Rimini

Rimini is a resort town in Emilia-Romagna, on Italy's east coast. Rimini is a thriving, bustling resort on the Italian Riviera that boasts "over a thousand hotels". It is one of the least pretentious towns in Italy. This is a place where the Italians (and Russians!) go for their sea and sun, and therefore the food is excellent as well as the people being friendly and helpful.

Understand
There has been a settlement at Rimini since prehistoric times. Founded by the Romans in 268 BC, Rimini boasts a 2,000-year history that has left important marks testifying to its grandeur. To the Romans, Ariminum was a link between the "Italic" and the "Gallic" lands, a stronghold on the Adriatic and a gateway to the Po valley. Three major roads converged here - Via Flaminia, Via Aemilia and Via Popilia.

You won't find many tour buses filled with Americans or English here! This also means, however, that few speak anything but Italian (or Russian), so be sure to take your phrase book with you. The locals will work with you and are always happy to see a foreigner at least trying to communicate in their language.

By plane

 * You could also fly into Marche Airport near Ancona, or into Bologna.
 * You could also fly into Marche Airport near Ancona, or into Bologna.

By train
Fast trains run from Milan via Bologna through Rimini to Ancona, Bari and Lecce. They don't all stop at Rimini, so you may have to change at Bologna for the hourly regional train via Imola, Faenza, Forli and Cesena.

Another train runs hourly from Ravenna via Cervia and Cesenatico to Rimini.

By car
The A14, a six-lane motorway known as the autostrada del mare runs away to the north. The SS 72 heads inland towards San Marino. The SS16 heads in from the North and Ravenna.

By bus

 * Flixbus have direct buses from Milan, Venice-Mestre, Bergamo, Ancona, Pescara, Rome and elsewhere.

Get around
Most hotels are within walking distance of the beach and the centre, but if you want to take a trip along the coast or inland, buses run regularly from the train station and are frequent and cheap.

Mi Muovo is an integrated public transport pass for the region. Short-stay visitors might use "Mi Muovo Multibus", a 12-trip bus ticket, see Emilia Romagna.

Do

 * La Marina means the 15 km of beaches, not the place for leisure craft, which is il Porto. It's free to visit and swim, but almost all of it staked out by sunchair-for-rent services. In summer it's hubbub, with loudspeakers blaring commercials and vendors touting their wares. The beach plots are numbered north to south: look for the unmanaged sections, spiaggia libera, where you can lay your own towel, e.g. around no 97 near Parco Murri. The sea is warm and sheltered with next-to-no tide. In winter La Marina is deserted and the Med is cold!
 * Rimini Fiera is the exhibition centre 3 km northwest of the city, with its own railway station. It has a year-round programme of events: some of these are trade-only, but others (especially around food, drink and leisure) are open to the public by ticket. Don't confuse this place with the Convention Centre, the UFO-shaped hall 500 m south of city centre.

Buy
Downtown are the best fashion boutiques, where is it possible to find the best Italian designer brands (Gucci, Prada, Armani, D&G). In early 2006 the first and one of the biggest (in Romagna) shopping malls, called "Le Befane", opened. It's so big that it changed the landscape of the west side of the city.

For typically tourist stuff, the beachfront has small souvenir shops. If you enjoy scandalising the family or even your home country's postal service, don't miss some of the more risqué postcards on sale at any one of a number of the little shops on the seafront.

Eat
In Rimini you can find several good places to eat. Since the city is on the seashore it is suggested to have a fish-based dish. Some of the best restaurant are: Lo Squero, Il Lurido, Da Guido, Marinelli. Usually with every dish you will get the famous "Piadina", a thin and very tasty sort of bread.

At the beach in the San Guiliano a Mare area, there are beach restaurants where one typically dines Al Fresco in warm weather. Although one might be wary of such establishments, the food is excellent and inexpensive. A typical dinner might cost only €5-6 for the meal alone. Sometimes they offer a multi-plate dinner (good for 2 or even 3 persons) for €18 that includes a 1/4 litre of wine. There are also excellent restaurants just off the main streets.

Drink
The whole town is geared towards tourists, so the night life is very good and there are bars everywhere. Once the sun goes down, the streets of Rimini come alive with lights, colour and noise as the sunbathers of the day become the revellers of the evening.

There are however no "real" clubs in Rimini; only bars with dance floors. For real clubbing you have to go to Riccione, the next town over, which is about a 15 minute drive away. There is however one club called Carnaby's which is on the outskirts of Rimini and it has a free shuttle bus; the club is also within walking distance.



Connect
As of June 2021, Rimini has 4G with all Italian carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Ravenna is a lovely old town that was once a Byzantine capital.
 * Ancona is the next major city down the Adriatic coast, with ferries to the Balkans.
 * Bologna is the stand-out among the cities along the Po valley.
 * San Marino is an independent microstate perched on a hilltop southwest of Ravenna, an easy day-trip.