The Lungomare is the seafront promenade running south-east from the port for several kilometres. It is not picturesque in the way of Naples or Reggio Calabria — the road is busy, the buildings are mostly twentieth-century — but the views back to Mount Etna and out to the Ionian Sea are excellent.
The Scogliera, the rocky shore at the eastern edge of the city, is where Catanesi swim in summer; the long strand at Playa, south of the port, is for beach umbrellas and sun loungers. Both are reachable on foot from the centre in about half an hour.