Vacation home in Sant'Angelo di Gatteo (FC) · the nearest beach five minutes away
Between Cervia and Cattolica there are dozens of kilometres of sand, and no two are alike. There is the one where a child can walk twenty metres out, the one with the pine wood behind it, the one where you stay on for dinner. It depends who is with you.
The criterion is who you're with.
5 minutes
It's the home beach, and it's Blue Flag 2026: the FEE award that looks at water quality, services, and management. Shallow seabed, fine sand, and a pedestrian seafront in the evening.
From here a paved cycle path runs 5 km to Cesenatico, flat: fine with children.
10 minutes
Here the day doesn't end with the beach umbrella: there's the Porto Canale with historic boats with colourful sails, the Museo della Marineria, and the fish market. Cesenatico is also Blue Flag 2026, for Levante and Zadina Ponente.
It's the right choice when the weather is uncertain: if it starts to rain, there's a town centre to duck into instead of heading home.
11 minutes · 7.4 km
Southern end of Cesenatico, just over the municipal boundary. Same sand, fewer people than the centre, and beach club prices tend to be lower. Useful when the parking at Gatteo a Mare is full.
14 minutes · 11.9 km
Shallow water and services geared to families: in 2026 it also received the Bandiera Verde dei pediatri, the award for child-friendly beaches. In Igea Marina there's Beky Bay, a serviced public beach with showers, facilities, beach volleyball courts, and kiosks.
24 minutes · 19.1 km
Nine kilometres of fine sand with the 210-hectare pine forest behind: when the sun beats down, you can go from the beach umbrella to real shade in five minutes. Pinarella and Tagliata are the quietest, Milano Marittima the most fashionable.
The Blue Flag has flown here every year since 1999, without missing one.
23 and 26 minutes
Rimini has 15 km of beach and the Parco del Mare, the seafront freed from cars: about 11 km of the 16 planned are already complete, with bike lanes, outdoor gyms, and play areas. Riccione has Viale Ceccarini and its two parks.
Come here when you want the town as well, not just a swim.
If you've never been, what follows will save you a rough first morning.
The beach is divided into numbered beach clubs, each with its own operator. You pay for an umbrella with two loungers by the day, by the week, or by the fortnight; the price varies from club to club and by row (the front row costs more). The price usually includes showers, restrooms, and a cabin or changing room.
The clubs go by number: "bagno 87" is an address, and locals get it instantly. In Cervia the numbers run from 3 to 340 and also indicate the area: Tagliata 3–21, Pinarella 59–131, Cervia 146–229, Milano Marittima 235–340.
They exist, but they're few and you need to know where. In Cervia the Municipality lists three: in Cervia between clubs 191 and 194, in Milano Marittima between 268 and 269, in Pinarella by club 102. The first two have facilities, showers, and lifeguards in summer.
In Rimini there are four serviced free beaches: Piazzale Boscovich (the most central, beneath the Ferris wheel), Miramare, Marano, and San Giuliano Mare.
It's shallow and sandy for dozens of metres, all along the coast. For a small child it's the reason this riviera exists; for an adult swimmer it's the reason you need to walk quite a way before you can really swim.
In Cervia there's "Un bagnino per amico" ("A lifeguard as a friend"), running since 2006 and free of charge: floating amphibious chairs, walkways, reserved parking, and trained staff who accompany you into the water. You ask your own lifeguard, who activates the service; the wheelchair is guaranteed for one week.
In Riccione all 130 beach clubs are declared accessible, with ramps right up to the umbrella. In Rimini, Piazzale Boscovich has amphibious chairs, an electric hoist, and sixteen reserved shaded spots.
In Bellaria-Igea Marina there doesn't appear to be an equivalent free municipal service: some individual beach clubs are equipped. Best to call the tourist office before you go.
The first is Gatteo's, five minutes from this door. The rest are along the same coast.
FEE Italia 2026 list.
From Cesenatico's Porto Canale you reach Igea Marina via Gatteo a Mare and San Mauro Mare: 16 km along the sea, without a single real climb, crossing the Rubicone twice. Cesenatico's tourist portal rates it suitable for children from ten years old; the short Cesenatico-Gatteo a Mare stretch is 5 km, fully paved, for all ages.
For those who cycle seriously: from Cesenatico a 44 km loop climbs the Rubicone embankment as far as Savignano and reaches Santarcangelo, returning along the Uso river. It passes just a few hundred metres from Casa Plac.
The leaflet rack by the front door, with the maps of the coast.
Head to the beach in the morning and come back when it gets too hot, without hunting for a parking spot twice a day. Free parking, or a private street-level garage on request, for an extra charge.