The grand-hotel section of the Rimini beach is where the Adriatic Riviera as a concept began. The Grand Hotel Rimini — opened 1908, the building that haunts every Fellini film — still stands at the centre, and the surrounding streets are full of belle-époque pensiones, gelaterias, and the original seafront promenade, the Parco del Mare.
This is the most pleasant strip of the long beach: a public park along the water, less of the relentless beach-club grid that dominates the southern Marina, and walking distance back to the old town. The summer evening passeggiata is the social event of the day.