Although not as popular with tourists as neighbouring Tuscany and Umbria, Le Marche is blessed with beautiful hill towns as far as the eye can see. With the soaring peaks of the Sibillini Mountains on one side and the beaches of the Conero and Palm Riviera on the other, it also has two historic cities which are a must to visit: the ducal city of Urbino and beautiful Ascoli Piceno down in the south of the region.

Ancona, its capital, is a port city on the Riviera del Conero, an area full of sandy coves, limestone cliffs and medieval villages; and Pesaro, another coastal town, is the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini.