Practical Information for visiting Ancona

Ancona is the best-connected city in the Marche and the region's gateway in every direction.

The station is on the Bologna–Lecce Adriatic main line, with direct trains to Bologna in about two hours and to Rome in around three and a half via Falconara and Foligno.

The port runs ferries to Greece, Croatia and Albania, seasonally heavy and much reduced in winter.

The airport at Falconara, about fifteen kilometres northwest, has a modest schedule of European routes and a rail connection.

By road, the A14 runs along the coast; Urbino is about an hour and a quarter and Ascoli Piceno about an hour and a half.

Coaches serve Rome and the inland towns.

Coverage for mobile networks is good throughout the city and on the Conero.

Ancona is a normal Italian city and is safe, with the caveats that apply to any port.

Petty theft around the station, the port and the ferry queues is the main issue; watch luggage while waiting to board, which is when people are distracted and tired.

Some streets near the port are run-down and feel uninviting after dark; they are unpleasant rather than dangerous, and the usual sense applies.

The port itself is an operating freight terminal with heavy vehicle movements. Walk only where pedestrians are directed.

The city is seismically active — there was a damaging earthquake in 1972 — and parts of the hillside are geologically unstable, with monitored and fenced zones.

On the Conero, the cliffs are friable, rockfall onto beaches happens, and some coves are closed for that reason. Respect the signs.

Swimming below the cliffs means currents and no lifeguard on the smaller beaches.

Emergency services are reached on 112.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed; standards are those of Italy generally.

The city is steep, with long staircases linking the levels; the lower town along the corso and the port is flat and easy.

Summer humidity is the real discomfort here rather than raw heat, particularly at night in the lower city.

On the Conero, the descents to the beaches are long, rough and unshaded; the walk back up in August catches people out every summer.

Jellyfish appear along this coast in some summers and are a nuisance rather than a danger.

Ancona has the regional referral hospital, Torrette, with a full emergency department, and a second hospital in the city; provision here is the best in the Marche.

Pharmacies operate a published night and holiday rota.

EHIC and GHIC cards are accepted; travel insurance is worth having, particularly if you are taking a ferry onward.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, reaching police, ambulance and fire, generally with English-speaking operators.

Other numbers still in use: 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire.

The Ospedali Riuniti di Torrette, on the western edge of the city, is the regional referral hospital with a full emergency department; a second hospital operates in the centre.

For incidents at sea, the coastguard is reached on 1530 or through 112.

Report thefts to the Carabinieri or the Polizia, both with stations in the city and a post at the port, for the report an insurer will require.

As a regional capital and a port, Ancona hosts consular representation for several countries, mostly honorary; embassies are in Rome, about three and a half hours away.

Ferry passengers with problems boarding should deal with the operator at the maritime station rather than the port authority.