Things To Do in Lido di Camaiore

Italian families make this one of their regular eating places, so you’ll be in good company here. The pizzas are a bit of a star attraction – they’re cooked up in a wood-burning oven and served on a long wooden board. And there’s plenty else, too, like veal dishes, black pasta and sea bass. The friendly staff will help if you’re struggling with the Italian menu – likely as not, they’ll pop you over a complimentary dessert wine later on.

The beach in Lido di Camaiore's studded with places where you pay a fee for sunloungers and parasols. Lots come with changing rooms and showers, as well. Snack bars and prom-side eating places are in good supply. The gentle approach to the sea's great for children, and you can hire pedalos and pattinis – small wooden boats – or have a go at windsurfing.

Lido di Camaiore comes with shops, but designer lovers can’t resist the high-gloss boutiques in Forte dei Marmi, 10 minutes’ drive up the coast. Valentino, Gucci, Prada and Armani are all here waiting. The town also has a very good market on Wednesdays and Sundays at Piazza Marconi, where you can pick up cut-price clothes and bargain-basement shoes along with ceramics and crafts.

Viareggio, about five minutes' drive up the road from Lido di Camaiore, became a holiday playground at the turn of the 20^th century. It was stylish then, and today its Art Deco buildings still stand up to inspection. Stroll along the lengthy promenade, and you’ll see grand hotels and well-preserved cinemas from the Twenties and Thirties. And among the town’s elegant buildings you’ll find Villa Paolina, the old summer residence of Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister.

Composer Giacomo Puccini spent nearly 30 years living in Torre del Lago, about 10 minutes’ drive from Lido di Camaiore, so it’s fitting that this annual festival's held close to his villa on the banks of the Lago di Massaciuccoli. Performances of Madame Butterfly, La Boheme and Tosca are played out at an al fresco theatre on the waterfront.

Lido de Camaiore has a low-key vibe to its evenings, so settle into one of the laidback bars with a bottle of wine or a glass of chilled prosecco. You’re close to some livelier action if you want it, though. Either side of you, at Marina di Pietrasanti and Viareggio – both just five minutes’ drive away – there are some great waterfront discos that pull in a jet-set crowd.

Pontile translates to jetty – which is exactly where you’ll find this waterfront café-bar-restaurant. People who’ve been here say it’s like being on a yacht, right out on the water and with the Apuan Alps in the distance. It’s a popular place to enjoy an aperitif – whether it’s a gin and tonic or a bellini – as the sun starts to set and soft music fills the air.