Severely damaged by war and earthquakes, workaday ANCONA has a few historical monuments embedded in a tangle of commercial buildings. The modern centre is a bland grid of broad avenues and palm-shaded piazzas, while the station area, with its one-night cheap hotels, gaudy Chinese restaurants and heavy trucks travelling noisily to and from the port, will probably make you want to take the next train out. However, as the Adriatic's largest port it's a convenient departure point, and you may well pass through in order to catch one of the regular ferries to Greece and Croatia so for this reason you may find yourself making an overnight stop.