Tropea

Tropea is an old town standing on a sandstone cliff about 60 m above one of the best beaches in the Mediterranean, on the stretch of Calabrian coast called the Costa degli Dei. The former island monastery of Santa Maria dell'Isola sits on its own rock just offshore, joined to the shore by the sand. On a clear evening Stromboli is visible on the horizon, and it sometimes puts on a show. The town has been comprehensively discovered by Italian holidaymakers and is now busy in August and quiet for the rest of the year.

For the beach and the cliff, which are genuinely as good as the photographs; for red onions, which have DOP status here and are sweet enough to eat raw; and because Calabria is still one of the cheapest and least-visited coasts in Italy.

Things to do

• Santa Maria dell'Isola — A former Benedictine sanctuary on its own rock, reached by steps from the beach, with gardens behind it.
• The belvederes — Piazza Cannone and the Largo Duomo terraces — down onto the beach, out at the Isola, and on a clear evening, Stromboli.
• Tropea cathedral — Norman, twelfth-century, with two unexploded WWII bombs displayed inside as votive objects.
• Capo Vaticano — Granite headlands and white sand coves 15 minutes south — Grotticelle and Praia i Focu are the two to find.
• A boat along the Costa degli Dei — The cliffs and sea caves are best seen from the water, and half-day trips run from the marina all summer.
• Pizzo and the tartufo — Eat it in Piazza della Repubblica where it was invented, then see the Piedigrotta church carved into the tufa cliff.
• 'Nduja at Spilinga — The village that makes it, 20 minutes up the hill, with an August festival dedicated to it.

3 days in Tropea

1. Day 1 Town and beach

   Old town in the morning — cathedral, the belvederes, the lanes. Down the steps for the beach and Santa Maria dell'Isola in the afternoon. Aperitivo on a terrace at sunset, dinner with red onion and 'nduja.

2. Day 2 The Coast of the Gods

   Drive south to Capo Vaticano for the coves, or take a boat along the cliffs. Late lunch at Santa Domenica. Evening back in Tropea.

3. Day 3 North and inland

   Pizzo for the castle and the tartufo, then inland to Spilinga and the Poro plateau, or further to Scilla's Chianalea and the strait.

Practical

Best time to go

June and September are ideal — the sea is warm from June to early October and the town is not full. July and August are packed with Italian families and prices roughly double. From November to March much of the town closes, though the coast in winter light is beautiful and empty.

Getting there

Lamezia Terme (SUF) is the airport, about an hour by road, with summer charter traffic from across Europe. Tropea has its own station on the coastal line from Lamezia (about 1h). A car is genuinely useful for the rest of the Costa degli Dei and the Sila.

Getting around

The old town is small and walkable; the beach is down a long flight of steps or a winding road from it, which matters if you have luggage or limited mobility. Buses along the coast are seasonal and infrequent — a car makes Capo Vaticano and Pizzo easy.

Eat & drink

Cipolla rossa di Tropea in everything — raw in salad, in marmalade, in a tart. Then 'nduja, the soft spreadable chilli salami from Spilinga just inland; swordfish; fileja pasta; and pecorino del Poro. Pizzo, 30 minutes north, invented the tartufo — a chocolate and hazelnut ice-cream ball with a molten centre — and still does it best. Cirò is the local red.

Know before you go

The main beach is reached by steps and is packed by 10:00 in August; the smaller coves at Capo Vaticano need a car. Santa Maria dell'Isola has restricted hours and a climb. Calabrian roads inland are slow and the SS18 along the coast is busy in summer. Out of season, check that a restaurant is actually open before walking there.