BEST FOR VIEWS CAPO PELORO, SICILY
Capo Peloro sits where the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas swirl into each other, at the north-eastern tip of Sicily. Spilling out in front of the village, the beach — anature reserve — is a wide, flat expanse of sand, unfurling beneath a mammoth electricity pylon, which was once the tallest in the world. Dolphins frolic in the crystalline waters and swordfish pass through the strait in summer, while the Calabrian coast looms on the horizon.
Where to stay: The slick, modern Capo Peloro Hotel is only 300ft from the sea. From €75 (£64), B&B. capopelorohotel.com
BEST FOR NATURE MARINA DI ALBERESE, TUSCANY
If you're after something wilder, head to the Maremma area, near the border with Lazio. Here, deep within the Maremma regional park, you can cycle through buffalo fields to find a pine
