The Lungomare Trieste is Salerno's grand waterfront promenade, stretching for several kilometres along the edge of the Gulf of Salerno from the old port to the newer eastern districts. Palm-lined and wide, it is the place where the city exhales at the end of the day: families, couples, elderly men playing cards, teenagers on scooters, gelato vendors. The view across the gulf at sunset — when the water catches the light and the mountains above Amalfi glow on the horizon — is one of the most genuinely beautiful urban vistas in Campania.
The promenade is equally good early in the morning, when joggers and dog-walkers have it largely to themselves and the fishing boats are heading out from the harbour. Along its length are benches, outdoor cafes, a small funfair area in summer, and occasional public art. The gardens along the southern end are planted with tropical and subtropical species that thrive in the mild maritime climate. Unlike the famous promenades of the Amalfi Coast towns, the Lungomare Trieste is built on a human scale — a working city's waterfront, not a tourist set piece — and all the better for it.