Lying on Italy's Adriatic coast, the little town of Gabicce Mare is in the very north of Le Marche region on the border with neighbouring Emilia-Romagna. You'll often see Marche Anglicised as 'the Italian Marches', incidentally. The town of 5000 or so people lies 12km or so north of Pesaro and was, until quite recently a quiet fishing town. The miles of sandy beaches along this coast (and Gabicce Mare Lido has a number of Blue Flag beaches) has seen it surge in popularity as a holiday resort though.
Nearby towns include Cattolica, Pesaro and Gradara. The little landlocked country of San Marino is just north of here, and you have the beautiful countryside of Le Marche and Emilia-Romagna to discover. Inland, check out Urbino, one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance, and with some superb museums, galleries and churches. Other notable sights in Marche include the ancient hilltown of San Leo, the Conero Promontory, and the walkers' and climbers' heaven of the Monti Sibillini (mountains). Marche has excellent cuisine, with seafood featuring strongly thanks to the long coastline, and marvellous rustic cooking. Typical ingredients are tomato, fennel, mushrooms, rabbit and lamb. Whole roast suckling pig (porchetta) is Marche's signature dish, while the classic wines of the region include the white Verdicchio and the red Rosso Conero.
To the left you'll find a selection of hotels, to get you in the mood
- see also our full listings of Gabicce Mare hotels.