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The clifftop town of Tropea in southern Italy has been named one of the Borghi Più Belli d’Italia (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy), and in 2021 it was awarded the Borgo dei Borghi title—the most beautiful of all the villages.
This Calabrian town is often described as a hidden gem, mostly because, I believe, North Americans haven’t heard of it, and it doesn’t get the hordes of tourists that the Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre do.
But it is certainly no longer undiscovered, at least by Europeans, and was surprisingly busy during our week-long trip in early October.
Tropea is beautiful, though, with a pretty historic centre and a dramatic location overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, with views of the Stromboli volcano in the distance.
For us, the highlight was the beaches along the surrounding Costa degli Dei (Coast of the Gods), with white pebbly sand and crystal-clear sea.
In this post, I share the best things to do in Tropea, including our favourite beaches and food, and why we loved staying out of town.
At the end, you’ll find a Tropea map with all our recommendations.
Contents
- Where is Tropea, Italy?
- Best Things to Do in Tropea
- What to Skip (Maybe)
- Map of Tropea, Italy
- Is Tropea Worth Visiting?
- More South Italy Tips
Where is Tropea, Italy?
Tropea is located in the region of Calabria in southern Italy—at the toe of Italy’s boot that points toward Sicily.
The nearest airport is Lamezia Terme International Airport (SUF), about an hour’s drive away.
We flew there with TUI from London Gatwick. Other budget airlines fly from across Europe.
It’s a small and chaotic airport—expect long waits if you are flying outside the Schengen Area.
You can take a train to Tropea, but services aren’t very frequent (check Trenitalia).
Renting a car gives you more freedom to explore the area. We used Booking Car Rentals to find the best deal and booked with Autovia with no problems.
Parking in Tropea. Almost all parking in Tropea and the nearby beaches is paid (often €2 an hour). White lines on the road are free; blue lines are paid. The Easypark app is the easiest way to pay but can be more expensive than the machines.
Best Things to Do in Tropea
1) Wander the Historic Centre
Tropea’s small historic centre sits on a clifftop above the sea, with the beaches a 5-10 minute walk downhill.
It’s a typical Italian town with narrow lanes, cobbled streets, ancient buildings, and charming piazzas.
The central vein is the pedestrianised main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele. We found that its many tourist shops reduced its appeal, so we preferred to head down the side streets.
The centre is much quieter in the mornings (before tour groups arrive at 9.30am), and we found that the best time to wander.
For a lively atmosphere, visit in the evening to eat and drink outside bars, take a passeggiata (stroll), and listen to live music in the streets.
Tropea doesn’t have many sights, but the most significant is the Cattedrale di Maria Santissima di Romania. This 12th-century Norman cathedral is rather plain inside, but unusually, there are two undetonated WWII bombs just inside the entrance.
A viewpoint overlooks the marina behind the church.
Another more unusual sight is the Scala Letteraria, a colourful staircase celebrating authors from Italy and beyond. It’s near Piazza del Cannone.
Where to Park in Tropea
If we could get a spot, we parked across the road from P Fabrizio Tropea, which is free and a 10-minute walk into the old town.
If not, we drove a little closer to Tropea Parcheggio a Pagamento, which cost €2 an hour with the Easypark app.
2) Enjoy the Views
One of the best things about Tropea’s old town is the panoramic views of the sea, including the distant smoking volcano Stromboli.
Here are the two viewpoints not to miss:
Belvedere Piazza del Cannone
Piazza del Cannone (named after the 18th-century cannon that’s still there) has the best sunset view, but it gets very crowded.
We preferred it during the day when it wasn’t as busy.
You can see the beaches below, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola, and Stromboli if it’s clear.
Bar dell’Isola in the piazza has a good view, especially from the terrace to the right, which overlooks the sanctuary. We went for a tranquil morning coffee (go inside to order).
In the evening, a few stalls sell drinks in the piazza, and the atmosphere is buzzing.
You can find the stairs down to the beach and sanctuary from next to the piazza.
Affaccio del Corso
Affaccio del Corso is a smaller viewpoint at the end of the main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
You can see the sanctuary and the beach.
It’s more difficult to see the sunset here because of the angle, but just afterwards the sky was beautiful.
3) Rent a Boat
Our favourite activity in Tropea was renting a boat for half a day to explore the coastline.
Many places rent out small boats that are easy to drive and don’t require a boat licence.
If you don’t want to be a captain, you could also take a boat tour such as this small group Tropea: Exclusive Boat Excursion on the Costa degli Dei.
We rented from Davideo Beach Noleggio Nautico at Riaci Beach just outside Tropea.
Booking online was easy, and in October it cost €127 for four hours (9am-1pm) on the Nautica Diving 5.30 boat, which had plenty of space for us to sunbathe. Prices are higher in the summer.
After they showed us how the boat worked and gave us a map, we headed off.
We first went up to Tropea to see it from a different perspective, but our main destination was south to Capo Vaticano.
It’s only about 20 minutes from Riaci, so we had plenty of time. We anchored in front of Spiaggia zì Sante e Peppe and Spiaggia Praia I Focu for two hours to swim, snorkel, and relax. The water here is incredible!
4) Try Local Food
Of course, food plays an important part of any Italy trip.
Tropea is best known for its red onions—cipolle di Tropea are much sweeter than standard onions, and you’ll find them in everything: pizza, pasta, chutneys, and even gelato!
Other typical dishes to look out for include peperoncino (red chilli peppers), fileja (long, twisty pasta), and nduja (a spicy, spreadable pork sausage we skipped as vegetarians).
Melanzana (eggplant/aubergine) is also commonly used, especially in Parmigiana.
For dessert, try a tartufo (ice cream ball), although we preferred the one we had in its hometown, Pizzo (see below).
Here are a few places where we enjoyed eating, but there are many options.
- Le Delizie du Monaceu – Typical dishes served on a lovely outdoor terrace down a back street. We enjoyed the parmigiana and the fileja pasta, available with a tomato vegetable sauce and with onions. It fills up fast, so get there at 7 pm when it opens.
- Da Ribaudo – Good pizza that you can eat in or take away. Don’t try to customise the pizzas!
- Donna Maria Gelateria Artigianale – Excellent gelato with a mix of classics and unusual flavours.
5) Walk up to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola is an 11th-century monastery built on a dramatic rock just below the town. It used to be an island but is now connected to the beach.
To visit, you have to climb steep stairs, but you are rewarded with fantastic views, especially lovely at sunset.
The church and gardens aren’t particularly interesting, but the view is worth it.
Entrance is €3.
6) Hike to Undeveloped Beaches
What we most love about the Tropea area is the surrounding coastline, Costa degli Dei, or Coast of the Gods.
It has some of the best beaches we’ve visited in Italy (even better than Puglia’s beaches) with gorgeous, crystal-clear sea.
The snorkelling is decent too, with plenty of fish to see, so it’s worth bringing a snorkel (or buy one there).
While the sand looks white, it’s usually mixed with small pebbles, so if you have sensitive feet, you might want to bring water shoes.
You can choose from developed beaches with lidos (beach clubs) where you can rent sunbeds and umbrellas, or wilder bays without facilities that you have to hike down to.
These are the undeveloped beaches that we loved:
Spiaggia Michelino
Spiaggia Michelino is located in Parghelia, a 5-minute drive north of Tropea.
Luckily, it was just a 15-minute walk from our apartment, but you can also find blue-line street parking on Locality Michelino outside Pousada Cafè Michelino (a relaxed garden bar with food and drinks).
Access to the beach starts from Scale Spiaggia Michelino—it takes about 7 minutes to walk down the stone stairs. There’s a tap near the top if you need to rinse anything off afterwards.
At the bottom of the stairs, you can go left or right to two small bays with no facilities.
We went left to Spiaggia Parghelia, which was quieter and had some afternoon shade.
The clear water was so inviting, and we saw plenty of fish.
Spiaggia La Marinella (Paradiso del Sub)
Spiaggia La Marinella is also known as Paradiso del Sub (Diver’s Paradise), so bring a snorkel.
It’s the quietest beach we visited because it’s harder to access. It’s in Zambrone, about 15 minutes north of Tropea.
You can park at Parcheggio Stazione, but in October there were plenty of blue-line spaces on the road from the station to the start of the trail, and parking was free at this time of year.
Parking can be a challenge in summer, though.
On the road from the station, head to Sottopassaggio ferroviario per accesso spiaggia La Marinella. There’s a sign for the beach there where you go through a tunnel.
Continue following the signs (look for Accesso sentiero spiaggia La Marinella di Zambrone on Google Maps).
It takes about 15-20 minutes from the car park to the beach down a sandy path and stairs. The trail wasn’t bad, but avoid wearing flip-flops.
The first small beach you come to is the busiest. We climbed over rocks on the right to reach the next bay, which is larger and quieter. There’s another beach beyond that’s even quieter.
There are no facilities, so take anything you need.
Cliffs back the beaches, and it feels isolated. It’s a relaxing, scenic spot.
7) Relax at a Beach Club
A typical Italian beach experience involves renting an umbrella and sunbeds from a lido or beach club. In high season, you can barely see the sand for all the umbrellas.
While they aren’t as idyllic as the undeveloped bays we visited, beaches with lidos are easier to visit.
You can often drive right up (if you can get parked), the beds are comfortable, and you’ve got shade.
They often have food, drinks, toilets, showers, and water-sports rentals.
You can find beach clubs all along the coast, but here are a few ideas:
- Spiaggia Mare Grande and Spiaggia della Rotonda in Tropea are most convenient if you are staying in town. See the What to Skip section below for why we’re not fans.
- Vardano Beach – Close to our apartment, we enjoyed this quiet end of the beach that starts by Tropea’s marina. Lido La Scogliera sounded good but was closed in October. You can also climb over rocks or swim to the quiet cove on the right, Spiaggia di Vardanello.
- Grotticelle Beach in Capo Vaticano – We enjoyed a relaxing day there (see below).
- Riaci Beach – This is where we rented a boat, and it looked like a great drive-up beach with lidos and water sports.
8) Visit Capo Vaticano
The most beautiful part of the coast is Capo Vaticano, about 25 minutes south of Tropea.
This rugged 7km coastline features dramatic granite cliffs and secluded bays that you can only reach by boat.
We visited the area twice for very different experiences.
By Boat
The first time, we rented a boat (see above) and anchored in the small coves of Spiaggia zì Sante e Peppe and Spiaggia Praia I Focu to swim, sunbathe, and enjoy the wonderful views.
Grotticelle Beach
We also visited Grotticelle Beach, which is the most developed beach in Capo Vaticano.
We rented sunbeds for a relaxing afternoon, but you can also hire a pedalo or kayak to reach the quieter bays we visited by boat.
Grotticelle Beach gets crowded, so we went right around the rocks on a sandy path to a quieter bay.
We rented an umbrella and two beds (€20 in October) from the first lido, Bagno MareService – El Chiringuito.
They also have a beach bar with sandwiches (with a vegan grilled vegetable option), a shower, and water sports rentals (although they ran out of kayaks in the afternoon).
There is no toilet, though, so you have to go back to the main beach for those.
It’s a lovely beach backed by beautiful cliffs with clear water and schools of fish to swim amongst.
Where to Park for Grotticelle Beach
There is parking right next to Grotticelle Beach (Parcheggio Grotticelle, Easypark app), but it’s small and was full when we arrived around 1pm.
There’s also blue-line paid parking on the hill on the way down, and further up, free white-line parking.
As that was all full, we went partway back up the hill to “Parcheggio del lido onda blu a pagamento”, a private paid parking lot that charges €15 a day (no hourly rate).
9) Stay in Parghelia
We were really happy we stayed in Parghelia, a village a 5-minute drive north of Tropea.
It was much quieter, more affordable, and we were within walking distance of two beautiful beaches (Vardano and Michelino).
Parghelia village was very quiet in October, and a few restaurants were closed (don’t trust Google Maps), but we could always drive into Tropea if we wanted more choice and a livelier evening atmosphere.
It feels like a normal Italian town—not spectacular but very pleasant. We appreciated some cute details like the character plant pots and decorated benches.
Bar Pepe became our breakfast spot. The cornetti were good and the brioche with pistachio gelato even better (the summer breakfast of champions!). It’s very affordable.
Several restaurants and small shops are in town, too. On Friday mornings, there’s a small street market with produce and homemade preserves.
Where We Stayed: OndaMaris Apartments
We stayed at OndaMaris, a small complex with a good-sized pool and affordable apartments, some with excellent views of Tropea and the sea.
There’s a private path 5 minutes downhill to Vardano beach.
Our one-bedroom apartment was simple but clean and comfortable enough.
We didn’t love the bunk beds taking up space in the living room/kitchen. They weren’t shown in the online photos (it depends which apartment you get), but they would be good for families.
In the end, we loved it due to the location, pool, and our balcony with a fantastic view (especially at sunset).
We booked OndaMaris on Booking.
10) Take a Day Trip to Pizzo
We spent a morning in the seaside town of Pizzo, 35 minutes north of Tropea.
You could also stop there on the way from the airport.
Pizzo’s historic centre is small but pretty. From Public Parking Papa Inferiore (we managed to get a free white line spot), we avoided the busier road and walked on Via San Francesco, then Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, to the main square, Piazza della Repubblica.
At the end of the piazza, there’s a lovely view of the sea and Castello Murat.
The piazza is full of bars selling Pizzo’s famous speciality, tartufo di Pizzo. These are ice cream balls with molten chocolate centres.
The classic version uses chocolate and hazelnut gelato, but we’re not a fan of the cocoa dusting.
Instead, we ordered a coconut version from Gelateria Morino, and it was absolutely delicious!
We also picked up some treats from Fanello Micropanificio, a hole-in-the-wall bakery on the piazza. The owner was intensely friendly and made us a tasty vegetarian sandwich with stracciatella, tomato, rocket, and pistachio cream.
Next, we drove to Chiesa di Piedigrotta, just outside town. This cave church features figures carved into the rock.
It’s an impressive sight, but it’s very small, and tour groups can take up the whole space. Try visiting early.
You reach the church by walking down many stairs from the car park. The church is above a small beach, which looked like a nice spot for a dip (although we found the beaches closer to Tropea more impressive).
Parking costs €5 (pay at a stand), and church entry is also €5.
What to Skip (Maybe)
Visiting in July and August
July and especially August, is prime beach season in Italy, and I don’t recommend visiting Tropea then. Beaches will be packed, lidos fully booked, and parking a challenge.
The beaches were busy enough for us in October.
Late May, June, September, and early October are better times to visit.
We had beautiful 25ºC (77ºF), mostly sunny weather in the first week of October, although it poured on our departure day, so it’s always a risk.
Onion Gelato
Yes, you can buy onion gelato in Tropea, and yes, it’s as bad as it sounds.
Sunset at Piazza del Cannone (if you don’t like crowds)
Piazza del Cannone is the sunset spot in Tropea. But it gets extremely crowded, and you’ll need to arrive early to get a front-row spot.
If you don’t like crowds, I would skip it.
We much preferred watching the sunset from our balcony at OndaMaris.
Tropea’s Beaches (if you have a car)
Tropea’s beaches are the most convenient option if you are staying in town. You can reach them in 5-10 minutes walking down the stairs from the old town.
We weren’t very impressed, though. The main beach, Spiaggia Mare Grande, was extremely busy, even in October, and rammed with lidos.
Spiaggia della Rotonda is quieter and has a lido at one end only, but the beach was half in shadow even late in the morning.
We much preferred the beaches we visited outside Tropea, many within a 5-15 minute drive. See above for our recommendations.
A Day Trip to the Aeolian Islands (if you have more time)
You can take boat tours to the Aeolian Islands from Tropea, but these trips are 12 hours long and cram three islands into one day.
I think the Aeolian Islands deserve more time if you have a few days to spare.
We visited on a separate trip from Sicily, but in summer, you can take a ferry from Tropea.
We loved Stromboli for the sunset volcano hike, and Salina for mountain scenery and quiet rocky coves.
Map of Tropea, Italy
Is Tropea Worth Visiting?
Tropea is definitely worth visiting, but manage your expectations—it’s not an undiscovered gem (even if it’s quieter than the Amalfi Coast), and you won’t have it to yourself.
The historic centre is pretty, but no more beautiful than many other Italian towns.
There’s also not a lot to do beyond the beaches. There aren’t even any hiking trails, besides the short paths to the wilder beaches. For a hiking/beach combo, I still prefer the Italian Riviera in northern Italy.
But if beaches are your focus, Tropea and the surrounding Costa Degli Dei, is one of the best destinations in Italy.
More South Italy Tips
Read our guides to other parts of southern Italy.
Sicily
- The Perfect Eastern Sicily Itinerary: Food, Views and Baroque
- 11 Wonderful Things to Do in Taormina, Sicily
- 18 Best Things to Do in Syracuse, Sicily
- Exploring Peaceful Salina in Sicily’s Aeolian Islands
- A Guide to Hiking Stromboli Volcano
Other South Italy Places
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