Camping Bosco Verde

This is lively – and sandy – land, as Camping Bosco Verde is only a kilometre from the famed nightlife and beaches of Torre del Lago, the small but buzzing town between Lake Massaciuccoli and the sea. Reach the beach via a scenic 15-minute stroll through the local pine forest, or drive a short distance to other acclaimed sandy stretches around the Versilia area, such as Lecciona, between Migliarino and San Rossore, and the long mainly uncrowded strip of Vecchiano, surrounded by the San Rossore Park (part of the Natural Park of Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli). Opera fans who aren't around for the Puccini Festival in July and August can instead drive the short way to the Puccini Museum, the sixteenth-century home where the composer was born; it's open to visitors by appointment to see his piano and several of his manuscripts. A local must is Pisa, home of the famously wonky tower as well as the other Campo dei Miracoli sites of the Duomo, Baptistry and Camposanto.