Not really. After all the travel-related hassles of the last two weeks, it was time for job-related stress as my laptop decided it didn’t like me anymore after I spilled a cup of hot chocolate on it. Long story short, I had to buy a new laptop. Easy resolution but quite expensive, making a dent on our budget. But hey, what to do, right? Because of this, Rimini became some sort of refuge from all the stress, and I am glad that everything worked out for me in the end.
The first day was spent sightseeing in San Marino. Day two was for Rimini, with me starting at the beach a stone’s throw away from my hotel. Ah yes, it’s called Piazzale Kennedy, the last stretch of main road before you reach the beach. Book any hotel on this side of the city and you are sure to get a beachside view from your room if you are lucky. This beach is just so wide, though. It takes a bit more walking to actually get to the shore. Swim all the way to the other side and you will end up in Croatia.
But Rimini is not all about beaches. I mean, if this is your thing, you will probably get a bit disappointed because the beach on this side of the country is not that impressive. What it gives you, though, is a laid back vibe knowing that you are just next to the water, if that matters at all in this cold weather, that is. I bet this is probably packed during the summer months, though! For now, it’s almost empty. And cold. These beaches straddle Italy’s Adriatic coast, which is almost the entire eastern flank of the country.
Okay, enough about beaches. What else is there to see? Most of what I saw in my area was residential. Hotels. Houses. Restaurants and bars. That area along Piazzale Kennedy seems to have been conceptualized with the tourist in mind. If you want some old Roman flavored attractions, you have to venture inland all the way to the city center. Getting lost is not an issue because signposts abound telling you what direction the beach and the city center are, and they are in opposite directions so you’ll defo end up in one of them.
One of the main tourist attractions is the Arch of Augustus, one of the oldest surviving Roman architecture tracing its origins back to Rimini’s wall in 27 BC. The area has info boards with a map of how the city looked back in the day, and this arch served as one of the gates that welcomed people in. Enter the gate and you know you have reached the town center which has its own set of attractions, the most notable of which are the Chiesa dei Paolotti and the Gloria al Caduti per la Libertà which both stand out as they tower over Piazza Tre Martiri. On one corner of the piazza is a statue of Julius Caesar.
But this is not Rimini’s only piazza, obviously. Walk farther down the road and you will end up in Piazza Cavour which plays host to the Comune di Rimini building, the statue of Paolo V, Palazzo del Podestà, etc. I wish I could tell you what all these buildings are supposed to be but it is enough to just ogle them because they all look old, and that’s what gives this piazza its glamor. There is a giant golden photo frame on one side which you can use for your selfies. It does capture the grandeur of the piazza.
Overall, I liked Rimini. What it lacks in terms of old world charm, in comparison to other Italian tourist hotspots, it makes up for through its beaches. As a gateway to San Marino, this is all worth the side trip. By all means, GO!
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