Just twenty minutes by train from Pescara, CHIETI is a more pleasant place to stop over between trains. It holds Abruzzo's best museum by far, with an extensive collection of finds from the region, and the town itself has a relaxed and appealing provincial air.

Coming by train you arrive at Chieti Scalo, from where it's a short journey on bus #1 up the hill to Chieti proper, 5km away, which spreads over a curving ridge and has great views of the Maiella and Gran Sasso - and, when it's clear, out to sea. Buses arrive at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele alongside the chunky and much-reconstructed cathedral, from where the main Corso Marrucini cuts through the town centre to Largo Trento e Trieste