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Mare o laghi?

coleyfagiole

10+ Posts
I'll be traveling solo ijn September to Venice just for the architecture biennale and then need to find some water.

One option is head to the Lakes via stops in Verona, Bergamo and Brescia. (Need to figure out timing and where to spend the night vs. just pass through for the day.)

The other option is head south and chill at a beach on the Adriatic. A pretty sandy beach where I can swim and relax with locals (or at least with Italian tourists).
Not interested in Rimini (still have PhD PTSD from there). I have seen reference to Senigallia as being pretty, and wonder about Pesaro as well.
Other suggestions?
 
Four (at times quirky) alternatives, each rather different (and possibly none quite what you were thinking of). I've included some public transport comments, but most should also be options with a car.

Lago Molveno. If able to make the 7.49am train out of Venezia, it's just 2 hours (including change at Verona) to get to Trento, then a regular bus service to Molveno.

Why Molveno? There's a decent size lake, but not so big you can't walk around it in a morning. However it also has tree-lined mountains all-around, picturesque buildings in Molveno, and as far as scenery goes, no boring filler. The walking is wonderful and there are also two cable cars to take you up into the mountains (the walk is doable for sure, but nice to have the option). As far as swimming in the lake, we didn't see it, but weren't there in summer. There is also an outdoor public swimming pool

Trieste. There are direct c. 2hr trains from Venezia. Being a port city may not be quite what you'd envisaged, but maybe worth seeing if there are good beaches in range, and I've heard the city is a charmer (and good for coffee).

Comacchio. Probably the longest shot, as I can't imagine it's a place to go swimming (but never checked). Like Venice, it's criss-crossed with canals, but without the tourists.

Croatia. I see there are ferries from Venezia to Pula and Rabac, and this option gets you started literally 'on the water', with then a coast to explore on arrival. There also appears to be a ferry to Chioggia at the southern tip of the Venetian Lagoon
 
Senigallia is indeed a pretty town and they take great pride in their sandy "velvet" beach. It also features very good restaurants and an active cultural and social life.
The downturn, for me, is that the beach is separated from the town by the railway (which is the case in quite a few locations along the Adriatic) so access is not always easy and sometimes the train is a nuisance.
In Pesaro, due to its position between two mountainous areas north and south of it along the coast, the railway is a bit further from the beach, making it fully part of the town. Near Pesaro, up one of said mountainous areas (Monte San Bartolo) you also get some pictoresque villages and rocky coast (quite unusual in this part of Italy).
In September you'll find mostly locals and a few Italian tourists at both locations.
A bit further South you may want to consider the Conero area, villages are a lot smaller, but the landscape is outstanding.
 

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