Done with Cannes?

I love luxury seaside resorts so much. I can’t get enough of Cannes (you have to eat in Cannes), not to mention Saint-Tropez, and let’s not forget Capri. But sometimes a person wants something different and maybe something with a less m’as-tu-vu vibe. There is an Italian seaside resort that I fell in love with years ago and where I want to return every year, and that is Forte dei Marmi. Forte, for those close to me, is located in the municipality of Lucca and has 7000 inhabitants. It’s small, but not tiny. You could call Forte the Deauville of Italy. While the Parisian upper class loves to spend weekends in Deauville, well-off Northern Italy goes to Forte dei Marmi as often as possible.

I stayed at Villa Grey, a hotel on the boulevard with a deep beach across the street that was raked every evening, I kid you not. Villa Grey also had a fantastic restaurant on the beach where we stayed every day. Furthermore, Forte is a shopping paradise. Especially the market on Wednesday and Sunday is not to be missed because they sell the most beautiful cashmere sweaters and scarves. There are just so many wonderful shops in the center.

What I also really like about Forte is that it is close to the mountains. However, this coastline is flat, so you can cycle delightfully all the way to Viareggio or other seaside towns. Really a must-visit and quite easy to reach by car and by plane.