, based on local weather and beach conditions.

This comes along with the requirement for regional authorities to carry out water quality tests in each area prior to the start of the season, to ensure conditions are safe for bathers.

In areas where no regional or local regulation is stipulated, the default opening date is May 1st.

Here’s when private beaches in Italy are due to open and close this year, according to region.

Abruzzo

Abruzzo’s bathing season started a while back, on March 6th, and will run until November 24th.

Basilicata

Basilicata hasn’t announced opening and closing dates for its beach season yet this year – last year, they ran from April 1st until the end of October.

A beach in Italy’s Marche region. Photo by Azat Satlykov on Unsplash

Calabria

Calabria has yet to announce its opening and closing dates for this season; however according to local news outlets, the start date for clubs on the Falcomatà seafront of regional capital Reggio Calabria is likely to be brought forward to April 15th this year.

Campania

Campania’s beach season runs from May 1st until September 30th, but the City of Naples recently signed an ordinance allowing beach clubs that apply for permission to remain open year-round.

Emilia Romagna

Emilia Romagna’s 2024 summer bathing season started on the Saturday before Easter (this year, March 30th), and runs until November 2nd.

Friuli Venezia Giulia

Friuli Venezia Giulia’s beach season opens on May 1st and will run until September 30th, with the exception of Lago di Sauris, where bathing establishments will open for a shorter period between June 27th and August 21st.

Lazio 

Lazio’s bathing season generally runs from May 1st, though individual town councils can choose to delay openings until May 15th. The season usually lasts until September 30th, though last year Rome’s mayor extended the end date to October 29th.

Liguria

Liguria’s beach season this year lasts from May 1st until September 30th.

Marche

Marche’s bathing season starts on May 1st this year and runs until September 29th. Its river bathing season opens on June 22nd and closes on September 1st.

Molise

Molise’s bathing season began on April 1st and runs until October 15th.

Puglia

Last year Puglia’s beach season ran from May 1st until September 30th, and it’s anticipated the same will be the case this year.

Sardinia

Sardinia’s summer bathing season usually runs from April 1st until October 31st.

Sicily

Sicily will open its beach clubs this year on the usual dates, from the start of May to the end of October.

Tuscany

In Tuscany the summer beach season generally runs from the start of May to the end of September; however last year the season was extended until the end of October, and this year many establishments opened as early as Easter weekend.

Veneto

Veneto’s beach season this year runs from May 15th to September 15th.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TOURISM

‘Not even that ancient’: The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy’s sights

From Roman ruins to grand Gothic palaces, Italy’s most popular tourist attractions welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors every year – but not everyone leaves satisfied.

Published: 16 May 2024 09:47 CEST
Updated: 19 May 2024 08:19 CEST
'Not even that ancient': The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy's sights

With its rich cultural heritage and plenty of art and architecture wonders, Italy draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all corners of the world every year. 

But a quick scroll through the review section of travel website TripAdvisor will be enough to show that some of the country’s most famous attractions aren’t to everyone’s taste.

Colosseum, Rome

It may be Italy’s biggest tourist attraction, but even the Colosseum – the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, dating back to 80 AD – fails to impress some.

“I came. I saw. I left,” wrote one reviewer, saying that looking at pictures of the building and reading about its history will spare you from “a long wait line, a port a john [sic] bathroom, and a big disappointment”.

READ ALSO: Nine tips for making the most of a Rome city break

Others were seemingly not so happy with the overall state of the attraction.

“[It] was a lot more broken than I thought it would be, at £15 a pop you’d think they’d invest in repairing it,” one wrote. 

“Not even got a roof? When they finishing it [sic]?” asked another. 

Milan, Duomo 

Though it is often regarded as one of, if not the greatest example of Italian Gothic architecture, not everyone seems to be impressed by Milan’s Duomo cathedral. 

“The outside is gaudy and tacky as the worst of Las Vegas,” while “the inside is as bad taste as the outside” and not worth the wait, “even if they paid you”, one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: Stay away! How Europe’s most popular spots are fighting overtourism

Another said the Duomo was no different than any “old cathedral” found in every European city, claiming that “pigeons watching [sic] is more exciting than this building”.

Speaking of pigeons, one tourist warned future visitors about the aggressiveness of the local bird population, saying that the area surrounding the Duomo is “swarming with thousands of pigeons that have long ago lost any fear of humans” and will “fly directly at your head”, forcing you to “take evasive action”.

Just another cathedral? The famed Duomo in Milan. Photo by Martin Anselmo on Unsplash

Doge’s Palace, Venice

Venice’s Palazzo Ducale is the third most-visited tourist attraction in the country and arguably one of the best-preserved traces of the ancient Venetian Republic’s power. 

But the palace isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – at least judging from its reviews.

“When you go inside, there’s nothing to see except a lot of paintings on the ceilings and high on the walls. The paintings are impressive but very samey,” one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

“Really boring,” complained another, saying that the rooms were “bland” and “the view never got any better”. 

Other visitors said they were disappointed with some of their tour guides’ choices.

One wrote: “Our guide took pleasure in telling about people being tortured here. It was a bit grizzly [sic]. Personally I would give the place a miss.” 

Tourists sit under the archway of the Doge's Palace in Venice

The Doge’s Palace in Venice, which some visitors found abit “samey”. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Pompeii 

Even the Pompeii archaeological site, which consists of the ruins of a city buried under volcanic ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, has its fair share of detractors.

A reviewer described the site as being “poorly paved street after poorly paved street of pretty much the same old same old terraced house over and over and over and over”.

Another said: “I really don’t get what the hype is about.

“It’s not even that ancient since they had to build so many structures around it to keep it standing. Even the freaking pillars didn’t make it (some barely did I guess).”

One reviewer even went as far as saying it was the “worst place” he’d ever visited, mentioning he had “too much ground to cover in sweltering heat” and he “should have stayed at the nice beaches of Vico Equense”. 

Trevi Fountain, Rome

A prime example of Italian Baroque aesthetics, the Trevi fountain is one of Rome’s most widely recognised symbols worldwide, but not all visitors are impressed by it.

“It splashes and splashes. It spurtles and flows. It fountains and gurgles and is as romantic as my oldest pairs of smelly socks,” wrote one reviewer, who concluded they felt “let down”.

Tourists around Rome's Trevi Fountain

Tourists around Rome’s Trevi Fountain in March 2024. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

That said, many reviewers expressed appreciation for the fountain’s architecture, but complained that their visit was ruined by hordes of fellow tourists. These complaints are far from unjustified given the attraction’s long-standing overcrowding issues. 

One reviewer suggested that “packing a pair of 8 foot stilts” may be the only way to “ensure a satisfying visit to the Trevi”.

Another called the attraction a “claustrophobia mecca” that’s “nearly impossible to deal with because of the thousands of pushy, sweaty, rude and large tourists”.

Have you seen a surprising review of an Italian landmark? Are there any Italian sights you think are overrated? Let us know in the comments section below.

SHOW COMMENTS