Enjoying Riccione
Healthy Life Italy

Enjoying Riccione

I was in Riccione in the last two weeks of August. I mentioned in my previous post that I had been there many times before and that I was very familiar with the town and its wider area. In many years in which I have been going there, I have done a lot of things. I’ve been to many different restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Enjoying Riccione is best done in summer and that’s when I usually go there, to spend my days on the beach.

Riccione is primarily a summer destination, although I’ve been there in other seasons. In winter, it’s a completely different place, a small sleepy town. During hot summer months, it’s transformed into a bustling resort full of life, excitement and entertainment.

 

Enjoying Riccione
View From a Flat

 

I have a lot of friends there. I am always very happy to see them and we keep in touch, more or less, on a regular basis. That’s very easy with modern technology, although being together, it’s a completely different thing. However, only one of my Italian friends speaks English. The only way for me to communicate with my other friends is in Italian. I speak fluent Italian, which I studied at the university in Belgrade. I also spent a lot of time in Italy, so I had an excellent opportunity to learn the language by simply talking to people and by fully immersing myself in the Italian culture.

This also gives one more dimension to my every stay in Italy. I never feel like an excluded foreigner who doesn’t understand what’s going on around him. On the contrary, I take part in every conversation and I am conscious of various dynamics and subtleties of interactions in which I take part. That is priceless.

 

 

THE BEACH

 

I like it best when I am in Riccione in summer, because I can spend days on a beautiful sandy beach. The beach is very big and it stretches for many kilometres, along the whole length of the town. That long beach is divided into many smaller sections. Some sections belong to various hotels and are for exclusive use by their guests. Some sections are open to all, but you have to pay in order to use them. Finally, there are sections that are completely free and everyone can use them.

The beach to which I always go is the biggest free beach. It’s at the border between Riccione and the Rimini’s neighbourhood Rivazzurra.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Free Beach

 

This beach is in front of the abandoned Colonia Santo Volto, on Viale Principe di Piemonte. Colonia Santo Volto was established in 1934 as a medical centre for children with scrofula, a disease very similar to tuberculosis. The decline of the colony started in the 1980′. At that time, the economic situation in Italy substantially improved and it became a shame to send a child to such an institution. It was considered a sign of poverty. The building is now completely abandoned and it mysteriously overlooks the beach.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Colonia Santo Volto

 

The beach is 300m long and 150m wide. It is never too busy, even during the busiest times on weekends or in the peak season. I never feel claustrophobic and inundated with people there, an aspect that I particularly like.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Free Beach

 

It is also possible to walk along the beach. You can go either towards Rimini or in the opposite direction, towards Cattolica. There are many people jogging in the evening hours, when the sun is no longer too strong. When it’s sufficiently windy, there is a lot of wind surfing which creates a very attractive picture.

To easily find this beach, look for a seafood restaurant Sol y Mar, the beach is right in front of this restaurant.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Free Beach

 

 

LUNGOMARE

 

One more feature of Riccione, closely related to the beach, is its prominent seafront (lungomare). The seafront has been completely renovated in recent years and it stretches along the whole length of the town. I often cycled along the seafront when I was going to the beach. It was a very pleasant experience, safe and away from the traffic. But still, I had to navigate people, although it wasn’t really that bad. There were large sections without anyone in sight, where I cruised smoothly on my bicycle.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Lungomare

 

 

RESTAURANTS

 

In many years in which I’ve been enjoying Riccione, I went to many different places. But in this post, I will only mention places that I visited this particular time. They are my most recent experience and most relevant for this post. As I was staying in a friend’s house, I didn’t go out for dinner every night. Some evenings we had dinner at home, usually when we stayed late on the beach and no one was willing to rush to go out. In Italy, you have to make sure that you are in a restaurant by 10pm at the latest, because kitchens close shortly after. Italy is not like Spain where people go out for dinner at 10pm.

Restaurants that I visited this time and that I want to mention are:

Ristorante Trampolines – on Lungomare della Republica. This restaurant belongs to the Trampolines Hotel and it’s a veritable institution. It is open all year and both the locals and tourists go there. It’s an excellent restaurant and you will for sure eat well there.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Hotel Trampolines

 

One interesting observation about restaurants in Riccione, especially in busy touristic areas, is that despite the fact that they may appear as touristic places, you are guaranteed to eat well. The main category of tourists in Riccione are Italians and they are very peculiar about their food. They are generally accustomed to a very high standard and for any restaurant to exist, it simply has to be good.

This may be different in other popular touristic places in Italy, especially in establishment that predominantly cater to foreign tourists. In Riccione, in places where the Italians go, standards are maintained at the high level. Thus, if you happen to be in Riccione and you are hungry, you can go to any restaurant in Viale Ceccarini or Viale Dante without any problem. I had a very delicious pizza in Trampolines.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Ristorante Trampolines

 

Ristorante Santa Lucia –  in Viale Piacenza 8, is a family run restaurant that won the Trip Advisor’s Excellence Award in 2015. This restaurant is famous for its meat dishes. The restaurant goes to great lengths to procure the best quality organic meat.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Ristorante Santa Lucia

 

In my opinion, pizza is the best in this restaurant. I’ve been there many times in the past and I always go there at least once when I am in Riccione.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Ristorante Santa Lucia – Trip Advisor Certificate 2015

 

Agriturismo I Crinali – is not in Riccione, it’s in the hills of Rimini, in Viale Santa Cristina 73. This is one of those unmissable places, but you have to know about it. The restaurant caters for the local Italian customer base and it’s fabulous. It takes approximately 10-15 minutes to get there from Rimini by car and slightly longer from Riccione.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Agriturismo i Crinali

 

I was there once in the past and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to go there again. Their food is excellent and very reasonably priced. You can see prices in a menu in the photo below. If you are in the area and would like to experience a slightly more refined side of the Italian cuisine, I suggest that you visit this place. There are other similar restaurants in that area, but I’ve been just to this one.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Agriturismo i Crinali

 

 

COFFEE SHOPS AND BARS

 

Another thing that you would want to do is to go for coffee or aperitivo.

– My favourite coffee place is Caffe Centrale, in Corso Fratelli Cervi, in Riccione Paese. It’s a place where the locals pop in for a quick coffee or cappuccino. It’s a nice bar and prices are very reasonable, cappuccino is € 1.20 and espresso € 1. 

 

Enjoying Riccione
Caffe Centrale

 

Aperitivo is a typical Italian tradition, a pre-dinner drink that so well reflects the Italian art of living. It habitually happens in the late afternoon or early evening, between 5pm and 7pm. Usually, it’s a very light alcoholic drink, served with some salty snacks. I had it in two different places:

Pepper Riccione – is a bar in Viale Lazio 12, in Riccione Paese. It’s an excellent place, frequented by the local people, as it is some distance away from the main touristic area.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Pepper Riccione

 

It’s a very stylish place and they play very good lounge music.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Pepper Riccione

 

Caffe Pascucci – in Viale Parini 6, is actually at the corner with Viale Dante. It’s also a very good place, in an excellent location overlooking the port.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Caffe Pascucci

 

 

ICE-CREAM SHOPS

 

Then, there is gelato (the ice-cream), a must-do ritual for all Italians. The ice-cream in Italy is the best that you can eat anywhere in the world. It’s replicated in other countries, but for some reason, Italians make the best ice-cream. There are many ice-cream shops in Riccione and they are all good, but some of them are exceptionally good.

Gelateria King – on Piazza Unità in Riccione Paese is an institution. Their ice-cream is excellent.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Gelateria King

 

Gelateria Pellicano – in Viale Ceccarini 158. This place mainly serves the locals and their ice-cream is also excellent.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Gelateria Pellicano

 

Gelateria Panna & Cioccolato – in Via Lungorio 1, probably offers the best ice-cream in Riccione. It’s a very popular place and there is always a long queue of people in the evening, especially after dinner.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Gelateria Panna & Cioccolato

 

They also have a big selection of home-made cakes. It’s a fabulous place, if you like to eat cakes.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Gelateria Panna & Cioccolato

 

 

ENJOYING RICCIONE IN CLUBS

 

Finally, one more thing that I would like to mention is that Riccione is a home to super clubs. There are four clubs in Riccione and they are: Peter Pan, Prince, Cocoricò and Pascià (this one is a disco-restaurant). There is one more famous club, Villa delle Rose, but this one is in Misano Adriatico.

These clubs are the main reason why Riccione attracts thousands of young Italians in search of entertainment. I’ve been to some of them in the past, but not this time. This year, the most popular was Peter Pan.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Peter Pan

 

They are in the hills of Riccione. You can easily find them if you are in the area and if you want to visit one of them.

 

Enjoying Riccione
Prince

 

In summer, Riccione is a place full of fun and life. There is so much to do there, there are excellent places where you can go to eat or to have a drink. You will never be short of entertainment.

But for me, the beautiful beach and warm Adriatic Sea are the best.

 

 

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