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Going to nature spots: 'al mare' but 'in montagna'

When Italians talk about going on holiday or spending a day out in nature, a few destinations come up constantly: the sea, the lake, the mountains, the beach, the hills. The problem for learners is that these words do not all take the same preposition. Some use a combined with the article, as in al mare and al lago. Others use just in with no article at all, as in in montagna, in spiaggia and in collina.

English speakers tend to trip here because English says to the for all of them: to the seaside, to the mountains, to the beach. It feels natural to copy that pattern and say something like alla montagna, but Italians do not say it that way. There is no logic that predicts which word takes which preposition, so the best strategy is to learn each destination as a fixed chunk.

Word list
fiumemA1 river al fiume = to/at the river lagomA1 lake al lago = to/at the lake maremA1 sea al mare = to/at the seaside montagnafA1 mountain in montagna = to/in the mountains parcomA1 park al parco = to/at the park spiaggiafA1 beach in spiaggia = to/on the beach campagnafA2 countryside in campagna = to/in the countryside (never alla campagna) collinafA2 hill in collina = to/in the hills laghettomB2 pond al laghetto = to/at the pond pianurafB2 plain in pianura = in the plains, on flat land lagunafC1 lagoon in laguna = in/to the lagoon
How it works

Each of these words has one fixed preposition. It stays the same whether you are going there or already there. So al mare means both to the seaside and at the seaside, and in montagna means both to the mountains and in the mountains. The verb tells you whether there is movement: andare or venire for going, essere or stare for being there.

Notice also that these chunks refer to the destination in general, as a type of place. Andare al mare does not mean going to one particular sea. It means going on a seaside trip. Andare in montagna means going on a mountain holiday, wherever the mountains are.

D'estate andiamo al mare.
(In summer we go to the seaside.)
In inverno preferisco andare in montagna.
(In winter I prefer going to the mountains.)
The words
With a + article

Two very common destinations take al: mare and lago. Both are masculine, so a + il becomes al.

Siamo al mare fino a domenica.
(We're at the seaside until Sunday.)
Sabato andiamo al lago con i bambini.
(On Saturday we're going to the lake with the kids.)
With just in

The others take in and no article: montagna, collina, spiaggia and pianura. The word campagna (countryside) belongs here too: in campagna.

I miei nonni vivono in collina, vicino a Firenze.
(My grandparents live in the hills, near Florence.)
Oggi pomeriggio andiamo in spiaggia?
(Shall we go to the beach this afternoon?)
D'inverno in pianura c'è spesso la nebbia.
(In winter there is often fog in the plains.)

Pianura is a less common word, but the chunk in pianura is useful when talking about weather or geography, especially in northern Italy.

Note the combination that often appears in holiday talk: you go al mare, and once there you spend the day in spiaggia.

Quando siamo al mare, stiamo tutto il giorno in spiaggia.
(When we're at the seaside, we spend all day on the beach.)
Watch out

The most typical mistake is copying English and adding an article where Italian has none: alla montagna or alla spiaggia instead of in montagna and in spiaggia. The opposite mistake also happens: in mare does exist, but it means in the water, not at the seaside.

Il cane non vuole entrare in mare.
(The dog doesn't want to go into the sea.)

These chunks are preferences for the generic destination, not strict bans. When you mean a specific place or a physical position, other prepositions appear. For example, sulla spiaggia means on the sand of a particular beach, and named mountains usually take su: sul Monte Bianco. A lake with a name keeps al: al lago di Garda.

Abbiamo trovato una conchiglia sulla spiaggia dell'albergo.
(We found a shell on the hotel's beach.)

Finally, not every nature word follows this split. Woods and forests use in with the article: nel bosco, nella foresta.

Domenica abbiamo fatto una passeggiata nel bosco.
(On Sunday we went for a walk in the woods.)
Summary

Learn each destination as a fixed chunk that works for both going and being there: al mare and al lago take a + article, while in montagna, in collina, in spiaggia, in pianura and in campagna take just in. Don't copy the English article: it's never alla montagna.