Rimini

Marina Centro beach

Marina Centro

The main stretch of Rimini's beach opposite the center: fine light sand, a seabed sloping so gently that the water is still waist-deep a hundred meters from shore, and numbered beach sections called 'bagni' at each entrance. Each has its own bar, showers, playground and lifeguard, and offers sunbeds by the day or the week.

Tip: Sections with low numbers are closest to the center and priciest; from around number one hundred toward Miramare, prices drop by a third for the same sand. Free beach without sunbeds exists only in narrow strips between sections and near Riminiterme — look for the 'spiaggia libera' sign.

Admission:

sunbed and umbrella from 20 € per day

Time needed:

all day

Bridge of Tiberius

Ponte di Tiberio

Borgo San Giuliano

A five-arched bridge of Istrian stone completed in 21 AD under Emperor Tiberius. It has survived two thousand years, the Gothic Wars, and a German attempt to blow it up in 1944, and pedestrians still cross it today — the oldest functioning bridge in Italy.

Tip: In 2017 the area around the bridge was flooded to create a pool in which the bridge now reflects. The best shot is from below, at Marecchia park, an hour before sunset — not from the bridge itself.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

30 min

Arch of Augustus

Arco d'Augusto

Old town

A triumphal arch from 27 BC, the oldest surviving Roman arch of its kind anywhere. It stands where the Via Flaminia from Rome entered the city, and its unusually wide passage meant the town had no defensive gate as such — it was a symbol of peace.

Tip: The Arch and the Bridge of Tiberius are linked by Corso d'Augusto, the roughly kilometer-long main axis of the old town. Walking it end to end from the arch to the bridge takes fifteen minutes and is the easiest way to see all the main sights in sequence.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

20 min

Tempio Malatestiano

Old town

A cathedral rebuilt in the fifteenth century by Leon Battista Alberti for Sigismondo Malatesta into a Renaissance temple, its facade shaped like a Roman arch and its interior bearing Sigismondo's initials and portraits of his mistress in place of saints. The Pope declared it a pagan temple and excommunicated Sigismondo.

Tip: In the chapel on the right is a fresco by Piero della Francesca and a crucifix attributed to Giotto — both without a queue and without an entry fee. The church closes for a midday break from half past twelve to half past three, so visit in the morning or early evening.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

45 min

Borgo San Giuliano

Borgo San Giuliano

A fishing quarter across the Bridge of Tiberius, with low colorful houses, narrow lanes, and murals referencing Fellini's films and the neighborhood's old way of life. As recently as the 1950s it was the poorest part of the city; today it's the best place in Rimini for dinner.

Tip: The murals are refreshed every two years during the Festa de Borg in September, when the quarter turns into one giant street party. Restaurants here charge about a third less than on the waterfront and cook Romagna dishes rather than a tourist menu.

Admission:

free

Time needed:

2 h

Castel Sismondo

Old town

A fortress built in 1437 by Sigismondo Malatesta, who according to accounts of the time consulted Filippo Brunelleschi during its construction. Only the inner section of the original fortification survives, since the moats were filled in and the outer walls torn down in the nineteenth century. It now houses the Federico Fellini Museum.

Tip: The museum ticket also covers the section in Palazzo Valloni across the square, so plan to visit both buildings. The strongest part is upstairs in the castle, projected into mirrored halls — set aside an extra hour for it.

Admission:

from 12 € (combined ticket)

Time needed:

2 h

Domus del Chirurgo

Old town

The remains of a late-second-century Roman house, uncovered in 1989 during the construction of a parking lot. It belonged to a physician of Greek origin and yielded the most complete set of surgical instruments found anywhere in the ancient world — over one hundred fifty pieces, including a tool for extracting arrowheads from wounds.

Tip: The excavation is covered over on Piazza Ferrari, while the instruments themselves are displayed in the city museum a block away, and one ticket covers both. Without the museum, the excavation alone tells you little — plan on it as a single visit spanning two buildings.

Admission:

from 7 €

Time needed:

1.5 h

Italia in Miniatura

Viserba, 6 km north

A park with two hundred seventy scale models of Italian buildings at 1:25, plus a complete miniature Venice you tour by boat. Besides the models there's a monorail, water rides, and an exhibit on the human body. Open from April to early November.

Tip: It sits six kilometers north near Viserba, reached by city bus number 8. A ticket bought online in advance is noticeably cheaper than at the gate, and in July and August it's worth arriving right at opening — after eleven the queue for the boat ride through 'Venice' can top an hour.

Admission:

from 24 €, children from 18 €

Time needed:

half a day

Federico Fellini Museum

Museo Fellini

Old town

A museum opened in 2021 across three connected sites: Castel Sismondo, Palazzo Valloni, and the square between them, which is itself part of the exhibition. It's not a collection of props but a walk through scenes from the films, with sound, projections, and furniture you're invited to sit on.

Tip: Fellini was born in Rimini and portrayed the city of his childhood in the film Amarcord — anyone who's seen it beforehand gets twice as much out of the museum. On Piazza Malatesta hangs a giant veil and a bench with a phone that plays voices from his films; that part is outdoors and free.

Admission:

from 12 €

Time needed:

2–3 h