After attending once again the Travel Bloggers Event at TTG held in Rimini, we decided to spend a little time exploring this coastal city. It was not an easy decision. Rimini that we knew (though only by reputation) was related with the worst aspects of mass tourism. It was definitely a place that we never expected to find ourselves. The fact that it was off season (the second week of October) and of course our curiosity helped us change our mind. And we didn’t regret it!
We arrived at Rimini following the coastal road. It was rainy and gloomy and we didn’t have many expectations. Besides it was late evening and all we were looking for was a quiet place to stay overnight. Luckily there were plenty of places to park and as we noticed free of charge! It seems that after 30 September the tourist season ends and the parking lots near the coast are free for all. We found easily our little corner [44.06641,12.58124], looking forward to the next day to go to explore the town. Yes, beyond the endless array of hotels, restaurants and cafes, there is a town as well situated in a distance of 10 minutes walking from the beach! And it’s a normal town, beautiful and very lively, that has nothing to do with mass tourism. This was quite a surprise for us too…
We woke up to a nice surprise: it was an almost summer day! In less than a quarter of an hour walk we arrived at the center and began to wander, discovering both the Roman and Medieval periods of Rimini town thanks to the handy map that we took at the tourist information office. The only discordant note was the 50 years-old skyscraper, which despite being a ‘vintage’ piece of the city, it has nothing to do with the rest of the image.
Soon we realise that Rimini is a real town, very different from the tourist area of the seaside promenade. There are shops, restaurants and cafes for normal people (not tourists), squares, monuments, museums etc. Of course it is not gorgeous judging by italian standards. If we want to be fair, it’s rather cute… Anyway, do not miss the bridge of Tiberius and the nearby village of San Giuliano, the old fishing district. It’s a picturesque neighborhood with small houses decorated with fanciful frescoes, many of which are dedicated to Federico Fellini, Rimini’s most famous child.
Rimini seems to be also very active culturaly. We had the opportunity to visit two exhibitions both very interesting (till 25 October, free entrance). “The Bathers” in the FAR (it means Fabbrica Arte Rimini) is not to be missed! The photo exhibition ‘Foto d’ Autunno’, hosted in various venues around the city including the City’s Museum (Museo della Città), provides a nice overview of different photographers.
I found also the idea of exposing in various public spaces the controversial posters made by Maurizio Cattelan ‘Saluti da Rimini’ very interesting.
I conclude this post on our first visit in Rimini, with a very positive note: we have seen dozens of restaurants offering vegetarian and vegan menus or even dedicated to this kind of alimentation with clearly stated what it does not contain animal products. It is the first time that we find in Italy a place so respectful of our eating habits, they would take maybe an example in the rest of the country, that from this point of view has remained far behind Northern Europe.
A few words about the camping area in Via Roma [44.06059,12.57673]. The location is great though a bit noisy, but it is close to the sea and also to the city center. The prices are decent, 10 € / 24 € plus 3 more for electricity) even if it seemed strange that the price are the same in high and low season. In any case we found absurd to pay 2 € to load water and another 2 € to download … I can understand, to a certain point, if one stops just for the camper service, but if you pay for parking should not be included? Well … we decided move to the camping area of San Marino [43.94068,12.44061],which is free and quiet and to take the opportunity to make a little ‘Duty Free’ shopping;)