Forget Rome — this Charming Italian City 2.5 Hours Away Will Be One Of The Trendiest Destinations Of 2027

Visiting Italy without even a short visit to Rome may sound taboo, yet more and more visitors are looking to venture off-the-beaten-path. For all the beauty that Rome offers, it also comes with the daunting number of visitors that increase yearly, with 22.9 million visitors flocking to the Eternal City in 2025 alone. Thankfully there are plenty of lesser-known escapes in Italy, including the city of Pescara, tucked along the Adriatic Sea.

You can reach Pescara from Rome by car or bus in 2.5 hours via the A24 highway while driving through the region of Abbruzzo, known for its mountainous scenery. Once you begin to glimpse the waters of the Adriatic city below, the reasons why Pescara is forecast to become one of the trendiest destinations of 2027 begin to add up. According to Ian Ackland, a managing director at Booking.com, an increasing number of travelers are going "off-script" and opting for niche destinations instead of trademark ones. Pescara's proximity to Rome and its slower, understated Adriatic character perfectly matches that description.

Having set out to put together its 11th annual Travel Predictions poll, Booking.com has collected responses from over 28,000 participants spanning across 33 countries. The data shows that travelers are opting for the unconventional over the tried and tested. Criteria such as budget, uncharted novelty, and the urge to simply experiment with personal, new itineraries that haven't suffered from overexposure are driving 2027 travel trends, with interest in Pescara peaking. 

Just because a city flies under the radar of mainstream tourism doesn't mean it isn't worth visiting. Pescara marries the old with the new effortlessly, from the symbolic Ponte del Mare bridge at the mouth of the Pescara River to the old city core pulsating with daily life and festivities around Piazza Unione. Museums, over 12 miles of popular beaches, an ancient nature reserve, and a bustling food scene highlight Pescara as a pearl of Abbruzzo's coast.

From barbarian invasions during Rome's collapse to heavy bombardment during World War II, Pescara's dynamic history has shaped its unique character as a city that grew between the mountains and the sea. Once you arrive, you will see it as a city of convergence everywhere you look. In fact, bridges were built to bring the two cities of Castellamare Adriatico and Pescara into one in 1927. 

Head over to Piazza Unione and you'll find old fishermen's houses next to modern architecture that filled in the city's gaps after World War II's bombardments. The city's youth light up the old city center's streets with nightlife after sunset, while quaint restaurants serve both Pescara's traditional brodetto alla pescarese, a signature fishermen's stew, and arrosticini, grilled sheep skewers brought down from the hills of Abbruzzo. You can taste the arrosticini and other specialty meat dishes in the acclaimed Braceria Teatro delle Carni restaurant, whereas a seafood stew, such as the brodetto, should be enjoyed at La Zattera with the sea as your background, right on Pescara's beachfront.

You can stand on the pedestrian Ponte del Mare bridge during sunset to take in the surrounding views of this rapidly developing city. An ever-developing marina that's increasingly alluring to boaters exploring the Adriatic coast, a reputable university infusing the town with youth (while many Italian cities are suffering from the opposite), and proximity to both mountains and sea make a strong case for this charming Italian city. Add to that Pescara's rich cultural fabric and a strong connection to its surrounding nature, and the list for spontaneous "off-grid" travel grows.

Pescara's entire beachfront riviera north and south of the river is Blue Flag rated, recognized for having excellent water quality and environmental standards. Walk a bit further inland, and you'll find yourself in the Pineta Dannunziana nature reserve, the remnant of an old pine forest and aristocratic property. Its location was known as a reference point as far back as the eighth century, used by Byzantine sailors to find safe harbor during stormy seas. A 35-minute walk further into the old center will take you to Gabriele D'Annunzio's Birthplace Museum, which narrates the early years of the city's most famous poet and citizen.

A spontaneous getaway to Pescara in 2027 can definitely add some variety to your Italian holiday and inspire you to explore Italy's eastern coast. As you find yourself sitting at the Piazza della Rinascita, the city's central gathering place for both locals and visitors alike, an idea may come to mind. Just on the other side of the Adriatic, with ferries departing from neighboring Ancona, an under-the-radar and lively city for authentic culture, lie Croatia's islands. The ferry docks in Split, the second-largest city on Croatia's coast, and the lesser-known, tiny island town of Trogir is just 30 minutes beyond that.