Rent a Car in Rimini

Rimini's historic centre — the Arco d'Augusto, the Tempio Malatestiano, the old fishing quarter of Borgo San Giuliano — is small enough to cover on foot, and the famous 15 km beach promenade is best explored by bike or on foot too. But Rimini is also the natural base for a string of day trips that a car makes far easier: the independent Republic of San Marino, perched on Monte Titano, is about 25 km inland, and Ravenna, with its UNESCO-listed Byzantine mosaics, is roughly 50 km up the coast.

Inland Romagna rewards drivers too — San Leo's clifftop fortress, the vineyards around Predappio, and the spa town of Bagno di Romagna are all within an hour or so, none of them well served by train. And the rest of the Riviera Romagnola — Riccione, Cattolica, Cesenatico — strings out along the coast road, making a rental car the easiest way to compare beach towns without depending on the summer-only local bus network.