Experience the best of Rimini

Rimini's beach runs for kilometres along the Adriatic, backed by hotels, bars and boardwalks, the heart of the Romagna Riviera. The town behind it is Roman and medieval: the Arch of Augustus, built in 27 BC, marks the end of an ancient road, and the Bridge of Tiberius, completed in AD 21, is still in use. Castel Sismondo, a fifteenth-century fortress, anchors the old centre.

The Tempio Malatestiano, a Renaissance church remodelled by Leon Battista Alberti and left unfinished, is the town's best-known monument. Federico Fellini was born in Rimini in 1920, and the film Amarcord draws on its streets; the Grand Hotel on the seafront features in his work, and murals in the fishermen's quarter of Borgo San Giuliano recall his films. The hilltop republic of San Marino lies inland, and Gradara castle is along the coast to the south.

Piadina, a flatbread folded around cured ham and soft squacquerone cheese, is the street food of Romagna, followed by passatelli in broth, fried Adriatic fish and clams. Sangiovese di Romagna is the local red. Summer packs the beaches and bars, while the town is much calmer out of season.