One of the busiest seaports on Italy’s Adriatic coast, Ancona is often dismissed as a jumping-off point to explore the surrounding region of Le Marche. Travelers who linger here are rewarded with unsung ancient ruins, stately Romanesque churches, tiny treasure-filled museums, and a dramatic seafront lined with panoramic cliffs and tiny swimming coves. Wine and food tours, cooking classes, and home dining experiences highlighting the area’s excellent cuisine are also among the top things to do in Ancona.
Though Ancona sits on the seaside, tourism does not drive the city, so it remains lively year-round. The warmer days from spring through fall make sightseeing a pleasure, and a dip in the Adriatic is an inviting break. The year's biggest event is the Fiera di San Ciriaco, generally held in early May to celebrate the city’s patron saint. In addition to religious services, the festival includes a sprawling market, live music in the city squares, and street food stands.
Ancona is a busy transport hub, and visitors can arrive by air, sea, rail, or road. Once in the city, you'll find the major sights clustered in the compact old town and easy to visit on foot. You'll need a rental car to explore further down the coastline or inland to the Apennine peaks, as train and bus routes don’t run directly to the top tourist destinations like the Conero Riviera, Urbino, and Ascoli Piceno.
The region of Le Marche is known for its excellent cuisine, and Ancona is no exception. Local dishes feature fresh fish and seafood from the Adriatic prepared with aromatic extra-virgin olive oil and washed down with light trebbiano and verdicchio white wines. Try specialties like brodetto all'anconetana (fish stew), bombetti in porchetta (sea snails is a garlic tomato sauce), potato and cod stoccafisso all’anconetana, and local razor clams and mussels.
