Pescara is well known for its beaches, making it the main attraction for tourists and the locals. A walk along the beach, you will find many multi-colored umbrellas, each beach club having their own colorful umbrellas to mark their area. Most of these beach clubs charge a small fee to use an umbrella and chair for the day. Free beaches are limited but quite easy to find. Along the coast from Pescara Center and the stadium you can find about 6 free beaches. Whichever beach you choose, they all have food service, cafe, and bars to enjoy, as well as restrooms.

Montesilvano (just north of Pescara) and Francavilla (just south of Pescara) are the same deal. If you are looking for something a little quieter and less busy, we recommend the Francavilla beaches as it is furthest from the city center.

During the day these beaches are full of life with swimmers, tanning experts, and local Italians playing cards by the cafes. People start to leave in the evening, but it gets busy again at night with the young crowds meeting up at the beach clubs.

The city center of Pescara. Loaded with stores, cafes, and monuments. If you are looking to go shopping, this is the place to go. It is right by the beach if you want to lay out in the sun before or after shopping. Also the location of Alessandro's favorite cafe/pastry shop 'Cremeria Bresciana'.

The address given brings you to the center of this area, but the city center covers many streets and plazas.

A pastry shop and cafe located in the city center. They have been specializing in pastries since 1948. This pastry shop is a MUST when visiting Pescara.

Home to Alessandro's favorite pastry in the world, Maritozzo con la panna (Maritozzo with whipped cream).

This tourism port is located right in the marina of Pescara. A great location to walk through which has a couple bars, some nice restaurants, and some monuments. This is located right by the river that separates Porta Nuova ( the new port) and Porta Vecchia (the old port). Cross the walking bridge to get between both sides of the river. Easy to walk to and also easy to park at.

We recommend 'Pizzeria Wood' which makes an unbelievable pizza and also arrosticini (mutton/lamb skewers) which is a well known cuisine of Abruzzo, another must try. The classic Margherita pizza is so good here.

There is also boat rental, bike rental, and a couple stores to shop at here for those who are interested.

The Pescara Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral within the city. Most cities and towns in Italy have a patron saint. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Cetteus, patron saint of Pescara, has been the seat of the Archbishop of Pescara-Penne since the creation of the archdiocese in 1982.

Constructed in 1949 from the bombarded remains of an 18th-century church, the Cathedral of San Cetteo, with its austere white stone façade and three rose windows surmounting three doors, is in line with the city’s Fascist-era style. Within the rectangular three-nave interior are wonderfully preserved works of art, such as the 17th-century painting of Saint Francis of Assisi, attributed to Guercino and gifted to the church by Gabriele D'Annunzio.

An ethnographic Museum specific to the people of the local region of Abruzzo. If you are a history nerd, this is a must visit.

The museum follows the story of mankind in Abruzzo, from man's first appearance as a Palaeolithic hunter. It highlights the contribution made by 9 italic tribes from Abruzzo and Molise to the making of Rome, thus giving the name "Italy" to the entire peninsula.

Some of the main things to see here are the ancient ceramics, the old methods of olive oil production, and how the culture has been passed down for centuries.

Pescara is the birthplace of the famous Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. His childhood home, the Casa Natale di Gabriele D’Annunzio, houses a museum about his life and works. It was declared a national monument in 1927. This is one of the most visited museums in the city.

The city's sports stadium that is used primarily for soccer as well as other athletics. The venue opened in 1955 and was designed by the Italian architect Luigi Piccinato, who was inspired by the style of the Roman Stadio Olimpico, which opened two years earlier.

The home stadium of the local soccer team, Pescara Calcio, which, naturally, is strongly supported by Alessandro's family. They wear their famous white and blue uniforms, and carry a dolphin logo which you will surely see throughout the city. August is the start of the soccer season, so soccer fans who are coming to the wedding may be able to catch a game during their stay. Tickets are cheap!

A beautiful town right up against the Adriatic Sea, Ortona has history, religious significance, and beautiful sights. Just south of Pescara. Easy to get to by bus, or if you enjoy bike rides, rent a bike and take the bike path.

La Mugnaia restaurant is a family-run restaurant sitting in the countryside less than 30 minutes from Pescara. Open for lunch and dinner, it offers typical dishes respecting old Abruzzese tradition.

Their specialty, as the name suggests, is pasta alla mugnaia which is a rustic pasta obtained from a mix of durum wheat and soft wheat flour with eggs. It is unmistakable for its shape of a thick flattened cord, pulled by hand. It is customary to combine it with a particularly robust condiment such as a meat sauce and the inevitable Montepulciano wine.

The mugnaia ingredients have remained the same over time. Flour, water and eggs give life to a historical and above all simple recipe that takes its origins from popular and peasant traditions. The beauty of Italian food is how simple their recipes are.

Abruzzo is known to be a land of good food, ancient culinary tradition and high quality raw materials. This region is a place of pasta, just think of Fara San Martino which with its historic pasta factories, all still active and known throughout the world (De Cecco, Delverde, Cocco to name the best known) is one of the pasta capitals of Italy.

This pasta is filling, so come hungry and accompany your meal with a bottle of Montepulciano, eat like an Abruzzese!

Fara San Martino is a small town located in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region and known as ‘La capitale della Pasta” (The Capital of Pasta). Sited at the gates of the Maiella National Park, the town is entirely surrounded by green nature. Therefore, it is also a tourist destination for hikers, thanks to its favorable location for access to the natural areas of the territory.

It is known as the city of pasta for the many pasta factories in the area. Fara San Martino showed a strong entrepreneurial determination during the nineteenth century, turning what was an ancient tradition of pasta-making, into an industrial production to share throughout Italy and the rest of the world.

A comune older than Rome, Sulmona was one of the principal cities of the Paeligni, one of the ancient Italic tribes. Sulmona is rich with both ancient and modern history.

Today it is most known for the home of the Italian confectionery known as confetti. These are sugar-coated almonds and are traditionally given to friends and relatives on weddings and other special occasions. Confetti can be eaten or simply used as decoration. The local artisans also color these candies and craft them into flowers and other creations. There are two main factories in town and several shops that sell these items, the most famous of which is named Pelino, and is sold all around the world.

The name 'Sulmona' may seem familiar to Boston residents. A family owned butcher in Boston's North End has the same name. Their family immigrated from this town and named their butcher shop Sulmona to commemorate it.

Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park is Italy's second oldest national park, established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in neighboring regions Lazio and Molise, Lazio to the west where Rome is located, and Molise to the south.

It is the largest national park within the Apennines. The Apennine Mountains are also known as the spine of Italy, as it ranges down the middle of the country from the north to south.

This park has an important role in the preservation of species such as the Italian wolf, the Abruzzo chamois, and the iconic but critically endangered Marsican brown bear. Other regional animals of the park are red deer and roe deer, wild boar and the white-backed woodpecker.

There are many mountains, valleys, villages, and rivers located within the national park. Great for hiking or adventuring through with a car. You will most likely drive through a part of the park on the way in or out of Pescara. If you have some extra time, go for an adventure!

Scanno is a town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is one of 'I Borghi più belli d'Italia' ("The most beautiful villages of Italy" a list of villages from the Tourism Council).

Other than its mountainside beauty, Scanno is well known for its unique handmade jewelry, and above all its heart-shaped lake. Local legend has it that Scanno's natural lake was created by a feud between a white witch and a sorcerer; the lake marking the spot where the witch finally fell.

This is a great village to stop by on your way to or from Rome, since it is not too far out of the way.

The Maiella National Park protects a vast area of high mountains in the Abruzzo Apennines between the provinces of Chieti, L'Aquila and Pescara.

The karstic nature of the rocks makes it a place rich in caves, where animals hibernate and where people have built hermitages and places of worship.

Crossing its plateaus nestled between imposing mountains is an exciting experience, which can also be enjoyed on a spectacular railway route known as the Trans-Siberian Railway of Italy.

The two most beautiful caves are the Cavallone, in the Vallone di Taranta, a karstic complex 1.3 kilometers long and with abundant stalagmites and stalactites, open to visitors. Then there is the Grotta Nera (Black Cave), in the Pennapiedimonte area, which is only accessible to a few experts, for conservation reasons.

The Maiella has always been beloved by monks and hermits, who have built some twenty rock sanctuaries in the most spectacular locations, such as San Bartolomeo in Legio (Roccamorice), set in the rock and accessed through a tunnel carved into the mountain.

Another great area for hikers and nature-lovers.