A loft on two levels in Pescara

Pescara's riviera is one long promenade of sand and palm trees, with a cycle path running its full length. At the river mouth it is crossed by the Ponte del Mare, a cable-stayed bridge for people on foot or on bikes: it is where you see the city with the mountains behind it.

From the seafront cycle path a greenway heads south along the old Adriatic railway, through tunnels and past coves, all the way to the Costa dei Trabocchi. The trabocchi are the wooden fishing machines standing in the water that appear in every photograph of Abruzzo: some are restaurants today.

The centre is walkable: Corso Umberto I links the station to the sea, and Piazza della Rinascita, which everyone here calls Piazza Salotto, is where the city meets. Around it are the shops, the cafés and the covered market of Piazza Muzii, which turns into a nightlife spot after dark.

Pescara is Gabriele d'Annunzio's birthplace, and the house where he was born is now a museum in the old town, steps from the main avenue. Nearby, the Pineta Dannunziana is a nature reserve inside the city: Aleppo pines two hundred metres from the beach.

Arrosticini, skewers of mutton, are eaten with your hands and counted by the dozen. Brodetto alla pescarese is the harbour's fish soup, served with toasted bread. To drink, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo at the table, Trebbiano or a chilled Cerasuolo by the sea.

Abruzzo Airport is five kilometres away, a twelve-minute drive, and Pescara Centrale station sits on the Adriatic line, with trains from Bologna, Ancona, Bari and Rome. Once you are here a car is barely needed: the city is flat, you get around on foot or by bike, and parking outside the flat is free.