Lido di Ostia

Lido di Ostia is on the Tyrrhenian coast at the mouth of the Tiber, half an hour from central Rome by train. It is eight kilometres of sand, and it is where the city goes.

The interesting fact is inland. Ostia Antica, Rome's harbour city, sits two kilometres from the present shoreline: the Tiber's sediment has pushed the coast outward by that much since antiquity, and the ancient port that once handled the grain fleet is now a ruin in a field. It is among the best-preserved Roman towns anywhere — streets, apartment blocks, baths, a theatre and mosaics still in place — and considerably less visited than Pompeii.

The modern Lido was built under Fascism as Rome's planned seaside, with rationalist architecture along the front, and it retains that layout. The beach is divided into concession stabilimenti in the Italian manner, with free public sections marked between them, and it is used intensively by Romans rather than by visitors. The Fascist-era plan gave the Lido its grid and its rationalist seafront, and much of that architecture survives intact.

The water is shallow and calm with a gradual entry. Water quality on this stretch has historically been poor because of the Tiber's discharge and has improved with treatment investment; the region publishes bathing assessments and the ratings vary by section, which is worth checking rather than assuming. Fregene and Santa Marinella north of the Tiber are where wealthier Romans go, and Sabaudia south on the Circeo coast has the dunes and the national park.

Rome's beach at the end of a metro line, with the ancient harbour two kilometres inland because the Tiber pushed the coast out from under it. Go to Ostia Antica first — streets, apartment blocks, baths and mosaics in place, and a fraction of Pompeii's crowd. Water quality varies by section and the region publishes it.