Pizzo and Capo Vaticano from Tropea

This day pairs the lively clifftop town of Pizzo with the celebrated beaches of Capo Vaticano, both an easy reach from Tropea on Calabria's Tyrrhenian coast. Pizzo lies about 35 km north of Tropea, around 30 minutes by car via the SS522 and A2; Capo Vaticano is about 12 km south, roughly 20 minutes away. A car is the simplest choice, as the Capo Vaticano coves have no public transport, though the train from Tropea reaches the Vibo-Pizzo station, from where a taxi covers the 8 km to Pizzo centre for around €10 (~$11). Pizzo is best known as the home of tartufo di Pizzo, a hand-formed chocolate-and-hazelnut ice-cream truffle with a molten heart, served in the cafés of Piazza della Repubblica. The town also has the small seafront Castello Murat, where the Napoleonic general Joachim Murat was executed in 1815, and the remarkable Chiesa di Piedigrotta, a grotto church by the sea carved with religious statues. A sensible one-day arc: spend the morning exploring Pizzo's piazza, castle and church and enjoying a tartufo, then drive south for a long afternoon at Capo Vaticano, whose granite headland shelters Grotticelle and other beaches of fine white sand and clear water, with views to the Aeolian Islands and Stromboli. Lunch can be seafood in Pizzo or a beach lido at the cape. June to September is best for the beaches; Pizzo itself is enjoyable year-round, and spring or autumn suit sightseeing without the summer crush. The cove beaches involve steep steps down from the clifftop, so some descent is unavoidable. This is an easy, varied day mixing a famous dessert, coastal history and some of Calabria's finest swimming.