Photo by Carsten Steger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where to stay on the Riviera
Hotels on the Riviera Romagnola
Choosing a hotel on the Riviera starts with the area for the stay. The nine resorts are spread out and divided into districts with markedly different characters: in Rimini, Torre Pedrera and Miramare are about fifteen kilometres apart, and holidays at either end are different experiences.
The scale of the accommodation offer
For 2025, the Servizio Statistica della Regione Emilia-Romagna records 2,723 hotel establishments, meaning hotels and apartment hotels, with around 189,900 beds in the Riviera's seven Emilia-Romagna municipalities: Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica, Bellaria Igea Marina, Misano Adriatico, Cesenatico and Cervia, which includes Milano Marittima. The five municipalities in the province of Rimini alone have 2,063 hotel establishments. Comparable data are unavailable for Gabicce Mare in the Marche.
The most common category is three-star, including three-star superior: 1,636 hotels out of 2,723. Most hotels are seasonal, according to their declared opening pattern: the share ranges from 71% in Rimini to 96% in Bellaria Igea Marina (calculated from Regione data).
Only some open outside summer: according to a Regione press release of 6 May, over 1,500 Riviera hotels with around 120,000 beds were open during the week of the 1 May 2026 holiday period.
Areas, resort by resort
The areas for hotels in Rimini are the most varied. The city's tourism portal lists Torre Pedrera, Viserbella, Viserba, Rivabella and San Giuliano Mare north of Marina Centro; to the south are Bellariva, Marebello, Rivazzurra and Miramare, where the airport is also located. Marina Centro is the seaside area corresponding to the historic centre, which Viale Principe Amedeo links to the sea, with the canal harbour and Parco del Mare. The same portal describes Torre Pedrera, 7 kilometres from the historic centre, as a seaside resort for families and children, and Viserba, about 4 kilometres away, as a quiet holiday destination.
The areas for hotels in Riccione are those distinguished by the Comune from the Misano border towards Rimini: Abissinia and Terme to the south; Centro around Viale Ceccarini and Piazzale Roma; Alba north of the harbour; and Marano at the northern end. Riccione Paese is inland of the railway on Via Flaminia, with Castello degli Agolanti on the hill.
For hotels in Cattolica, the city's tourism portal groups properties into three areas, Centro, Zona nord and Zona sud, without defining their boundaries. Along the sea, Levante runs from the marina to Via Fiume, and Ponente from Via Fiume to the mouth of the Conca; in Ponente, hotels in Via Carducci are separated from the beach by a pedestrian walkway about five metres wide.
In Cesenatico, the canal harbour divides the town into Levante and Ponente; for hotels in Cesenatico, the Comune portal groups properties into Centro, Levante, Ponente, Valverde, Villamarina, Zadina and Periferia. Valverde is 1.5 kilometres from the centre and canal harbour, Villamarina 3; according to the Regione, they have many accommodation properties used mainly by families with children. Zadina, north towards Cervia and about 2 kilometres from the centre, has around 5 hectares of woodland beside the beach.
According to the Comune portal, hotels in Cervia are in four coastal resorts along nine kilometres of beach: Cervia, with its historic centre and canal harbour; Pinarella and Tagliata, with the pinewood between the beach and built-up areas; and Milano Marittima. The Terme, at Via Forlanini 16, are in the pinewood area, inland from the seafront.
Hotels in Milano Marittima occupy the garden city designed in 1912: hotels, holiday colonies and villas were built from 1927 between the sea and pinewood. Rotonda Primo Maggio is the heart of the resort, and the Comune places evening life in the centre, between the Rotonda, Viale Gramsci and Viale Milano.
Hotels in Bellaria Igea Marina are divided between the two resorts separated by the mouth of the Uso, developed as a canal harbour: Bellaria to the north and Igea Marina to the south towards Rimini, each with its own railway station. In Bellaria, Isola dei Platani is the pedestrian area starting at Piazzale Gramsci, opposite the station.
Among the areas for hotels in Misano Adriatico, the seaside centre is arranged around Piazzale Roma. Along the coast, about three kilometres from the Riccione border to the mouth of the Conca, the Comune lists Misano Brasile, Parco Mare Nord, Misano Sud and, at the southern end towards Cattolica, Portoverde, with its marina and Piazza Colombo. The hill districts of Misano Monte, at 97 metres above sea level, and Scacciano offer an alternative in the hinterland.
The area for hotels in Gabicce Mare has two levels: Gabicce Mare below, beside the sea, and Gabicce Monte above, a village at 150 metres above sea level according to the Comune, with Vallugola bay a little further on. In summer, a public tourist train and shuttle climb to Gabicce Monte; in 2026, the shuttle took about five minutes from Via Battisti.
How to choose
Official sources give distances from the centre in kilometres for only some districts: in Rimini, 7 kilometres for Torre Pedrera and around 4 for Viserba; in Cesenatico, 1.5 for Valverde and 3 for Villamarina. Areas described by the portals as family-friendly or quiet include Torre Pedrera and Viserba in Rimini, Valverde and Villamarina in Cesenatico, and Pinarella and Tagliata in Cervia.
The Comuni document evening life mainly in central areas: Marina Centro in Rimini, Piazzale Roma and Piazzale Ceccarini in Riccione, and Rotonda Primo Maggio and Viale Gramsci in Milano Marittima.
Dates, room types and included services vary between offers.
Included meals and services
Half board includes breakfast and one main meal; full board adds the second meal. All inclusive has no official definition in regional legislation or the Codice del turismo: each property specifies what its offer includes. For mobility requirements, the guide to accessible hotels distinguishes rooms, shared spaces and the route to the beach.
www.alberghi.it is available to compare properties and availability in the different coastal resorts.
Sources: Regione Emilia-Romagna, Servizio Statistica, Analisi territoriale dell'offerta turistica 2025 (provincial details), and press release of 6 May 2026 on the 1 May holiday period; Regione Emilia-Romagna, accommodation regulations and delibera 1753/2016 on price lists; Codice del turismo, decreto legislativo 79/2011; tourism portals and Comuni websites, resort areas and districts; Comune di Gabicce Mare, connections with Gabicce Monte. Accessed on 1 October 2026.