A weekend in Cesenatico for two

Cesenatico has a reputation as a family place, and that’s partly true. But it works better for two than you’d expect, as long as you know two things: where to go at what time, and where to eat without the noise. Here’s how we’d fit a weekend together, Saturday and Sunday, without rushing.

Saturday morning: the sea, and the wind if you like

Start with the water. The beach here is wide and the seabed shelves gently, so it’s good even if all you do is read — but if you’d rather move, Cesenatico is sailing country: the local clubs, from the Circolo Vela to the Circolo Nautico, run courses and outings from June to September, and along the seafront you can hire windsurfs, SUPs and canoes.

If you’d rather not plan, the opposite works too: a morning under the umbrella, and decide the rest later.

Saturday afternoon: the pier, slowly

In the afternoon, walk out to the end of the Levante pier. It’s a long walk over the water, with the anglers and the boats coming in, and at the end there’s nothing but open sea. There’s nothing to do out there: that’s exactly the point.

On the way back, the canal harbour is at its best hour — low light on the historic boats with their painted sails, the reflections, the quaysides filling up.

Saturday evening: the long dinner

Here’s the advice that matters. On the canal, on a Saturday night, you eat with someone waiting for your table breathing down your neck: lovely to look at, less so to live.

We’re ten minutes further south, in Villamarina. We buy the fish at the market in the morning, cook it the Romagna way — not much on top, short cooking — and the table stays yours for the evening. A seafood crudo to start, a first course, a bottle: the kind of dinner that makes the trip worth it. Then, if you like, head into town for the walk, when the air is cool and the lights are on.

Sunday morning: the old town

Sunday starts in the centre, which takes a good hour to walk: the Conserve, the old ice pits dug into the ground where fish was kept before refrigerators; the Piazzetta delle Spose dei Marinai, with its bronze statue looking out to sea; the boats of the Maritime Museum moored along the canal.

If you fancy more time on the water, boat trips leave from the piers: out towards the offshore platforms, often crossing paths with dolphins, usually with a fish snack served on board. Departures change with the season and some trips are worth booking.

Sunday afternoon: two wheels and one wheel

The best afternoon is on a bike: take the seafront cycle path to the Parco di Levante, green and shaded, ten minutes from the centre. All flat, no effort.

Before you set off home, ride the Ferris wheel on Piazza Andrea Costa: forty metres, a few minutes, and you see from above everything you’ve done in two days. It runs from late March to the end of September, until midnight; times and prices on the official page.

Two things to know before booking

First: August is packed, and for two it’s far better in June or September — same sea, a town that breathes, and space everywhere without a fight.

Second: if you come by train you can do all of it without a car. The station is close to the centre, and the rest is on foot or by bike.

Quick tips

• Saturday morning: beach; sailing, windsurfing, SUP with the local clubs (Circolo Vela Cesenatico).
• Saturday afternoon: the Levante pier on foot, then the canal harbour in the low light.
• Sunday morning: the Conserve, Piazzetta delle Spose dei Marinai, historic boats; boat trip from the piers.
• Sunday afternoon: cycle path to the Parco di Levante and the Ferris wheel on Piazza Andrea Costa.
• When to come: June or September rather than August.
• Both dinners: La Romantica, Viale Carducci 319, Villamarina — ten minutes from the centre. Book: +39 378 4227433.