Rimini Honeymoon Guide
The famous Italian beach resort of Rimini has been attracting visitors since 1843, and is still the country’s premier party spot during the long and hot summer months.
With around 15km (9mi) of soft golden sand, a choice of family friendly theme parks, a scenic old town and nearly 500 bars and discos, Rimini offers all the ingredients you need for a lively and memorable honeymoon or romantic getaway.
Best beaches in Rimini
Rimini sits at the centre of the Adriatic Riviera, one of Italy’s leading holiday playgrounds – an 80km (50mi)-long strip of beach front that stretches from Ravenna in the north to Riccione in the south.
Choose from numerous named and unnamed beaches that sit in front of several resort towns, including Bellaria Igea Marina, Cesenatico and Viserba, which together boast a huge range of accommodation, shopping and nightlife options to suit all budgets and lifestyles.
Note: Private beaches in Italy charge a small entrance fee, which includes the use of a lounge chair and umbrella, access to a changing rooms and sometimes a locker for your street clothes.
Public beaches are free and there’s nothing stopping you from wandering from a public beach into a private beach, as long as you stay close to the water’s edge.
Rimini Marina Centro
Pick your own spot to sunbathe on the soft golden sand of Rimini’s 15km-long beachfront stretching from north and south, with those furthest from the centre being more family friendly.
The soft sand gently shelves into the shallows – just perfect for children, and the water here is constantly monitored for cleanliness and hygiene.
Highly organised and divided into numerous mainly private sections, each beach offers facilities, including cabanas, sun beds, umbrellas, toilets and, in some sections, sporting activities such as catamaran sailing, windsurfing and peddle boating.
A seafront promenade runs along the coast, behind which are tree-lined avenues, spacious parks and a huge range of hotels and nightlife options.
Ravenna Riviera
Choose from nine beach resorts (Casalborsetti, Marina Romea, Porto Corsini, Marina di Ravenna, Punta Marina Terme, Lido Adriano, Lido di Dante, Lido di Classe and Lido di Savio) boasting clean white sand backed by a wide range of hotels, restaurants and nightlife options.
Fringed by pinewoods, all the beaches have extensive facilities such as sun beds, umbrellas and toilets. Beach bars generally stay open late and often host parties.
The Lido di Savio Beach offers the highest density of hotel accommodation and a range of sports including tennis, horse riding and rowing. Ravenna is located 54km north of Rimini.
What to do and see in Rimini
Just a short walk inland from the main beach sits the historic Old Town. Here, you can discover the cobbled squares of Piazza Cavour (photo) and Piazza Tre Martiri surrounded with several old stone buildings, a pretty 16th century fountain and Roman remains including the foundations of a 2nd century amphitheatre.
Browse lively street markets selling everything from apples to antiques or head to the chic fashion boutiques of Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada and Armani, all easily found in the modern town centre.
Rimini has several family-friendly attractions, including the Dolphinarium, located beside the public beach; the Fiabilandia theme park, Italy’s answer to Disneyland; the Aquafan Water Park, with numerous slides and pools; and Italy in Miniature, a funfair located in nearby Viserba, featuring 272 scale models of famous Italian buildings, including Venice's Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco.
The beach resort boasts a wide choice of restaurants, cool bars and dance clubs that stay open much of the night.
Hire a bike and follow more than 30km of cycle trails that link the centre of Rimini with the surrounding countryside.
Discover lush valleys scattered with fir and chestnut trees and gently rolling hills dotted with small attractive towns such as Santarcangelo, with its steep medieval streets and 13th century fortress.
Once the home of the great Italian film director Federico Fellini, Rimini is located on the Adriatic coast in northeast Italy.
To the south sits the independent state of San Marino, while to the north you’ll find the seaside resort of Cesenatico and a string of beaches that stretches all the way to the small historic city of Ravenna.
Rimini’s old town is easy to explore on foot and offers several must-see attractions, including Roman remains and a Renaissance monument for honeymoon couples to explore.
Top attractions in Rimini, include…
Arco di Augusto (The Arch of Augustus) – Admire Rimini's oldest monument and the oldest surviving Roman arch in Europe.
Built in 27 BC and restored in the 18th century, the 9.92m-high, 8.45m-wide arch stands at the southeast end of Corso d'Augusto, just inside the city ramparts.
Tempio Malatestiano – Ponder the impressive Malatesta Temple, a stunning 13th century cathedral reconfigured to house the tomb of Isotta degli Atti, the much-loved mistress of the notorious condottiere, Sigismondo Malatesta.
The Renaissance-era temple contains several pagan motifs as well as art treasures including a 14th century painting by the artist Giotto, 15th century frescoes by Piero della Francesca and sculptures by Duccio.
Museo della Citta – Examine excavations from the nearby Roman villa, see stunning mosaics and a collection of more than 1500 art works dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries, including several paintings by Giovanni Bellini and Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Ponte di Tiberio (Tiberius' Bridge) – Marvel at this 1st century AD stone bridge, still in use today to connect the city centre to Borgo San Giuliano.
Commenced under the Emperor Augustus in 14 AD and completed under Tiberius in 21 AD, the picture-perfect 62m-long bridge consists of five arches that rest on massive stone pillars.
Museo Fellini – Discover a celebration of the film director Fellini's career in this collection of memorabilia that ranges from original drawings to movie posters.
Ravenna – Sitting just an hour away by train, the small city of Ravenna is famous for its well-preserved and unrivalled Byzantine-era mosaics that date back to the 6th and 8th centuries and adorn the walls of several churches and monuments, including eight UNESCO-listed World Heritage sites.
Stroll Ravenna's historic traffic-free cobblestone centre and explore a treasure trove of sights. Start with the breathtaking 5th century Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, featuring some of the oldest mosaics in the city, and the Battistero degli Ortodossi, the oldest of Ravenna's monuments.
Visit the Basilica of Sant'Appolinare in Classe, decorated with two dozen marble columns, gold and turquoise mosaics and containing tombs of several former archbishops.
And don’t miss the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a 5th century chapel with exceptional mosaics dating from antiquity, and the Basilica di San Vitale, with its elegant cupola and stunning 6th century mosaics – one of Italy's most important monuments of early Christian art.
Republic of San Marino – The tiny 61km² Republic of San Marino, sits perched around and on top of a 657m-high mountain.
Explore the historic walled Old Town on foot, visiting the 11th century Guaita (or First Tower), the oldest of the three defensive towers that overlook the city and several villages dotting the mountainside.
The Republic is Europe’s third-smallest state after the Vatican and Monaco. It has its own mint and produces its own postage stamps. San Marino is just 45 minutes by bus from Rimini.
Po Delta (Emilia-Romagna) – Take a guided boat tour across the lagoons of Valli di Comacchio and Valle Bertuzzi and into one of Europe's most highly regarded nature reserves, home to nesting and migrating birds such as herons, egrets, curlews, avocets and terns.
Spot wildlife on foot or by bike from a network of embankments that wind through the channels and briny lagoons.
Bologna (Emilia-Romagna) – Enjoy a gourmet adventure in a region renowned as Italy's gastronomic heart.
Feast on delicacies such as Parma ham, Parmesan cheese and fresh pasta using homemade dough, or take a cooking course and impress your friends on your return home.
Where to stay
There are around 1000 hotels to suit all honeymoon budgets.
If money is no object, why not stay at Rimini's best-known hotel, the 5-star Grand Hotel Rimini (Parco Federico Fellini), with its exclusive and private white-sand beach and manicured gardens. The hotel opened in 1908 and was immortalised by Fellini in several of his films.
Best time to honeymoon in Rimini
The best time to visit Rimini and the Adriatic coast for a beach holiday is during summer from late-June through August – the hottest and sunniest months of the year, and when the sea is pleasantly warm.
However, anytime during mid-May to late-June, and during September to early-October is also good for a range of outdoor activities.
Rimini enjoys a semi-continental climate of hot summers and cold winters.
More information about Rimini weather…
How to get to Rimini
Rimini is located in northeast Italy on the Adriatic coast in the Emilia-Romagna region, around 110km (68mi) from Bologna, the region's capital city, and 300km (186mi) south of Venice.
Rimini is one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe, thanks to a 15km-long (9mi) sandy beach, and the thousands of bars, restaurants, discos and accomodation options that line the seashore.
The most convenient route to Rimini is by air to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ), followed by an airport shuttle bus taking 1 hour 25 minutes, every hour to Rimini.
Alternatively, a frequent shuttle bus runs from the airport to Bologna Centrale railway station. From there, by train to Rimini is 53 minutes, every 30 minutes.
Federico Fellini International Airport (RMI), located 7km (4.3mi) southeast of Rimini town centre, is closer but generally receives only seasonal charter flights.
By train, Rome to Rimini via Bologna takes 3 hours. Rimini is also a major junction in the regional railway network to Bologna, Castelbolognese, Ancona and Ravenna.
More information about How to get to Rimini…
Latest update: Rimini Honeymoon Guide: 3 August, 2022
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