The Best of Le Marche ItalyLe Marche is perhaps the most picturesque region of Italy. Discover my guide to the best of le Marche. From San Leo to Ascoli Piceno I’ll show you the places the tourists haven't yet discovered. 
Le Marche Italy is located on the East Italian coast, sandwiched between the Appenines and the Adriatic, halfway down the boot. Le Marche, like Piedmont, has really begun to open up with the onset of cheap flights and with many wonderful and great value hotels in Le Marche bargains are a lot easier to find here than in most other Italian regions. Where to Begin? The Marches, to give the region its English name, is a scenically beautiful region of Italy and one rich in tradition and history. Best of all is that it is still relatively unknown outside of Italy and ten years ago it was part of Italy that was completely new to me. My discovery of the region happened about a year after moving to Piedmont in the north of Italy. Some friends suggested that my wife and I join them on a holiday and together we decided to rent a house in le Marche. The house we rented is still there and is now available on my site (see the third house on this page). Since then my love for this region has continued to grow, this area and Piedmont are the places in Italy that I know best and love most. I now visit often and have good friends here. In fact the wonderful handmade shoes I offer elsewhere on this site are made by one of these friends. His family, as is so common in le Marche, have been doing the same thing for generations. This part of Italy is essentially a microcosm of Italy, the best of le Marche encompasses all the best aspects of Italian living. The region is characterized by small intimate cities like Ancona, Ascoli Piceno and Macerata, none larger than, 100,000 inhabitants. The Le Marche Coast
The coastline of 180kms consists of some of the best Italian beaches.The best Le Marche beach region is near Ancona, the completely unspoiled nature reserve of Monte Conero , known in Italy as the “Riviera del Conero”. A magical land of azure sea lapping gently onto beaches of ivory sand. Many of the beaches can only be reached by boat or by hiking or cycling to the beaches through the surrounding oak forests. Base yourself in Portonovo to explore this region. Ancona is often your place of arrival with many great value flights to Italy arriving here. By the way for a great Italian airport map and other useful information/maps etc visit goitaly.about.com. Though I am getting a little off subject their guides to regions like Molise are great. Back to Ancona - the city is okay and if you stay overnight make sure you eat at the Ristorante Osteria Teatro Strabacco featured in my Restaurant Guide. My Favourite TownsWhere to Stay in Le Marche Apart from renting your own home there are some really lovely hotels in Le Marche. First is the quite incredible Relais Villa Giulia (click here for more), a hotel, a home and a place where ones dreams and hopes seem magically restored and where a sense of happiness seems to pervade the very atmosphere. Amongst the other hotels that we believe qualify as amongst the best of Le Marche I really must mention the Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi a quite superb hotel in a lovely setting. Lastly I include the
Ca Virginia Country House
, although not really a "traditional" hotel the Ca Virginia is a delightful place to stay and very good value too. Once you visit the Marche you will keep coming back until you eventually buy a holiday home here. Le Marche will change your life forever!!! Subscribe FOR FREE to my monthly newsletter, My Piedmont and Marche Top Tips. The latest about Italy straight to your inbox!
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