Tuscany · Lucca
Viareggio
The Versilia capital, a Carnival city on the Tuscan coast that turned into a Belle Époque resort when the railway arrived.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 4.
We’ve tried
What we got up to
Restaurants, walks, swims: the things we actually did in Viareggio, each with the piece we wrote about it.
Where Puccini came to hunt and everyone else came to be left alone: Torre del Lago.
The tordello, the meat-stuffed pasta that is Versilia telling you it isn't Lucca.
The letter
Viareggio got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 29 min from Pisa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 60,618
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J28°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 12°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Viareggio sits at sea level on the Versilia coastal plain, the largest commune on the Tuscan riviera. The first parade ran in 1873, organized by middle-class residents as a float procession down the seafront; the masked protest against tax policy that followed gave the event its character. The mascot's color scheme, red and white, was taken from the beach umbrellas that line the shore, a detail that ties the Carnival's invented figure back to the town's own beach culture rather than to any outside tradition.
The rail link to Lucca and Florence arrived in 1890, and the city turned into a Belle Époque resort in response: the seafront was rebuilt in the ornamented style of that era over the following decades. The Magazzini Duilio 48 along Viale Margherita, together with the promenade's other survivors, mark out where that resort-era rebuilding is still legible today. The city's two identities sit side by side on the same stretch of shore: one built by a rail-borne resort economy, the other by a homegrown winter festival that turned into the town's defining export.
How to get there
From Pisa (PSA), about 44 min by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 1 h 56 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 29 min or Florence 1 h 18 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Pisa, Florence or Genoa?
Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Viareggio is about 36 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Pisa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Passeggiata Liberty
Three-kilometer Belle Époque seafront promenade lined with Stile Liberty villas, cafés and bath houses built between 1890 and 1925.
Cittadella del Carnevale
Sixteen vast hangars where the papier-mâché floats are built year-round, with the Museo del Carnevale and the float-construction workshops open to visitors.
Spiaggia di Viareggio
Ten-kilometer Bandiera Blu beach lined with the original bagni concessions of the Belle Époque, fine sand and shallow seabed.
Caffè Margherita
Seafront café opened 1929 by Galileo Chini, the surviving icon of the promenade's design and once the social center of summer.
Parco di Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli
Regional park around Lago di Massaciuccoli south of the city, with Puccini's villa at Torre del Lago on the lake's eastern shore.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Il Piccolo PrincipeRistorante
Il Piccolo Principe has two Michelin stars, three Gambero Rosso forks (90/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.
RomanoRistorante
One Michelin star for Romano, along with two Gambero Rosso forks (88/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.
Da Miro alla LanternaRistorante
Da Miro alla Lanterna holds one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
9 more places the guides name in Viareggio
Il BuonumoreTrattoria
Il Buonumore holds two Gambero Rosso prawns and a Slow Food snail.
LunasiaRistorante
Lunasia holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (88/100).
Giardino di MariRistorante
Giardino di Mari holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Henri RestaurantRistorante
Henri Restaurant has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Il PortoRistorante
Il Porto has one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100) to its name.
MaMe RestaurantRistorante
MaMe Restaurant has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Pesciolino BriacoTrattoria
Pesciolino Briaco holds two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Pivot Bistrò di MareBistrot
Two Gambero Rosso tables, at Pivot Bistrò di Mare.
Grand Hotel Principe di PiemonteHotel
Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte carries two Michelin Keys, plus a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Viareggio is a city.
- A city of 60,618 people: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 60,618, down 2.9% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Camaiore, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,400 to €4,500 per m² to buy, €7.70 to €13.80 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 95% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Pisa airport (PSA), 44 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 1 h 18 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 200 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and France. There are 284 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 27% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Lucca province ranks 58th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Camaiore, 9 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Pisa, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 82 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Bilingual School Lucca, 20 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.14% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.75% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €13,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Lucca, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.30 and a meal in a pizzeria €10.85.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 15% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
THE CARNIVAL
Running since 1873, with giant papier-mâché floats, drawing half a million spectators each February.
LIBERTY ARCHITECTURE
Three-kilometer Stile Liberty seafront promenade built between 1890 and 1925, including Caffè Margherita and Villa Argentina.
BURLAMACCO
Carnival mascot designed by Uberto Bonetti in 1931, named after the Burlamacca canal and colored like the beach umbrellas.
Common questions
- What is Viareggio known for?
- Viareggio is the Versilia capital, a Carnival city on the Tuscan coast that turned into a Belle Époque resort when the railway arrived.
- Where is Viareggio?
- Viareggio is a comune in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany, at 2 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Viareggio?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pisa (PSA), about 44 min by car.
- Can you get to Viareggio without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Viareggio?
- About 29 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Viareggio?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Viareggio?
- Camaiore, Torre Annunziata and Carrara.
- How many people live in Viareggio?
- 60,618 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Viareggio a good place to live?
- Viareggio is a city of 60,618 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. The nearest national health service hospital is in Camaiore, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 95% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 2 m
- Population: 60,618
- Surface area: 32.42 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Viareggio appears in
- The 6 best coastal towns inside a nature park in TuscanyTuscanycoastalinside a park6 towns · smallest 12,301 residents
- The 6 best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of LuccaLucca provinceserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 4,402 residents
- The best beach towns within 90 minutes of PisaNear Pisaclean beachwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 6,666 residents · closest 29 min away
- The best coastal towns inside a nature park within 90 minutes of PisaNear Pisacoastalinside a parkwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 3,201 residents · closest 29 min away
- The best coastal towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencecoastalwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 6,666 residents · closest 78 min away
- The 7 best towns inside a nature park that have a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyinside a parkserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 2,898 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 70.
Seravezza
Province: Lucca
The Versilia town where Michelangelo opened the Pope's marble quarries and Cosimo I built his summer palace.
14 km away
- Written about. No. 2.
Camaiore
Province: Lucca
The Versilia commune that runs from the mountains to the sea, a Roman Campus Maior on the Via Francigena with a beach at its western end.
22 min by car
- Written about. No. 3.
Pietrasanta
Province: Lucca
The marble-processing town under the Apuan Alps, worked by Michelangelo, Henry Moore, Joan Miró and Fernando Botero.
22 min by car
The letter
Viareggio got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.