Cinquale is 6km further south and is more residential. It is quieter, less village-like, more up-market due to its proximity to Forte dei Marmi (3km down the road). 

More suitable for those with a car, since public transport around Cinquale is poor, if not nil. Again, bicycles are easily hired and the countryside near the sea is totally flat.

Cinquale has a smattering of trattorias and restaurants (several excellent ones), a bank, a Post Office, a chemist, various shops including grocers and green grocers, and bars.

Distance from Massa Centro train station to Cinquale: 7 km
Distance from Pisa airport: 48 km.

The features that go towards making this an - almost ! - perfect holiday choice are often not mentioned at all in other brochures or pamphlets.

The breath-taking visual element, the Apuan Alps - the range of mountains 6km back from the beach - rise to some 6,000 ft in less than a15-minute drive, contributing to the mild climate, but also producing that most famous of all marbles - Carrara marble. They offer, too, superb walks and trekking of all kinds with quite incredibly spectacular views from both above and below.

It is also a real delight to find a corner of the world where the bulk of tourists are the natives themselves. This leads to a further bonus in the form of excellent, reasonably priced, wholly Italian food in the many trattorias and restaurants.

An extremely important feature is proximity to so many beautiful, must-be-visited places, to mention just a few: Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Volterra, without, however, foregoing the pleasures of a seaside holiday. There are organised excursions to almost everywhere.

The beaches are of fine, volcanic sand, divided between bathing establishments (offering deck-chairs, sun-loungers, parsols, etc.), and stretches of free beach. We also have a good hospital in Massa, with an efficient Casualty, several large supermarkets open on Sundays during the season, as are all the shops. Various forms of sport are provided for: tennis, roller-skating, riding, mini-golf, swimming-pools and so on, etc., etc..