Practical Information for visiting Marche

The coast is well served by rail; everything inland needs a car.

Arriving

Ancona Falconara is the regional airport, small and with limited European routes. Many visitors arrive instead through Bologna or Rome, both around three hours away by road. Ferries run from Ancona to Greece, Croatia and Albania.

Trains

The Adriatic main line runs the length of the coast — Pesaro, Fano, Senigallia, Ancona, Civitanova, San Benedetto — and is fast and frequent. Branch lines climb a few of the valleys, reaching Jesi, Fabriano, Macerata and Ascoli Piceno, but they are slow and infrequent. Urbino has no railway station, which surprises people: the connection is by bus from Pesaro or Fano.

Buses

Regional coaches connect the inland towns, including Urbino, but weekend services are sparse.

Driving

• A car is effectively required for Urbino, the Sibillini, the inland valleys and most agriturismi.
• The A14 motorway runs along the coast and is tolled; the SS16 parallels it for free but is slower.
• Travel across the valleys inland is much slower than the distance suggests — allow roughly double.
• Most historic centres have a ZTL, camera-enforced.
• Some mountain roads in the south remain affected by earthquake reconstruction.

Coverage for mobile networks is good along the coast and in the valley towns, and weaker in the mountains.

• Cellular data. 4G covers the inhabited areas well; 5G reaches Ancona, Pesaro and the larger coastal towns. Signal drops in the Sibillini, in the gorges around Frasassi and in the upper valleys.
• SIM cards. TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad. A passport is required by law to buy an Italian SIM. EU visitors keep their home allowance under roaming rules.
• Wi-fi. Standard in hotels and common in bars. Hill agriturismi often have slower connections.
• Power. 230 V, 50 Hz, type L and type F sockets.

Italian is universal. English is spoken in Urbino and the larger coastal resorts, less so in the inland valleys.

• Buongiorno / buonasera — on entering any shop or bar.
• Per favore, grazie, prego.
• Il conto, per favore — the bill, not brought unasked.
• Un tagliere di ciauscolo — a board of the local spreadable salami, the standard thing to order with a glass of wine.
• Il brodetto è per due? — is the fish stew for two? It usually is.

Dialects vary noticeably along the region, reflecting the valley structure: the northern varieties lean toward Romagnolo, the southern toward Abruzzese, and speakers from opposite ends of Marche can find each other hard going. Standard Italian is what everyone uses with outsiders.

Marche is a very safe region with low crime, and the realistic risks are environmental or practical.

• Petty theft is uncommon. It occurs mainly at crowded summer beaches and around Ancona's port and station.
• Vehicle break-ins. Leave nothing visible at trailheads, beach car parks and the Frasassi and Conero parking areas.
• Earthquake zone. Tremors occur, and some inland buildings remain scaffolded or closed since 2016. Barriers around damaged structures are there for a reason.
• Mountain weather. The Sibillini change quickly and are exposed; marked routes assume proper footwear and a map. Rescue call-outs are chargeable.
• Conero cliffs and beaches. Some paths down to the beaches are steep, unstable and occasionally closed after rockfall. Due Sorelle is boat-access only and there is no way to walk out.
• Driving inland. Narrow valley and ridge roads with blind bends; slow down for farm traffic.

Healthcare is good, with the main hospital at Ancona and provincial facilities across the region.

• Emergencies:112. Emergency treatment is provided regardless of nationality.
• EU/EEA and Swiss visitors should carry the EHIC or national equivalent; UK visitors the GHIC. Others need travel insurance, and anyone walking in the Sibillini should confirm it covers mountain rescue.
• Pharmacies (farmacia, green cross) are in every town and post an out-of-hours rota in the window.
• Summer heat inland regularly exceeds 33 °C, and the hill towns involve sustained climbing.
• Accessibility. The hill towns are steep and stepped; Urbino in particular is a demanding walk, though it has lifts connecting the lower car parks to the centre.
• Ticks are present in wooded and grazing areas; check after walking.
• Tap water is safe throughout.

Marche is informal and unfussy, with the usual Italian rules and few regional peculiarities.

Rules with real penalties

• ZTL zones cover most historic centres, camera-enforced, with fines forwarded months later by the rental company.
• Beach concessions. Much of the coast is divided into paid lidi, but free public stretches exist by law and are signposted. Portonovo restricts vehicle access in high summer.
• Moscioli. Harvesting the wild Conero mussels requires a licence; buying them does not.
• National park rules in the Sibillini restrict camping, fires and off-path walking.
• Identification. Hotels must register a passport or ID card at check-in.

Etiquette

• Churches expect covered shoulders and knees. Loreto, as an active pilgrimage site, applies this strictly.
• The afternoon closure is real inland — shops commonly shut from 1pm to 4pm, and some close a weekday.
• Coffee standing at the bar costs less than sitting, at a published rate.
• Tipping is not expected; a coperto is a cover charge.
• Opera festivals. Macerata and Pesaro dress up for the evening performances rather more than a visitor might expect.

112 is the single emergency number across Italy, connecting to police, ambulance and fire. Operators generally handle English. The older numbers — 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire, 1530 coastguard — remain active.

• Coastguard — 1530. Relevant along the Conero coast, where several beaches are boat-access only.
• Mountain rescue — 112. Covers the Sibillini and the Laga. Rescue is chargeable.
• Earthquake information. The INGV publishes seismic activity in real time; tremors are not unusual and are almost always minor.
• Pharmacies on duty — posted in every pharmacy window.
• Consulates. There are none in the region; consular matters are handled from Rome or Bologna.
• Frasassi caves. The guided routes have fixed departure times and a constant temperature of about 14 °C — a jacket is needed whatever the weather outside.