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Monte Conero

The limestone headland that breaks the Adriatic’s flat coast, with cliff trails and the boat-only Due Sorelle beach.

  • Ancona
  • Nature
Plan your visit
Where
Ancona
Best for
White cliffs over the Adriatic
Allow
3 hours
Tickets
Free

The Adriatic’s flat western shore breaks only once between Trieste and the Gargano promontory, at Monte Conero’s white limestone prow above Ancona. The mountain rises straight from the sea to 572 meters, its cliffs dropping into water that shifts from turquoise to deep blue with the light.

Eighteen marked trails cross pine and arbutus woods that scent the air with myrtle and rosemary, many ending at a viewpoint over the Due Sorelle, twin sea stacks guarding a beach reachable only by boat or a steep path down from Sirolo. Golden eagles and peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs, and Sirolo and Numana, the two towns sharing the headland, still feel like fishing villages that happened to end up beside a nature reserve.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. Due SorelleNatural sea stacks

    Two white pinnacles rising from turquoise water; the beach beneath them is one of the most photographed on the Adriatic.Below the cliffs, reached from Sirolo or from Numana by boat

  2. Belvedere SudNatural viewpoint

    A lookout over the Adriatic that shows how the headland drops straight into the sea.On the park’s trail network

  3. Santa Maria di PortonovoRomanesque, 11th century

    A small, severe church in a green amphitheater above the beach, among the most beautiful Romanesque churches in the Marche.Portonovo bay

  4. Fortino NapoleonicoFrench military architecture, 1810

    A small fort built under Napoleon to guard the bay, now a landmark at the water’s edge.Portonovo bay

  5. Badia di San PietroBenedictine, medieval

    An old abbey on the mountain, a quiet stop among the woods above the coast.Near the summit

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
Free
Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
3 hours
Best time
Early morning, or September to May when the heat and crowds ease.
Getting there
By car, take the SP1 Conero road from Ancona to Sirolo or Numana, where several trailheads have parking. By train, reach Ancona then a bus to Sirolo; boats to Due Sorelle leave from Numana’s small harbor.

The park and its trails are free. Reaching Due Sorelle beach by boat from Numana or Sirolo costs about €30 for adults, €20 for children under 10; in high summer the comune of Sirolo can cap daily visitor numbers to the beach and require reservation.

Walk down trail 301 from Sirolo to the clifftop above Due Sorelle for the same view the boats charge for, free and usually empty at sunrise.

Official website
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Good to know

How long should you spend at Monte Conero?

Plan at least three hours for a taste, or a full day if you want to hike a couple of trails and swim at Portonovo or Due Sorelle.

How do you reach the Due Sorelle beach?

There are two options: a boat from Numana’s harbor, or a steep path from Sirolo that is hard on the knees coming back up. Check conditions first, since the path can be unsuitable in bad weather.

Is Monte Conero worth visiting?

Yes, it is a rare place where the Adriatic coast has real cliffs, woods and hiking in one package. Come outside peak summer if you want the trails and viewpoints to yourself.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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