Liguria
Sheltering on the seaward side of the mountains that divide Piemonte from the coast, Liguria is the classic introduction to Italy for travellers journeying overland through France. There’s an unexpected change as you cross the border: the Italian Riviera, as Liguria’s commercially developed strip of coast is known, has more variety of landscape and architecture than its French counterpart, and is generally less frenetic. And if you want to escape the crowds, the mountains, which in places drop sheer to the sea, can offer respite from the standard format of beach, beach and more beach. Teetering on slopes carpeted with olives and vines are isolated mountain villages that retain their own rural culture and cuisine.
The chief city of the region is Genoa, an ancient, sprawling port often acclaimed as the most atmospheric of all Italian cities. It has a dense and fascinating old quarter that is complemented by a vibrant social and ethnic mix and a newly energized dockside district. Genoa stands more or less in the middle of Liguria, between two distinct stretches of coast. To the west, the Riviera di Ponente is the more developed of the two, a long ribbon of hotels and resorts packed in summer with Italian families. Picking your route carefully means you can avoid the most crowded places, and in any case there’s nowhere really overcrowded as long as you avoid August. San Remo, the grande dame of Riviera resorts, is flanked by hillsides covered with glasshouses, and is a major centre for the worldwide export of flowers; Albenga and Noli are attractive medieval centres that have also retained a good deal of character; and Finale Ligure is a thoroughly pleasant Mediterranean seaside town. On Genoa’s eastern side is the more rugged Riviera di Levante, a mix of mountains and fishing villages, some formerly accessible only by boat, that appealed to the early nineteenth-century Romantics who “discovered” the Riviera, preparing the way for other artists and poets and the first package tourists. It’s still wild and extremely beautiful in places, although any sense of remoteness has long gone, and again you’d do best to visit outside peak season (August). Resorts like Portofino are among the most expensive in the country, although nearby Santa Margherita Ligure makes a great base for exploring the surrounding coastline by train or car, as does the pretty fishing village of Camogli. Walks on Monte di Portofino and through the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre take you through scrubland and vineyards for memorable views over broad gulfs and jutting headlands.
In a car, the shore road is for the most part a disappointment: the coast is extremely built up, and you get a much better sense of the beauty of the region by taking the east–west autostrada which cuts through the mountains a few kilometres inland by means of a mixture of tunnels and viaducts. Fleeting bursts of daylight between tunnels give glimpses of the string of resorts along the coast, silvery olive groves and a brilliant sea. However, the real plus of Liguria is that so many of the coastal resorts are most easily accessible by train, with regular services stopping just about everywhere, and, because the track is forced to squeeze along the narrow coastal strip, stations are almost invariably centrally located in towns and villages.
Highlights
Genoa With its rabbit warren of medieval streets, revamped port area and clutch of first-rate museums and churches, Genoa could easily justify a week of your time.
The train from Genoa to Casella An excellent way to escape the crowds on the coast and explore some of Italy’s most spectacular mountain scenery.
Finale Ligure If you just want somewhere to relax and spend time swimming and beach-lounging, look no further – this is the classic Ligurian family resort.
San Remo With its famous Art Nouveau casino, elegant palm-tree-lined seafront and unique old quarter, San Remo affords a glimpse of old-style Riviera glamour.
Cinque Terre Five picturesque villages shoehorned into one of the most rugged parts of Liguria’s coastline and linked by a highly scenic coastal walking path.
Genoa
GENOA (Genova in Italian) is “the most winding, incoherent of cities, the most entangled topographical ravel in the world”. So said Henry James, and the city – Italy’s sixth largest – is still marvellously eclectic, vibrant and full of rough-edged style. Sprawled behind Italy’s biggest port is a dense and fascinating warren of medieval alleyways: “La Superba”, as it was known at the height of its powers, boasts more zest and intrigue than all the surrounding coastal resorts put together. It’s here that most of the city’s important palazzi are to be found, built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by Genoa’s wealthy mercantile families and now transformed into museums and art galleries. The tidying-up hasn’t sanitized the old town, however; the core of the city, between the two stations and the waterfront, is dark and slightly menacing, but the overriding impression is of a buzzing hive of activity – food shops nestled in the portals of former palaces, carpenters’ workshops sandwiched between designer furniture outlets, everything surrounded by a crush of people and the squashed vowels of the impenetrable Genoese dialect that has, over the centuries, absorbed elements of Neapolitan, Calabrese and Portuguese. Aside from the cosmopolitan street life, you should seek out the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo with its fabulous treasury, small medieval churches such as San Donato and San Matteo, and the Renaissance palazzi of Via Garibaldi which contain Genoa’s art collections, as well as furniture and decor from the grandest days of the city’s illustrious past.
Some history
Genoa made its money at sea, through trade, colonial exploitation and piracy. By the thirteenth century, after playing a major part in the Crusades, the Genoese were roaming the Mediterranean, bringing back ideas as well as goods: the city’s architects were using Arab pointed arches a century before the rest of Italy. The San Giorgio banking syndicate effectively controlled the city for much of the fifteenth century, and cold-shouldered Columbus (who had grown up in Genoa) when he sought funding for his voyages. With Spanish backing, he opened up new Atlantic trade routes that ironically reduced Genoa to a backwater. Following foreign invasion, in 1768 the Banco di San Giorgio was forced to sell the Genoese colony of Corsica to the French, and a century later, the city became a hotbed of radicalism: Mazzini, one of the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, was born here, and in 1860 Garibaldi set sail for Sicily with his “Thousand” from the city’s harbour. Around the same time, Italy’s industrial revolution began in Genoa, with steelworks and shipyards spreading along the coast. These suffered heavy bombing in World War II, and the subsequent economic decline hobbled Genoa for decades. Things started to look up in the 1990s. State funding to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s 1492 voyage paid to renovate many of the city’s late-Renaissance palaces and the old port area, with Genoa’s most famous son of modern times, Renzo Piano (best known as the co-designer of Paris’s Pompidou Centre), taking a leading role. The results of a twelve-year programme that saw Genoa becoming a European Capital of Culture in 2004 are evident all over the city.
Regional food and wine
Liguria may lie in the north of Italy, but its benign Mediterranean climate, and to some extent its cooking, belong further south. Traditionally, the recipes from this region make something out of nothing, and the best-known Ligurian speciality is pesto, the simplest of dishes, invented by the Genoese to help their long-term sailors fight off scurvy, and made with chopped basil, garlic, pine nuts and grated sharp cheese (pecorino or parmesan) ground up together in olive oil. It’s used as a sauce for pasta (often flat trenette noodles, or knobbly little potato-flour shapes known as trofie), and often served with a few boiled potatoes and green beans, or stirred into soup to make minestrone alla genovese. Other dishes to look out for are cima alla genovese (cold, stuffed veal); the widely available torta pasqualina – a spinach-and-cheese pie with eggs; golden focaccia bread; often flavoured with olives, sage or rosemary, or covered with toppings; and sardenaira – a Ligurian pizza made with tomatoes, onions and garlic. And lots of things with chickpeas, which grow abundantly along the coast and crop up in farinata, a kind of chickpea pancake displayed in broad, round baking trays that you’ll see everywhere, and in zuppa di ceci.
Otherwise, fish dominates – not surprising in a region where more than two-thirds of the population lives on the coast. Local anchovies are a common antipasto, while pasta with a variety of fish and seafood sauces appears everywhere (mussels, scampi, octopus and clams are all excellent); you’ll find delicious polpo (octopus), usually served cold with potatoes, good swordfish, and dishes like ciuppin or fish soup, burrida di seppie (cuttlefish stew), or fish in carpione (marinated in vinegar and herbs). Salt cod (baccalà) and wind-dried cod (stoccofisso) are big local favourites. Many restaurants in Rapallo and along the Tigullio coast serve bagnun, a dish based on anchovies, tomato, garlic, onion and white wine, and in Cinque Terre and Lévanto you’ll often see gattafin – a delicious deep-fried vegetable pasty. Liguria’s soil and aspect aren’t well suited to vine-growing, although plenty of local wine – mainly white – is quite drinkable. The steep, terraced slopes of the Cinque Terre are home to some decent eponymous white wine and a sweet, expensive dessert wine called Sciacchetrà, made from partially dried grapes. From the Riviera di Ponente, look out for the crisp whites of Pigato (from Albenga) and Vermentino (from Imperia), as well as the acclaimed Rossese di Dolceacqua, Liguria’s best red.
Arrival, transport and information
Genoa has two main train stations: Stazione Principe, on Piazza Acquaverde, just north of the port and west of the centre, and Stazione Brignole on Piazza Verdi, east of the old town. Buses #30, #33 and #37, among others, ply between the two. There are staffed left-luggage offices at both stations. Buses heading to the city outskirts – the Riviera, and inland – arrive on Piazza della Vittoria, a few minutes’ walk south of Brignole. The Aeroporto Cristoforo Colombo (010.60151, www.aeroportodigenova.com) is 6km west of the city centre and is connected to it by the Volabus, which runs to Stazione Principe, Piazza de Ferrari and Stazione Brignole roughly every 40 minutes throughout the day; tickets cost €6 and it’s about half an hour to Stazione Brignole. Taxis pull up outside the Arrivals building and charge a fixed price of €7 per person to Stazione Principe, €8 to Brignole (minimum 3 people).
The best way to get around the city is to walk, but you may want to use the city’s public transport network of buses and metros (800.085.311 Mon–Fri 8.15am–4.30pm, www.amt.genova.it) to go from one side of the city centre to the other or to reach outlying sights; tickets cost €1.20 and are valid for 90 minutes. AMT also run the lifts and funiculars that scale the city’s many hills; tickets to use these cost €0.70. You can also buy all-day transport tickets for €3.50, or a museum card that includes public transport (see The Card Musei). There are a dozen or so central car parks, all of which cost around €20 per day; the largest is beneath Piazza della Vittoria (open 24hr); there are several others in and around the Porto Antico. The old quarter is barred to traffic.
There are two central tourist offices: next to the opera house on Piazza de Ferrari (Mon–Sun 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; 010.860.6122, www.turismo.comune.genova.it), and Via Garibaldi 12 (daily 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; 010.557.2903), as well as kiosks at the airport and the Porto Antico, just off Piazza Caricamento.
City tours
Various operators offer tours of Genoa: Pippo run a mini-train from the port around the city centre; tours last 40 minutes (adults €6.50, children €3.50). PesciViaggi organize open-top bus tours with commentary that start from Piazza Caricamento, near the Aquarium, and last an hour (€10, children €5). Alternatively, at weekends you can take a walking tour around the old town, booked through the tourist office (€12, under-12s free; www.genova-turismo.it).
Accommodation
There’s no shortage of accommodation in Genoa, but many of the budget hotels – especially those around the train stations – are grimy and depressing, and you need to look hard to find the exceptions. The area just west of Stazione Brignole (Piazza Colombo and Via XX Settembre) is preferable to anything around Stazione Principe. There’s a handful of quality hotels in the old quarter, though you should steer clear of the one-star places down by the port (on and around Via di Prè).
Hotels
Affitacamere San Lorenzo Vico Scureria La Vecchia 1 010.254.3049, www.sanlorenzogenova.tk. Two spotless rooms in a fifteenth-century building tucked away in the web of streets around the Duomo. €61–120
Agnello d’Oro Vico Monachette 6 010.246.2084, www.hotelagnellodoro.it. Spacious, modernized rooms – some with balconies – in a seventeenth-century palace alongside the Palazzo Reale and within spitting distance of Stazione Principe. €61–120
Astoria Piazza Brignole 4 010.873.316, www.hotelastoriagenova.it. This large hotel has big, atmospheric rooms and plenty of faded grandeur. A reliable and interesting choice, a short walk from Stazione Brignole. €151–200
Bel Soggiorno Via XX Settembre 19/2 010.581.418, www.belsoggiornohotel.com. Run by a gregarious German woman (who speaks English), this is a welcoming place, with a cosy lobby and breakfast room, though the rooms are a little lacking in character. €91–120
Bristol Palace Via XX Settembre 35 010.592.541, www.bristolpalace.it. Grand old pile near Stazione Brignole, full of antique furniture, old masters and an Edwardian sense of order and discretion. Rooms are large, attractive and have a/c, and online bargains often abound. €151–200
Cairoli Via Cairoli 14/4 010.246.1454, www.hotelcairoligenova.com. A superior three-star, whose brightly furnished, modern, en-suite rooms are soundproof. There’s also a roof terrace and two apartments for rent. One of the city’s best deals. €61–120
Il Salotto di Lucilla Passo Palestro 3/5 010.882.391, www.ilsalottodilucilla.com. A quiet, elegant B&B with a lovely sitting room and great breakfasts, right in the heart of town. The three rooms have private bathrooms and TV. Book in advance. €61–150
Major Vico Spada 4 010.247.4174, www.hotelmajorgenova.it. A great location in the Old Town, along with clean and well-furnished rooms with TV, make this a great bargain. €61–90
Hostel
Ostello di Genova Passo Costanzi 10 010.242.2457, www.ostellogenova.it. Genoa’s HI hostel is clean and well run, although its out-of-town location means you will be heavily reliant on buses. It’s up in the hills of Righi, north of the centre. From Stazione Principe take bus #35, then switch at the fifth stop onto bus #40; from Brignole bus #40 or #640 all the way. Hostel closed 11.30am–2.30pm. Dorm beds from €17.
Genoa addresses
Genoa is one of the handful of Italian cities with a double system of street-numbering: commercial establishments, such as bars and restaurants, have red numbers (rosso), while all other buildings have black numbers (nero) – and the two systems don’t run in tandem. This means, for example, that Via Banchi 35/R might be next door to Via Banchi 89N, but several hundred metres from Via Banchi 33/N.
The City
Genoa’s atmospheric Old Town spreads outwards from the port in a confusion of tiny alleyways (caruggi), bordered by Via Gramsci along the waterfront and by Via Garibaldi to the north. The caruggi are lined with high buildings, usually six or seven storeys, set very close together. Grocers, textile workshops and bakeries jostle for position with boutiques, design outlets and goldsmiths amid a flurry of shouts, smells and scrawny cats. The cramped layout of the area reflects its medieval politics. Around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the city’s principal families – Doria, Spinola, Grimaldi and Fieschi – marked out certain streets and squares as their territory, even extending their domains to include churches: to pray in someone else’s chapel was to risk being stabbed in the back. New buildings on each family’s patch had to be slotted in wherever they could, resulting in a maze of crooked alleyways that was the battleground of dynastic feuds which lasted well into the eighteenth century.
Piazza de Ferrari and Piazza Matteotti
If Genoa has a centre it’s probably Piazza de Ferrari, a mainly pedestrian open space that separates old Genoa from the nineteenth-century city. Overlooked by a statue of Garibaldi in front of the grand facade of the Carlo Felice opera house, one side of the square is taken up by a flank of the sixteenth-century Palazzo Ducale, home to the doge of Genoa between 1384 and 1515, whose huge vaulted atrium makes a splendid exhibition hall. During summer parts of the rest of the building are also open to the public, and you can visit the vast hall of the Maggior Consiglio upstairs, where massive chandeliers hang above the space once occupied by the 400 Genoese nobles who ruled the maritime republic. You can also view the Doge’s Chapel, perhaps the most frescoed room of all time, and from there climb up to the Torre Grimaldi (early July–Sept Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 3–6pm; €5) for the views and for some of the grimmest dungeons you’ll ever see, home for a while to Garibaldi and another Italian patriot, Jacopo Ruffini, who cut his own throat here in 1833.
Around the corner, Piazza Matteotti is home to the main entrance of the Palazzo Ducale and the Gesù church (Mon–Sat 7am–12.45pm & 4–7.30pm), which was designed by Pellegrino Tibaldi at the end of the sixteenth century and contains a mass of marble and gilt stucco and some fine Baroque paintings, including Guido Reni’s Assumption in the right aisle and two works by Rubens: The Miracles of St Ignatius on the left and The Circumcision on the high altar.
The Card Musei
If you’re planning to visit a number of museums, it might be worth investing in the city’s museum card, or Card Musei, which costs €12 for 24hr (including public transport €13.50), or €16 for 48hr (including public transport €20). It’s valid for most of Genoa’s museums and gives discounts at others. You can buy the card at the tourist office or from the museums themselves.
Via San Lorenzo and the Cattedrale
Old Genoa’s main artery, Via San Lorenzo, leads from Piazza Matteotti down to the port, a pedestrianized stretch that makes for a busy evening passeggiata, and a handy reference point when negotiating the old city, which it effectively splits in two. On the eastern side, the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (daily 9am–noon & 3–6pm) anchors the square of the same name, its facade an elaborate confection of twisting, fluted columns and black-and-white striped stone that was added by Gothic craftsmen from France in the early thirteenth century. The stripes here, like other examples throughout the city, were a sign of prestige: families could use them only if they had a permit, awarded for “some illustrious deed to the advantage of their native city”. While the rest of Genoa’s churches were portioned out between the ruling dynasties, the cathedral remained open to all.
The interior has some well-preserved Byzantine frescoes of the Last Judgement above the main entrance, and is home, off the left aisle, to the large Renaissance chapel of St John the Baptist, whose ashes – legend has it – once rested in the thirteenth-century sarcophagus. After a particularly bad storm in medieval times, priests carried his casket through the city down to the port to placate the sea, and a procession still takes place each June 24 in honour of the saint. Note the central figures of the saint and the Madonna by Sansovino.
Just past the chapel, the Museo del Tesoro (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–6pm; €4.50, €6 including Museo Diocesano), housed in an atmospheric crypt, holds a polished quartz plate on which, legend says, Salome received John the Baptist’s severed head, and a glass vessel said to have been given to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and used at the Last Supper. There is also a British artillery shell that was fired from the sea during World War II and fell through the roof, but miraculously failed to explode. Take a look also at the Museo Diocesano (Tues–Sat 10am–1pm & 3–7pm, Sun 3–7pm; €2), behind the cathedral at Via Tommaso Reggio 20, which occupies a cloister and the medieval buildings around and displays more religious art and sculpture.
North of Via San Lorenzo
The busiest and more obviously appealing part of old Genoa lies to the north of Via San Lorenzo. Just off the cathedral’s square, tiny Piazza Invrea gives on to the shopping square of the Campetto and adjacent Via degli Orefici, “Street of the Goldsmiths”. Much of the jewellery here is still made by hand at upper-floor workshops around the Campetto, which links to the genteel sliver of Piazza Soziglia, crowded with stalls and café tables. From here Via Luccoli heads north, with glitzy boutiques and design outlets galore, while a few streets to the east is the city’s prettiest small square, Piazza San Matteo. This lay in the territory of the Doria family, who went one step further than merely striping the twelfth-century church of San Matteo (Mon–Sat 7.30am–noon & 4–5.30pm) and ordered elaborate testimonials to the family’s worthiness to be carved on the facade of the church and their adjoining palaces; inside, the tomb of the patriarch and sea captain Andrew Doria lies in the crypt.
Via degli Orefici leads down to a thriving commercial area centred on Piazza Banchi, a small enclosed square of secondhand books, records, fruit and flowers which was once the heart of the medieval city. Up the steps to the left, the little church of San Pietro in Banchi was built in the sixteenth century after a plague; with little money to spare, the city authorities sold plots of commercial space in arcades underneath the church in order to fund construction of the main building. From Piazza Banchi, the animated Via San Luca heads north, lined with shops selling counterfeit designer clothes and accessories. The street was in Spinola family territory, and their grand, former residence is now the excellent Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola, beside Piazza Pelliceria (Tues–Sat 8.30am–7.30pm, Sun 1.30–7.30pm; €4, joint ticket with Palazzo Reale €6.50), whose first two floors are perhaps Genoa’s best example of a grand family palace, with original furniture and rooms crammed with high-quality paintings. There are Van Dyck portraits of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as men of books, a portrait of Paolo Spinola by the Rome-based German painter Angelika Kaufmann, and upstairs an intensely mournful Ecce Homo by the Sicilian master Antonello da Messina and the splendid Adoration of the Magi by Joos van Cleve, sawn into planks when stolen from the church of San Donato in the 1970s. Don’t miss the little terrace, way up on the spine of the roof and shaded with orange and lemon trees.
North of here the old town is quieter and a fair bit seedier, centred on busy Via della Maddalena, which skirts the city’s thriving red-light trade. Steep lanes rise north of Via della Maddalena, lifting you out of the melee and into the ordered calm of Via Garibaldi.
South of Via San Lorenzo
The section of the Old Town south of Via San Lorenzo is less visited than the districts to the north, and more residential. Many of Genoa’s students and young professionals live in the upper floors of the old buildings lining Via dei Giustiniani and Via San Bernardo, generating a lively bar culture in the surrounding alleys.
From the cathedral and Piazza Matteotti, narrow Salita Pollaiuoli plunges you into the gloom between high buildings down to a crossroads with Via San Bernardo, one of Genoa’s most vibrant Old Town streets, with grocers and bakers trading behind the portals of palaces decorated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On the south side of the crossroads tiny Piazza San Donato is overlooked by San Donato, a crumbling, bare Romanesque church with a Roman architrave surviving over its door and an octagonal Byzantine-style campanile, while beyond, Stradone Sant’Agostino was laid out in the eighteenth century and is now home to a quirky array of bars and workshops. At the top, the long, narrow bulge of Piazza Sarzano was originally home to Genoa’s many ropemaking workshops and, owing to its enormous length, is still the scene for medieval-style jousting tournaments. To the left is the (rebuilt) thirteenth-century church of Sant’Agostino, whose unique triangular cloister houses the Museo di Sant’Agostino (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €4), which displays fragments of sculpture through Genoa’s long history. The highlight is a fragment of the tomb of Margherita of Brabant, sculpted in 1312 by Giovanni Pisano. Beyond, Via Ravecca leads up to the Porta Soprana, a twin-towered stone gateway featuring impressive Gothic arches, that now stands as the focus for a rather upmarket collection of bars and terrace cafés.
Via Garibaldi
When newly made fortunes encouraged Genoa’s merchant bankers to move out of the cramped Old Town in the mid-sixteenth century, artisans’ houses were pulled down to make way for the Strada Nuova, later named Via Garibaldi. To walk along the surprisingly narrow street is to stroll through a Renaissance architect’s drawing pad – sculpted facades, stuccowork and medallions decorate the exterior of the three-storey palazzi, while some of the large courtyards are almost like private squares.
The Musei di Strada Nuova
Three of the street’s finest palazzi – Bianco, Rosso and Tursi – have been re-branded the Musei di Strada Nuova and together they hold the city’s finest collection of old-master paintings (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €8 combined ticket, available from Palazzo Tursi).
The first of these, the Palazzo Bianco, was built between 1530 and 1540 for the important Genoese family, the Grimaldis. Its gallery houses the largest collection of Genoese and Ligurian painting – including work by Cambiaso, Piola, Castiglione and Castello – alongside works by Flemish and Dutch masters such as Gerard David and Hans Memling.
The Palazzo Bianco provides access to the next-door Palazzo Tursi, the largest of Genoa’s palaces, with an imposing main courtyard. It’s the site of the town hall and as such much of it is closed to the public, but you can see more paintings, ceramics and furniture, and look in on the Sala Paganiniana, on the first floor – a couple of rooms dedicated to the great Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini, who was born in Genoa in 1782. The prime exhibits are his two violins – the cannone, the great man’s Guarneri violin made in 1743, along with a copy of it made in Paris in 1834, which he is actually said to have preferred.
Across the road at no. 18, the Palazzo Rosso has a splendid first-floor picture gallery, with paintings by mainly fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian artists – Andrea del Sarto, Mattia Preti, Guercino and a whole room of works by local Bernardo Strozzi – along with a choice few northern-European works by the likes of Roger van der Weyden, Dürer and Gerard David. The rooms on the floor above have been restored to their original Baroque grandeur, bedecked with chandeliers, mirrors, frescoed ceilings and an excess of gilding, and there’s a series of splendid portraits by Van Dyck of the Brignole-Sale family, who built the palace in 1671. On the floor above this is a mock-up of the refined twentieth-century apartment of the former director of Genoa’s museums, an odd mixture of classic and modern furniture and old masters, and above this a rooftop terrace that offers fantastic views of the city centre.
Stazione Principe and around
The grandiose Stazione Principe lies on Piazza Acquaverde, below which Via Andrea Doria winds down to the port and ferry terminal, and the lavish gardens of the huge Palazzo del Principe Doria Pamphilj (May–July & Sept–Dec 25 Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; €7), built in the early 1530s by Andrea Doria, who made his reputation and fortune attacking Turkish fleets and Barbary pirates and liberating the Genoese republic from the French and Spanish.
The Palazzo Reale
From the station, Via Balbi leads east to the old part of Genoa. The vast Palazzo Reale at Via Balbi 10 (Tues & Wed 9am–1.30pm, Thurs–Sun 9am–7pm; €4, joint ticket with Palazzo Spinola €6.50) was built by the Balbi family in the early seventeenth century and later occupied by the Durazzo dynasty and the Savoyard royals. There’s a huge atrium overlooking an elegant courtyard garden, and you can climb the grand staircase to the ballroom, with gilt stucco ceilings and Chinese vases. To the left are four drawing rooms, featuring a huge watercolour of the crossing of the Red Sea painted on silk, and a stunning hall of mirrors, where Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, is said to have remarked in 1784 that the palace appeared more of a royal residence than his own simple pad back in Vienna. Doors lead through to the private quarters of the Duke of Genoa, with the duke’s bedchamber featuring a sumptuous Baroque ceiling fresco and the bathroom holding elegant furniture carved in England in the 1820s.
The east wing holds the royal quarters: a chapel gallery behind the ballroom, covered in trompe-l’oeil frescoes by Lorenzo de Ferrari; the adjacent throne room, dotted with dozens of “C.A.” monograms in honour of Carlo Alberto, King of Savoy, and a lavish audience room with a grand portrait of a tight-lipped Caterina Durazzo-Balbi painted by Van Dyck in 1624 during his six-year stay in Genoa. Alongside, the king’s bedchamber has Van Dyck’s first canvas of the Crucifixion, also dating from 1624, and the queen’s quarters feature a ghostly pale Crucifixion by the Neapolitan master Luca Giordano and a St Lawrence by Bernardo Strozzi. Don’t miss also the grand terrace which gives airy views over the port.
Museo delle Culture del Mondo and Museo del Risorgimento
North of the station, and best reached via the lift from Via Balbi, the Museo delle Culture del Mondo (April–Sept Tues–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; Oct–March Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; €6) is housed in the grand neo-Gothic home of the nineteenth-century adventurer Captain D’Albertis, who spent much of his later life filling its rooms with masks, musical instruments, pottery, paintings, stuffed animals and more picked up during voyages to the Americas, Africa and Oceania. A few minutes’ walk from the Palazzo Reale is Via Lomellini 11, where one of the most influential activists of Italian Unification, Giuseppe Mazzini, was born in 1805. The house is now the Museo del Risorgimento (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 10am–7pm; €4), which displays documents and relics from his life.
The old port
It’s a short stroll from Piazza Banchi out into the open spaces of Genoa’s old port or Porto Antico – more integrated now with the city than it has perhaps ever been, and also totally revitalized over the past two decades, its old warehouses converted into exhibition spaces, concert halls, museums and waterfront cafés and restaurants.
The sea once came up to the vaulted arcades of Via Sottoripa, which runs alongside the large pedestrianized space of Piazza Caricamento, above which the sopraelevata, or elevated highway, shoots along the waterfront above. The Palazzo di San Giorgio here is a brightly painted fortified palace built in 1260 from the stones of a captured Venetian fortress. After the great sea-battle of Curzola in 1298, the Genoese used the building to keep their Venetian prisoners under lock and key; among them was one Marco Polo, who met a Pisan writer named Rustichello inside and spun tales of adventure to him of worlds beyond the seas. After their release, Rustichello published the stories in a single volume that became The Travels of Marco Polo. These days, the building is home to the harbour authorities, but you can ask the guardian on the door to let you in to see the medieval Sala dei Protettori and beautiful Sala Manica Lunga, whose decor was restored to its thirteenth-century grandeur following bomb damage in World War II.
The Bigo and Molo Vecchio
Beyond the Palazzo di San Giorgio, the visual centrepiece of the resurgent waterfront is the Bigo – a curious multi-armed contraption, designed by Renzo Piano, intended to recall the harbourside cranes of old. It consists of a tent-roofed exhibition/concert space where waterside performances are given in summer and an ice-skating rink is set up in winter, next to which stands a circular elevator that ascends 60m in the air to let visitors see Genoa “as it is seen by the seagulls” (March, April, Sept & Oct Mon 2–6pm, Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; June–Aug Mon 4–11pm, Tues–Sun 10am–11pm; Jan, Feb, Nov & Dec Sat & Sun 10am–5pm; €4, children €3).
Just southwest of here is the old Porta Siberia, with the Molo Vecchio (Old Wharf) beyond, and a set of restored cotton warehouses that now house a shopping-cum-entertainment centre, the Magazzini del Cotone, with bars, cinemas and music stores. Its main attraction is the Città dei Bambini e dei Ragazzi (Tues–Sun: July–Sept 11.30am–7.30pm; Oct–June 10am–6pm; €5, children €7), a whiz-bang interactive children’s science museum filled with gizmos and gadgets that proves popular with its target audience. The museum is divided into separate areas: for 2- to 3-year-olds, 3- to 5-year-olds and 6- to 14-year-olds. Past the centre, you can enjoy grand, sweeping views of the port from the end of the wharf.
The Acquario di Genova and around
North of the Bigo, the Acquario di Genova (March–June, Sept & Oct Mon–Fri 9am–7.30pm, Sat & Sun 8.45am–8.30pm; July & Aug daily 8.30am–10pm; Nov–Feb Mon–Fri 9.30am–7.30pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am–8.30pm; last entry 1hr 30min before closing; €18, children €12) is the city’s pride and joy, Europe’s largest aquarium, with seventy tanks housing sea creatures from all the world’s major habitats, including the world’s biggest reconstruction of a Caribbean coral reef, complete with moray eels, turtles and angelfish, and lots of larger beasts too – sharks, dolphins, seals, an enclosure of penguins, and the usual rays in their petting pools. It’s a great aquarium by any standards, and boasts a fashionably ecology-conscious slant and excellent background information in Italian and English.
Alongside the aquarium there’s the futuristic-looking Biosfera, a steel-and-glass Renzo Piano-designed sphere housing a small tropical ecosystem, complete with trees, flowers and insects (daily 10am–5pm; €5), and, moored at the next pier, Il Galeone Neptune (daily 10am–6pm; €5), a kitschy full-size replica of a seventeenth-century galleon with a huge, colourful Neptune figurehead, and several decks to explore. A couple of minutes’ walk further north, a giant glass building holds the wonderful Galata Museo del Mare (March–Oct daily 10am–7.30pm; Nov–Feb 10am–6pm, last entry 5pm; €11, children €6), one of the best museums in the city, detailing on three floors the history of Genoa and its relationship with the sea, following its evolution from the late medieval period to nineteenth-century immigration to the United States, illustrated with plenty of nautical paraphernalia and several full-size ships.
Tickets for the port attractions
There are lots of tickets that combine the Aquarium with the other museums of the Porto Antico, available in various combinations – such as the Città dei Bambini and Aquarium for €20 (children €16), or Aquarium and Biosfera for €22 (children €14). You can also buy an Acquario Village ticket, valid for a year, that covers the Aquarium, Città dei Bambini, Biosfera, Bigo and Galata Museo del Mare – and gives discounts at shops and attractions, plus free rides on the mini-train that tours the port – for €35 (children €25).
The Stazione Maríttima and around
Beyond the redeveloped part of the port lies the fin-de-siècle Stazione Maríttima, the ferry terminal for services to Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Tunisia. Just in front, the Ponte dei Mille (Jetty of the Thousand) is so called for Giuseppe Garibaldi, ex-mercenary and spaghetti salesman, who persuaded his thousand Red Shirts to set off for Sicily in two clapped-out paddle steamers, armed with just a few rifles and no ammunition. Their mission, to support a Sicilian uprising and unite the island with the mainland states, greatly annoyed some northern politicians, who didn’t want anything to do with the undeveloped south. There’s a promenade walk you can follow further round the port from here (daily 8am–sunset) to Genoa’s sixteenth-century lighthouse, the Lanterna (Sat & Sun 10am–7pm), which has been restored as a museum. You can climb the 172 steps to the first terrace, and compare the building with the nearby Matitone, a postmodern polygonal tower housing municipal offices whose pointed roof has given it its sardonic nickname “The Big Pencil”.
Modern Genoa
In the nineteenth century, Genoa began to expand beyond its old-town constraints. The newer districts begin with the large central Piazza de Ferrari, from where Via XX Settembre runs a straight course east through the commercial centre of the city towards Stazione Brignole. This grand boulevard features big department stores, clothes shops and pavement cafés beneath its arcades, and there are prized delicatessens in the side streets around Stazione Brignole and Piazza Colombo, and a bustling covered Mercato Orientale partway along, in the cloisters of an old Augustinian monastery. At the eastern end of Via XX Settembre, the park outside the Stazione Brignole extends south into Piazza della Vittoria, a huge and dazzling white square built during the Fascist period that now serves as the long-distance bus station.
Walking north from Piazza de Ferrari takes you up to Piazza Corvetto – built by the Austrians in the nineteenth century and now a major confluence of traffic and people. Across the other side of the square, a thoughtful-looking statue of Giuseppe Mazzini marks the entrance to the Villetta di Negro, a lushly landscaped park whose artificial waterfalls and grottoes scale the hill. At the top, the Museo d’Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone (Tues–Fri 9am–1pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €4) holds a collection of oriental art that includes eighteenth-century sculpture and paintings and samurai armour. Chiossone was a printer and engraver for the Italian mint, and, on the strength of his banknote-engraving skills, he was invited by the Meiji dynasty to establish the Japanese Imperial Mint. He lived in Japan from 1875 until his death in Tokyo in 1898, building up a fascinating and extensive collection.
The funiculars
If you’re not satisfied with the view from the Villetta di Negro, you can take the Art Nouveau-style public lift from Piazza del Portello up to the Castelletto, which offers a great panorama over the port and the roofs of the Old Town; a funicular also leaves from the same place up to the residential Sant’Anna district, although the views from here aren’t as good (ordinary bus tickets are valid for both). When Genoa ran out of building space, plots for houses were hewn out of the hillside behind, like the steps of an amphitheatre, and the funicular enables you to see these at close quarters, as the carriages edge past people’s front windows. Another funicular runs from Largo Zecca, further west, to the suburb of Righi, where you can admire vistas of the city below and wander off on any of a number of paths, although locals generally come here to sit in the various panoramic restaurants for extended sessions of family dining.
Eating and drinking
Genoa has everything from basic trattorias to elegant nineteenth-century cafés. Piazza Caricamento is one of the best places for street food, its arcades lined with cafés serving focaccia, panini and deep-fried seafood, while there are lots of places in the Old Town selling foccaccia and farinata (see Regional food and wine) – try Antica Sciamadda at Via Ravecca 19/R (closed Mon) or Panificio Patrone, Via Ravecca 72/R (closed Wed afternoon), one of Genoa’s top bakeries.
Bars and cafés
Bar Berto Piazza delle Erbe 6/R. Narrow little stand-up café-bar founded in 1904 by Signor Berto who walked some 15km west to the ceramics centre of Albisola in order to collect colourful bits of broken tile to decorate the walls. There’s lots of seating outside on the pedestrianized square. A trendy spot for coffee, beer or a reasonably priced light meal. Mon–Sat 8am–9pm.
Bar Pasticceria Mangini Via Roma at Piazza Corvetto. One of Genoa’s most venerable pasticcerie, in business since the early 1800s and still top-notch today. Daily until 7.30pm.
Caffè degli Specchi Salita Pollaiuoli 43/R. This has been a prime spot since 1917 for Genoese artists, writers and intellectuals to take coffee while admiring themselves in the mirrors (specchi) that cover the magnificent tiled interior. It also offers a small selection of panini, focaccia and hot dishes. Closed Sun.
Caffetteria Orefici Via degli Orefici 25/R. A tiny, fragrant temple to the art of coffee-making, with a range of specialist coffees and perfect results every time. Standing-room only. Closed Sun.
Fratelli Klainguti Piazza Soziglia 98/R. An Austrian-style café dating from 1828, with cakes, coffee and ice cream under chandeliers and tables on the square outside. A good spot for lunch – it serves sandwiches, pasta dishes and salads – and breakfast: they still produce the hazelnut croissant known as a Falstaff, much esteemed by Giuseppe Verdi, who spent forty winters in Genoa (“Thanks for the Falstaff, much better than mine,” he wrote to the bakers).
Restaurants
Da Rina Mura delle Grazie 3/R 010.246.6475. Da Rina has been going for sixty years, serving simple, high-quality Genoese cooking in unpretentious surroundings down near the waterfront. Lots of fish and classic Ligurian dishes such as cima alla genovese. Moderately priced. Closed Mon & Aug.
I Tre Merli Via Dietro il Coro della Maddalena 26/R 010.247.4095. Despite its location in the heart of the red-light district, this is one of the city’s very best restaurants, employing an innovative approach to Ligurian cuisine. There are over 300 wines on the menu, stored in a converted fourteenth-century well. Closed Sat lunch & Sun. Branches in Camogli and down on the seafront (I Tre Merli al Porto Antico; 010.246.4416).
La Berlocca Via del Macelli di Soziglia 45/R 010.247.4162. Opposite a magic shop in a narrow Old Town alleyway, this is a cosy bistro-style establishment with an open fire in winter and a menu featuring adventurous takes on traditional Ligurian dishes, such as chestnut-flour pasta with pesto. Closed Mon.
Le Cantine Squarciafico Piazza Invrea 3/R 010.247.0823. Atmospheric cantina in the wine cellar of a fifteenth-century mansion just off Piazza San Lorenzo. Innovative, carefully prepared food and a great wine list complement each other perfectly, though it is on the expensive side. Closed second half of Aug.
Maxela Vico Inferiore del Ferro 9 010.247.4209. There’s been a restaurant in this building since 1790. The latest, Maxela, is part of a small chain, and specializes in meat dishes, with big steaks, odd bun-less burgers and various offal dishes, served under a stripped-down old vaulting. There are a few pasta dishes on the menu too. Moderately priced, with mains around €12–18. Closed Sun.
Östaja dö Castello Salita Santa Maria di Castello 32/R 010.246.8980. This is a great Old Town, family-run trattoria serving good, inexpensive fish and seafood specialities, such as octopus with potatoes and grilled prawns. Pasta dishes €9–12, mains €10–12. Closed Sun.
Pansön Piazza delle Erbe 5/R 010.246.8903. Venerable Genoese institution, in the same family since 1790, with an attractive location on a tucked-away piazza. Choose from a mainly fishy menu, priced high to keep the riff-raff away. Highly recommended. Closed Sun dinner.
Taggiou Via Superiore del Ferroi 8 010.275.9225. More of a wine bar than a restaurant, but very popular, drawing crowds at lunch and dinner for its great choice of Italian wine and plates of cold cuts and cheese. It serves cima alla Genovese and also does hot food – pasta al pesto and the like. A good Old Town choice. Open every day.
Ugo Via Giustiniani 86/R 010.246.9302. Convivial, reasonably-priced trattoria in the heart of the student quarter near San Donato, with a boisterous, friendly group of regulars who pack in at shared tables to wolf down the Genoese and Ligurian dishes – heavy on pesto and seafood. Simple pricing – primi are €10, secondi €12. Closed Sun & Mon.
Listings
Boat trips Consorzio Liguria Viamare (010.255.975, www.whalewatchliguria.it) run regular summer whale-watching trips from Genoa and several other major towns along the coast. The same company operates 45-minute boat trips around Genoa’s port, departing from the Aquarium (every 30min, daily 9am–5pm; €6), and run summer excursions west and east along the Riviera (prices vary). Routes along the eastern coast are also operated by Golfo Paradiso (0185.772.091, www.golfoparadiso.it), whose boats depart from Calata Mandraccio, just south of the Bigo.
Bookshops Feltrinelli, Via Ceccardi 16, has some English-language paperbacks.
Car rental Europcar, at the airport 010.650.4881; Hertz, Via E. Ruspoli 78 010.570.2625, airport 010.651.2422; Maggiore, Corso Sardegna 275 010.839.2153, airport 010.651.2467; Sixt, Via E. Ferri 30 010.651.2716, airport 010.651.2111.
Consulate US, Via Dante 2 010.584.492.
Doctor Call 010.354.022 for a doctor on call (nights and hols).
Ferries Any of the shipping agencies under the arcades along Piazza Caricamento can give current details of the long-distance ferries departing regularly to Bastia (Corsica), Olbia or Porto Torres (both Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily) and further afield to Tunisia and Spain. See Ferries for frequencies.
Football Genoa has two top-flight teams, Sampdoria and Genoa, the latter founded in 1893 as the Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club, originally for British expats only. Both teams play at the 36,000-capacity Luigi Ferraris stadium, behind Stazione Brignole. Bus #12 from Piazza Caricamento, and bus #37 from Stazione Principe pass near the stadium, or you can walk it in 15–20min from Brignole.
Hospitals Ospedale Galliera, Mura delle Cappuccine 14 (010.56.321), is the city’s most central hospital, situated just south of Piazza Vittoria, while Ospedale Evangelico, Corso Solferino 1/A (010.55.221), is English-speaking. In an emergency, call 118.
Internet access Nondove, Corso Buenos Aires 2 (€4/hr), near Stazione Brignole.
Pharmacies Ponte Monumentale, Via XX Settembre 115/R (010.564.430), and Farmacia Pescetto, Via Balbi 185/R (010.251.8777), are both open 24hr.
Police Carabinieri 112; Polizia 113; coastguard police 010.27.771. Genoa’s police HQ is at Via Armando Diaz 2 (010.53.661).
Post office Via Dante 4B/R (Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat 8am–1.30pm; two desks with English-speaking staff). Sub-post offices are at both train stations, open same hours.
Taxis Taxi Genova 010.5966.
Train information 06.3000.
Narrow-gauge trains to Casella
There’s no better way to get into inland Liguria than by taking the narrow-gauge trains which leave roughly every 90 minutes from Genoa’s Piazza Manin (reachable by bus #34 from Stazione Principe). They start off climbing through the Val Bisagno and coil northwards up to Casella, in a wooded dell at the foot of Monte Maggio, just over an hour from Genoa. Return fares to Casella are €2 (010.837.321, www.ferroviagenovacasella.it). Casella is the trailhead for a number of hiking routes in the picturesque Valle Scrivia (www.altavallescrivia.it). The town has a couple of hotels, of which the Magenta at Piazza XXV Aprile 20 is the better bet if you’re here in summer (010.967.7113; June–Sept; €61–90); and there are half-a-dozen restaurants, including Camugin (010.967.0939; closed Mon) in front of the church, known for its fresh fish, and Chiara (010.967.7040; closed Mon & Tues eve), with a wood-fired pizza oven.
The Riviera di Ponente
The coast west of Genoa, the Riviera di Ponente, is Liguria’s most built-up stretch, home to practical, unpretentious resorts, functional towns and the occasional attractive medieval quarter. In some ways it’s the ideal location for the perfect family holiday – the beaches are sandy and the prices low – and thousands of Italians come here every year for just that. Almost every settlement along the stretch of coast from Genoa to San Remo is a resort of some kind, and extremely busy during July and especially August, when prices are at their highest. But there are some gems among the run-of-the-mill holiday towns, not least the likeable resort of Finale Ligure, nearby Noli, with its alley-laden old centre, the medieval centre of Albenga and the grand old resort of San Remo, which can also make a good base for exploring sections of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri.
Savona
Some 30km along the coast from Genoa, SAVONA is the Ligurian coast at its most functional, a port city that was substantially rebuilt after a hammering in World War II. However, its ugly outskirts hide a picturesque medieval centre, and although you’re unlikely to want to stay the night, it is worth a look, especially when it’s taken over on summer Saturdays by a huge antiques and bric-a-brac market. The town’s main claim to fame is as the “Città dei Papi” (City of Popes), after local boy Francesco Della Rovere, who became Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, and his nephew Giuliano, who became Pope Julius II in 1503. Both men left a huge legacy, not least in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, which Sixtus IV built and Julius II famously commissioned Michelangelo to decorate.
The train station is in the west of town, across the River Letimbro from the old quarter, which nestles in the curve of the old port and bristles with medieval towers. Via Don Minzoni, to the left of the station as you walk out, heads east across the river to where the main Via Paleocapa, lined with Art Nouveau arcades, continues east to the port. Savona’s tourist office is at Via Paleocapa 76 (summer Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm; winter Tues–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–7.30pm; 019.840.2321, www.turismo.provincia.savona.it). South of here, the atmospheric old quarter is dominated by the Duomo and its attached Cappella Sistina, a Baroque extravaganza commissioned by Sixtus IV in memory of his parents. Above the old town stands the huge Fortezza di Priamàr, built in 1528 by the Genoese as a sign of their superiority over the defeated Savonese, and these days it’s the city’s major sight, housing three museums: the Museo d’Arte Sandro Pertini (Mon 9.30am–12.30pm; €2.50), displaying modern Italian art collected by the one-time president of Italy; the Museo Renata Cúneo, with contemporary sculpture by Cúneo, a Savona local (closed for restoration at the time of research); and – best of the bunch – the Museo Storico Archeologico (summer Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 3–5pm, Sun 3–5pm; winter Tues–Fri 9.30am–12.30pm & 3–5pm, Sat 10am–noon & 3–5pm; €2.50), which has Greek and Etruscan bits and bobs along with some Islamic and Byzantine ceramics.
Noli
Ten kilometres south of Savona, NOLI is the most attractive resort on this stretch of the coast, set in a shallow bay and topped by a castle whose battlements march down the hill to meet its enticing walled old quarter of small squares and alleys. There’s a crescent of part-pebble, part-sand beach, and just off the seafront you may want to peek in at the church of San Paragorio (Tues, Thurs & Sun 10am–noon & 6–8pm, Fri & Sat 6.30–10.30pm; €2), an ancient-looking Romanesque church that holds a beautiful vaulted crypt, some fifteenth-century frescoes and a thirteenth-century bishop’s throne. The tourist office is on the seafront nearby at Corso Italia 8 (Sun–Thurs 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm, Fri & Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–9.30pm; 019.749.9003), not far from the Miramarehotel at Corso Italia 3 (019.748.926, www.hotelmiramarenoli.it; €91–120), which has decent rooms within a stone’s throw of the sea; two minutes away, the smaller and slightly cheaper Triestina, in the old town itself at Via A. da Noli 16 (019.748.024; €91–120), is very welcoming, with simple, air-conditioned rooms and a pleasant garden out front. The Miramare’s restaurant, La Barcaccia, serves great seafood pasta and excellent pizzas in its garden.
Finale Ligure
FINALE LIGURE, half an hour from Savona, is a full-on Italian resort, in summer crowded with Italian families who pack the outdoor restaurants, seafront fairground and open-air cinema, or take an extended passeggiata along the promenade and through the old alleys. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable place for all that, with a long sandy beach that stretches the entire length of the town and a busy, buzzy vibe that lasts long into the evening.
Arrival, information and accommodation
The train station is at the western end of Finalmarina, the main part of town. The tourist office is on the seafront boulevard at Via San Pietro 14 (Sun–Thurs 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm, Fri & Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–9.30pm; 019.681.019). There’s no shortage of hotels in town, as well as an excellent hostel and two convenient campsites.
Hotels
Giardino Via Pertico 49 019.692.815, giardinofi@libero.it. This seafront hotel is a good budget choice considering its central location, with a wide choice of rooms, some of which have shared bathrooms. €61–90
Medusa Vico Bricchieri 7 019.692.545, www.hotelmedusa.it. A good option if you want slightly more comfort and to be right on the beach, with a friendly welcome and recently renovated rooms – though the best ones with sea views are of course more expensive. €91–150
Villa Gina Via Brunenghi 6 019.691.297, www.villagina.it. Just two minutes from the station, Villa Gina has well-kept rooms with a/c and comfy public areas downstairs, looked after by a nice elderly lady. €61–90
Hostel and campsites
Camping del Mulino Via Castello, Finalpia 019.601.669, www.campingmulino.it. Ten minutes’ walk up winding Via Castello, with great views and well-priced bungalows for rent too.
Castello Vuillermin Via Caviglia 46 019.690.515, finaleligurehostel@libero.it This HI hostel occupies an old castle high above the train station and has marvellous views out to sea. Mid-March to mid-Oct. Dorm beds €13.
Eurocamping Via Calvisio 37, Finalpia 019.601.240, www.eurocampingcalvisio.it. This well-run riverside site about 1500m inland is open April–Sept.
The Town
The main part of town is Finalmarina, with a promenade lined with palms, and a small quarter of narrow shopping streets set back from the seafront, focused on the arcaded Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II in the middle. At the eastern end of town, Finalpia is a small district on the other side of the River Sciusa, with the twelfth-century church of Santa Maria di Pia (rebuilt in florid early eighteenth-century style) and the adjacent sixteenth-century cloistered abbey at its centre, while Finalborgo, perhaps the most attractive part of Finale, is a medieval walled quarter 2km inland, overlooked by bare rock-faces that are a favourite with free climbers who gather at Bar Centrale in Finalborgo’s Piazza Garibaldi at weekends. Finalborgo has quite a chi-chi air these days, and is a nice place to eat and shop – there are free buses from Finalpia (opposite the Hotel Boncardo) and the bottom of Via Brunenghi (near the station) every forty minutes in summer. Once there you can just wander its old streets, or take a look at the array of prehistoric remains and other artefacts unearthed locally at the Museo Archeologico di Finale in the cloisters of the convent of Santa Caterina (Tues–Sun: July & Aug 10am–noon & 4–7pm; Sept–June 9am–noon & 2.30–5pm; €4).
Eating and drinking
There are lots of options for eating out, but the best ones need some hunting out. For picnic supplies, Chiesa, on the main street at Via Pertica 13, is a mouth-watering salumeria that has its own restaurant around the corner.
Ai Torchi Via dell’Annunziata 12 019.690.531. This refined restaurant occupies an ancient olive-oil factory in Finalborgo and serves expensive pasta and fish dishes with care and some style. Closed Tues except in Aug.
Chiesa Vico Gandolino 12 018.692.516. A small, canteen-like place open lunchtime only and with a different menu every day – good food, and cheap at €5 for a primo and €7–9 for a main. Closed Sun.
La Vecchia Maniera Via Roma 25 019.692.562. A central and unpretentious place to eat local fish and seafood, but it’s popular – book in advance if you can, especially if you want to sit outside. Closed Tues–Thurs Oct–June.
Osteria La Briga Via Manie 2 019.698.579. You can fill up on ortica (nettle) and black truffle lasagne at this excellent mid-priced restaurant up in the hills. Dinner only Sat, Sun, July & Aug.
Patrick Via Roma 45 019.968.0007. Good seafood pasta dishes and other local specialities. More expensive than La Vecchia Maniera, but its outside terrace is a lovely place to watch the world go by while you eat.
Sotto il Santo Piazza Garibaldi 6 019.680.087. Up in Finalborgo, you can eat excellent pasta all ways and sit out on the main square. Closed Tues.
Albenga
The small market town of ALBENGA is one of the most attractive places along this part of the coast, an ex-port whose estuary silted up long ago but left a wanderable old quarter, still within medieval walls and following the grid-pattern of its ancient Roman predecessor, Albingaunum.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Albenga’s train station is 800m east of the old town; turn left outside the station and cross the road to follow Viale Martiri della Libertà to the modern centre’s Piazza del Popolo. In the centre of the square is the tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 4–7.30pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; 0182.558.444). To stay, the Sole Mare, down on the seafront at Lungomare Colombo 15 (0182.51.817, www.albergosolemare.it; €61–90), has 14 cosy rooms, about half of which have sea views. Otherwise, a ten-minute walk from the old town, up in the hills at Regione Miranda 25, Villa Maria (0182.559.091, www.villamaria-bb.it; €61–90) is a fine, family-run B&B with gracious rooms (though bathrooms are not en suite), gorgeous grounds, a great pool and a couple of bikes for guests. There are lots of campsites nearby: try Europamare on the other side of the river at Via Michelangelo 7 (0182.540.824).
The Town
The centre of town is Piazza San Michele, where you’ll find the elegant cathedral, the main part of which was built in the eleventh century and enlarged in the early fourteenth, and, just beyond, in the Torre Comunale, the Museo Civico Ingauno (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm; €3.50) – home to an array of Roman masonry and fragments, including a patch of original mosaic floor, and, off to the right, the fifth-century baptistry. This ingenious building was built in the fifth century, and combines a ten-sided exterior with an octagonal interior. Inside are fragmentary mosaics showing the Apostles represented by twelve doves. Behind the baptistry to the north, the archbishop’s palace houses the diverting Museo Diocesano, Via Episcopio 5 (Tues–Thurs 10am–noon & 3–5pm, Fri & Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–5pm; €3), where there are paintings by Lanfranco and Guido Reni. The archbishop’s partially frescoed bedchamber, next door to his private chapel, is also decorated with fifteenth-century frescoes. A few metres from here, at the junction of Via Medaglie d’Oro and Via Ricci, the thirteenth-century Loggia dei Quattro Canti marks the centre of the Roman town, while some 500m further north, beyond Piazza Garibaldi and along Viale Pontelungo, is the elegant, arcaded Pontelungo bridge. Built in the twelfth century to cross the river, which shifted course soon afterwards, it now makes an odd sight. In the opposite direction, five minutes’ walk beyond the train station, lies Albenga’s seafront and beaches – mostly sandy and with a couple of reasonable free sections.
Eating and drinking
There are two good restaurants opposite each other on Via Torlaro, off Via Medaglie d’Oro: Da Puppo at no. 20 (0182.98.062) is a basic canteen-like trattoria with a great menu of cheap grilled staples – swordfish, prawns and even Argentinian steaks – while Vecchio Mulino, at no. 13 (0182.543.111), has pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven at lunch and dinner, as well as lots of other good local dishes. Another reliable option for lunch is San Teodoro, in a quiet location with outside seating at Piazza d’Erbe 1 (0182.555.990), serving salads and cold cuts and a short menu of pasta dishes and secondi, including a decent pasta with pesto, beans and potatoes.
The caves of Toirano
The resort of Borghetto Santo Spirito is the transfer point for buses to the spectacular caves just outside the village of Toirano a few kilometres inland. The caves (daily: July & Aug 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; Sept–June 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; €10; tours last 1hr) are up a track a kilometre or so beyond the main part of the village, and are quite well developed as an attraction, with plenty of parking and a café and shop. They are well worth seeing, made up of two accessible complexes, connected by a man-made tunnel. The first, the so-called Grotta della Bàsura or “Witch’s Cave” was inhabited some 12,000 years ago, and you can see well-marked foot- and handprints to prove it, as well as the well-preserved bones of bears who lived here around 20,000 years earlier. Beyond, the Grotta di Santa Lucia Inferiore has some remarkable stalagmite and stalactite formations, including stone flowers and rare, rounded stalactites, while outside and above, the grotto and church of Santa Lucia Superiore holds a natural spring that was dedicated in the Middle Ages to St Lucy, patron saint of eyesight, after several miraculous cures were effected here. You too can have a drink – bottles are left out for the purpose. If you need more than a drink, Da Malin, on Toirano’s central Piazza Libertà, is good for lunch, with salads, focaccia and toasted sandwiches.
Alassio, Laigueglia and around
A fifteen-minute drive from Albenga is ALASSIO, with a spectacular four-kilometre fine-sand beach and a nice enough old centre just behind, though many people come here to take motorboat trips out to the Isola Gallinara island nature reserve, which has the remains of a Benedictine monastery. Expect crowds during high season.
LAIGUEGLIA, the next resort west, is more appealing, an ex-fishing port with a nice old centre of porticoed streets and alleys that gives straight onto the town’s attractive sandy beach in places, although there are very few non-paying spots in the centre of town. Nonetheless it’s one of the more appealing resorts along here to kick back and relax for a while, and much quieter than Alassio. A short way inland from Laigueglia, the hilltop village of COLLA MICHERI was famously restored by the explorer and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, who lived here until his death in 2002.
Imperia
Some 30km west of Alassio is the provincial capital of IMPERIA, a sprawling settlement that was formed in 1923 when Mussolini linked twin townships on either side of the River Impero. Imposing Porto Maurizio, on the western bank, is the more likeable of the two, ascending the hillside in a series of zigzags from a marina and small beach, with its stepped old quarter dominated by a massive late-eighteenth-century cathedral and a series of Baroque churches and elegant villas. Quieter Oneglia, 2km east, is a more workaday place, devoted to fishing and the local olive industry, most manifest in local producer Fratelli Carli’s Museo dell’Olivo, behind the train station at Via Garessio 11 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm; free), which houses modern displays devoted to the history of Liguria’s green nectar.
The tourist office is just back from the seafront at Viale Matteotti 37 in Porto Maurizio (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; 0183.660.140), near to which you’ll also find the comfortable hotelsCroce di Malta, overlooking the old harbour at Via Scarincio 148 (0183.667.020, www.hotelcrocedimalta.com; €91–120), and Corallo at Corso Garibaldi 29 (0183.666.264, www.coralloimperia.it; €91–120), where the rooms are light and airy and all have sea views.
San Remo
Set on a broad sweeping bay between twin headlands, SAN REMO had its heyday as a classy resort in the sixty years or so up to the outbreak of World War II, when the Empress Maria Alexandrovna headed a substantial Russian community in the town (Tchaikovsky completed Eugene Onegin and wrote his Fourth Symphony in San Remo in 1878). Some of the grand hotels overlooking the sea, especially those near the train station, are now grimy and crumbling, but others in the ritzier western parts of town are still in pristine condition, opening their doors to Europe’s remaining aristocrats season after season. San Remo is blessed with the Italian Riviera’s most famous casino, and remains a showy and attractive town, with a good beach and a labyrinthine old town standing guard over the palm-laden walkways below.
A walk from Laigueglia
A walk up the steps from the junction of Via Mimosa and the main Via Roma in Laigueglia takes you away from the coast through to the old Roman road near the top of the hill. From here, follow the strada privata into the woods and take the signposted path for about forty minutes to the ruins of the Castello di Andora and what is held to be one of the most important medieval monuments of the Riviera, the beautiful thirteenth-century church of Sts Giacomo and Filippo. Even if you never get to the church and castle, the walk along mule tracks between olive groves and woods is gorgeous. From the castle you can either backtrack or walk on through the outskirts of the village of Andora to its train station.
The town has its fair share of events too. Every January the Festival dei Fiori (Festival of Flowers) sees flora-bedecked floats make their way through the town, displaying products by the area’s horticulturists. The five-day Festa della Canzone in early March is a journey to the dark heart of Italian pop – not for the faint-hearted – while July’s Campionato Mondiale di Fuochi d’Artificio, or World Fireworks Championship, is not for the jittery.
The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri
The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri is a long-distance high-level trail covering the length of Liguria, from Ventimiglia in the west all across the ridge-tops to Ceparana on the Tuscan border above La Spezia in the east – a total distance of some 440km. The mountains, which form the connection between the Alps and the Apennines, aren’t high – rarely more than 1500m – meaning that the scenic route, which makes full use of the many passes between peaks, is correspondingly easy-going. The whole thing would take weeks to complete in full, but has been divided up into 43 stages of between 2 and 4 hours each, making it easy to dip in and out of. Trail support and maintenance is good, with rifugi dotted along the path and distinctive waymarks (red-white-red “AV” signs).
Unfortunately, access from the main coastal towns to most other parts of the Alta Via can be tricky, and requires juggling with route itineraries and bus timetables. A sample walk starts from point 26 – Crocetta d’Orero, on the Genoa–Casella train line: heading east from Crocetta, an easy route covers 7.8km to point 27, Colle di Creto (2hr 30min, and served by Genoa buses), with a diversion along the way to a lovely flower-strewn path in and around the deserted hamlet of Ciatti. Another sample walk, the very first stage of all, from Ventimiglia to La Colla, sidelining to Dolceacqua, is outlined A walk to Dolceacqua.
For information on the Alta Via, your best bet is the Associazione Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, which produces a full-colour wall-map of the route, along with detailed English descriptions and timings of all 43 stages (plus hotels and restaurants along the way). Books and an eight-pamphlet guide to the trail are on sale in bookshops. The same information is at www.parks.it. Club Alpino Italiano offices in the major towns have information on rifugi, and the Federazione Italiano Escursionismo (FIE) publishes detailed guides to all the inland paths of Liguria.
Arrival, information and accommodation
San Remo’s modern underground train station is east of the town centre on Corso Cavallotti. It’s a five-minute walk east from here along Corso Garibaldi to the main bus station on Piazza Colombo, and the centre of town. The tourist office is on the other side of the town centre at Largo Nuvoloni 1 (Mon–Sat 8.30am–7pm, Sun 9am–1pm; 0184.59.059, www.visitrivieradeifiori.it).
Hotels
Al Dom Corso Mombello 13 0184.501.460. This third-floor family-run hotel has large and airy rooms and is in a great location, but it can be a bit noisy. You also need to like dogs. €60–90
Alexander Corso Garibaldi 123 0184.504.591, www.hotelalexandersanremo.com. Five minutes’ walk from the train station, the rooms here don’t quite live up to the beautiful belle époque building, but they’re nice enough, the welcome is friendly, and there’s a pleasant garden out the front and parking at the rear. €61–90
Paradiso Via Roccasterone 12 0184.571.211, www.paradisohotel.it. If you want a quiet location above the town’s bustle, this is the place, with sunny, modern rooms and a secluded garden and pool. €151–200
Royal Hotel Corso Imperatrice 80 0184.5391, www.royalhotelsanremo.com. A grand white presence above San Remo’s western seafront, this is how they did things in times gone by, and is really the place to stay if you’re dressing for dinner and gambling at the casino down below. Great facilities – three restaurants and a vast, heated, salt-water swimming pool set in a tropical garden – and lovely, large, renovated rooms. €301–400
Campsite
Villaggio dei Fiori Via Tiro a Volo 3 0184.660.635, www.villaggiodeifiori.it. Facility-laden campsite about 2km west of town which has space for tents and caravans, plus chalets and bungalows for rent. Open all year but best to book in advance in high season.
The Town
San Remo’s main artery is the largely pedestrianized Corso Matteotti, at one end of which is the town’s landmark Casinò (daily 2.30pm–3am, slots from 10.30am; Mon–Thurs free, Fri–Sun €7.50; 0184.59.51, www.casinosanremo.it), an ornate white palace with grand staircases and distinctive turrets that epitomizes the town’s old-fashioned fin-de-siècle charm. It’s a theatre too, and hosts San Remo’s long-running festival of popular song every March. Anyone can visit, as long you have your passport as ID, and, in the main part of the casino, a jacket and tie (the slot machines area is more informal); or you can tour the gaming rooms, roof garden and theatre on regular guided tours throughout the summer (July & Aug Sat 9.30am; €3); entrance is from the side entrance to the theatre on the left.
Beyond the casino, the palm-lined boulevard of Corso Imperatrice stretches along the seafront west of the centre. Just back from the seafront, the impressive onion-domed Russian Orthodox church is a manifestation of San Remo’s former Russian community (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm), built in the 1920s, though more impressive outside than in. In the other direction from the casino, Corso Matteotti leads east, lined with cocktail bars, gelaterie, cinemas and clothes stores, through the commercial centre of town. At Corso Matteotti 143, the Renaissance Palazzo Borea d’Olmo houses the Museo Civico (Tues–Sat 9am–7pm; free), with the usual array of local archeological finds, paintings and items relating to the Risorgimento (Garibaldi spent quite a bit of time in San Remo). However you might prefer to investigate the streets just above, where busy Via Palazzo gives way to a warren of narrow streets and eventually the mainly Romanesque Cattedrale di San Siro (Mon–Sat 8–11.45am & 3–5.45pm, Sun 7.30am–12.15pm & 3.30–7pm), decorated with unusual twelfth-century bas reliefs above each of its side doors and with a very ancient feel within; note the fifteenth-century processional black crucifix in the right aisle. Above here is La Pigna or “The Pine Cone”, perhaps San Remo’s most fascinating quarter, accessible up steep lanes north of Piazza Eroi Sanremesi and Piazza Cassini. Known for its kasbah-like arched passageways and alleys, it is remarkably ungentrified – and a stark contrast to the crisp and bustling modern streets down below. It’s fascinating to wander through its quiet streets and the views from the top are great.
San Remo’s seafront is good for a wander. Following Corso Mombello from Corso Matteotti takes you down to the Porto Vecchio, full of high-end boats and lined with restaurants and cafés, while at the end of Corso Matteotti, opposite the tourist office, there are some small stretches of beach, as well as a larger stretch at the other end of town just east of the Porto Vecchio, not far from the train station.
Eating and drinking
Café Permare Via N. Sauro 42/44 0184.503.755. Cool, modern café-restaurant, good for lunch and dinner, with daily specials for €9–14, pizzas in the evening and relaxed terrace overlooking the port from which to enjoy them. There’s a trendy bar out the back, too.
Cantine Sanremesi Via Palazzo 7 0184.572.063. Informal wine bar with a few tables outside that make a good lunch stop, with great focaccia, and lots of pasta dishes and Ligurian specialities like potato and octopus salad.
Piccolo Mondo Via Piave 7 0184.509.012. Charming trattoria in an alley off Corso Matteotti, with tables outside and serving delicious Ligurian specialities such as stuffed anchovies and pasta with home-made pesto, beans and courgettes (€10.50). The owner speaks good English. No credit cards. Closed Sun & Mon dinner.
Ventimiglia and around
Barely 6km east of the French border, VENTIMIGLIA is an unexceptional frontier town that enjoyed several centuries of minor prosperity thanks to constant border traffic. However, it’s been experiencing hard times since the 1995 Schengen agreement permitted unchecked passage between France and Italy and rendered the town’s role as stopover and refreshment point redundant. The town does make a good base for country walks though, especially as the hotels are cheaper than those in other nearby resorts, and it has a lively modern centre, with a handful of good restaurants and delis, and an old town across the river, focused around the Romanesque Cattedrale dell’Assunta. Below here are some stretches of beach, while on the opposite side of the centre there’s a low-key Area Archeologica, where you can see some remains of a third-century Roman amphitheatre and baths (Sat & Sun 3–6pm; free).
The Valle Argentina
There are any number of places along the coast to sample the delights of inland Liguria, but one of the best is the Valle Argentina, which heads inland from the bustling seaside resort of Arma di Taggia, 6km east of San Remo. Sleepy, crumbling Taggia, 3km north, is known for its sixteen-arched Romanesque bridge, the taggiasca black olive that is famed for giving top-quality oil, and a collection of work by Ligurian artists in the black-and-white stone convent church of San Domenico just outside the old walls. If you can, time a visit for the third Sunday in July, when the ancient festa of Santa Maria Maddalena culminates in a “Dance of Death” performed by two men, traditionally from the same two families, accompanied by the local brass and woodwind band.
Some 25km further up the valley is the tiny village of Triora, reachable by bus direct from San Remo (4 services daily from the main bus station) – a trip worth doing in its own right, the road wending its way past small settlements with ancient bridges and farms linked to the main road across the valley by a rope-and-pulley system. Triora is almost within sight of Monte Pietradura, which stays snowcapped until April. In 1588, after an unexpected famine, two hundred women in this isolated community were denounced by the Inquisition as witches: rumour has it that thirty were tortured, fourteen were burned at the stake, and one woman committed suicide before she could be executed. Documents from the trial are preserved in the Museo Etnografico in the village, and a commemorative plaque adorns the overgrown Cabotina just outside the village, supposed scene of the witches’ gatherings. Also worth seeking out is the celebrated Sienese painter Taddeo di Bartolo’s Baptism of Christ (1397), hung in the baptistry of the Romanesque-Gothic Collegiata church. The village has a single hotel, the lovely Colomba d’Oro, Corso Italia 66 (0184.94.051, www.colombadoro.it; €61–90), comfortably converted from an old monastery.
Ventimiglia’s train station is just north of the centre, off Via Cavour. If you want to stay, the pleasant Sea Gull, below the old town at Passeggiata Marconi 24 (0184.351.726, www.seagullhotel.it; €91–120), has rooms with balconies and sea views and its own patch of beach; for food, you could try the Usteria d’a Porta Marina, overlooking the river at Via Trossarelli 22 (0184.351.650; closed Tues dinner & Wed).
Some 5km from Ventimiglia along the coast, the village of MÓRTOLA INFERIORE is famed for the spectacular hillside Giardini Botanici “Hanbury” (April to mid-June daily 10am–5pm; mid-June to Sept daily 9am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–6pm; Nov–March Thurs–Tues 10am–4pm; €7.50) – reachable by taking bus #1a from Via Cavour (every hour, on the hour, no service 3–4pm). The gardens were laid out in 1867 by Sir Thomas Hanbury, a London spice merchant who set up home here, and are highly atmospheric, with hidden corners and pergola-covered walks tumbling down to the sea. A thirty-minute walk further west along the coast road – or a few minutes on bus #1a – is the frontier post.
A walk to Dolceacqua
One of the best walks around Ventimiglia comprises Stage One of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri hiking trail. The ten-kilometre route (an easy-ish 3hr romp) begins from Ventimiglia’s tourist office, and takes you through ridge-top vineyards to the medieval village of Dolceacqua, known for its red wine and olive oil. Buses run between Dolceacqua and Ventimiglia for those who don’t fancy the walk back.
The Riviera di Levante
The coast east of Genoa, dubbed the Riviera di Levante, is perhaps more varied and beautiful than its counterpart to the west, but also not the place to come for a get-away-from-it-all holiday, with a series of towns and villages that once eked a living from fishing and coral diving but have been transformed by thirty years of tourism. That said, it’s a glorious and rugged stretch of coast, its cliffs and bays covered with pine and olive trees, and with a number of very appealing resorts. The footpaths that crisscross the headland of Monte di Portofino are a great way to get off the beaten tourist track, and the harbour towns each side – Camogli towards Genoa and Santa Margherita in the Golfo di Tigullio – are well worth a visit; and of course Portofino itself is an upscale resort of some renown. Other highlights include big, feisty resorts like Rapallo, and smaller, quieter places like Sestri Levante, while further east, the main road (though not the railway) heads inland, bypassing the laid back beach town of Lévanto and the spectacular Cinque Terre coast (now a national park and great, organized walking country). The road joins the train line again at the naval port of La Spezia, at the head of the Golfo dei Poeti, on either side of which Portovénere and Lérici (the latter almost in Tuscany) are very enticing spots.
Open or wrapped?
If you’re visiting Camogli on the second Sunday in May, you won’t be able to miss the Sagra del Pesce, preceded on the Saturday night by fireworks and a huge bonfire. This generous – and smelly – event has its origins in celebrating the munificence of the sea and retains its ancient resonance for Camogli’s fisherfolk even today. Thousands of fish are plucked fresh from the waves, flipped into a giant frying-pan set up on the harbourfront and distributed free of charge to all and sundry as a demonstration of the sea’s abundance (and in the hope for its continuation). In recent years the event has been beset by quibbles: bureaucrats have suggested that the frying pan – some four metres across – is a health hazard, and there have even been allegations that frozen fish is defrosted out at sea and then passed off as fresh. For all that, local enthusiasm for the festival hasn’t waned one bit.
Camogli
CAMOGLI was the “saltiest, roughest, most piratical little place”, according to Dickens when he visited the town. Though it still has the “smell of fish, and seaweed, and old rope” that the author relished, it’s had its rough edges knocked off since his day, and is now one of the most attractive small resorts along this stretch of the coast. The town’s name, a contraction of Casa Mogli (House of Wives), comes from the days when voyages lasted for years and the women ran the port while the men were away. Camogli supported a huge fleet of seven hundred vessels in its day, which once saw off Napoleon. The town declined in the age of steam, but has been reborn as a classy getaway without the exaggerated prices found further round the coast.
Camogli’s serried towers of nineteenth-century apartment blocks line up above the waterfront and a small promontory topped with the medieval Castello Dragone, on one side of which there’s a busy harbour, crammed with fishing boats, and on the other a section of pebble beach, backed by a long promenade of bars and restaurants. The train station is just inland and uphill from here, not far from which there’s a small tourist office at Via XX Settembre 33 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30 & 3–7pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; 0185.771.066, www.prolococamogli.it). For accommodation, the Augusta, just above the harbour at Via Piero Schiaffino 100 (0185.770.592, www.htlaugusta.com; €91–120), is a good-value family-run hotel with attractive air-conditioned rooms, all en suite; at the other end of the town centre, the Casmona, Salita Pineto 13 (0185.770.015, www.casmona.com; €151–200), is housed in a seafront nineteenth-century villa and has light, airy rooms with sea views and balconies. Just out of town, the best choice is probably the Villa Rosmarino at Via Ficari 38 (0185.771.580, www.villarosmarino.com; €151–200), a five-minute walk from the train station – a boutique hotel in a nineteenth-century palazzo with seven cool white rooms hung with contemporary art, lush grounds and a pool. Not too far away, the Cenobio dei Dogi, Via Cúneo 34 0185.7241, www.cenobio.it; €201–250), is the other upmarket alternative, a lavish hotel that was once the summer palace of Genoa’s doges, with its own park, beach, pool, tennis courts and restaurants. For food, try the excellent local focaccia, on sale in most bakeries, or wander along the waterfront and check out the fish on display at the various restaurants built out over the water. Try La Camogliese, Via Garibaldi 78 (0185.771.086); Rosa, at the other end of town at Via Jacopo Ruffini 13 (0185.773.411; closed Tues & Wed lunch); or – perhaps Camogli’s best choice – Nonna Nina, in San Rocco (0185.773.835; closed Wed), about ten minutes’ walk from the seafront up on the Portofino headland.
Portofino
There’s no denying the appeal of PORTOFINO, tucked into a protected inlet surrounded by lush cypress- and olive-clad slopes, an A-list resort that has been attracting high-end bankers, celebs and their hangers-on for years, as evidenced by the flotillas of giant yachts that are usually anchored just outside. It’s a tiny place that manages to be both attractive and off-putting at the same time. Once you’ve surveyed the expensive waterfront shops and restaurants and perhaps climbed up to the castle, there’s little to do other than watch the day’s endless procession of tour groups do the same; bear in mind, though, that a couple of peaceful harbourside beers will leave you little change from €20.
The village lies at the end of a narrow and treacherously winding road just 5km south of Santa Margherita, though bus journeys can take longer than the boats that shuttle regularly to and from all nearby ports in summer. To get a sense of Portofino’s idyllic setting follow the footpath which heads south from the harbour up onto the headland. Five minutes from the village is the church of San Giorgio, said to contain relics of St George, and a further ten minutes up is the spectacularly located Castello Brown (daily: summer 10am–7pm, winter 10am–5pm; €4), from whose terrace there are breathtaking views of a pint-sized Portofino. The castle, which dates back to the Roman period and now frequently hosts art and photography exhibitions, is named after its former owner, British Consul Montague Yeats Brown, who bought it in 1867 and set about transforming it. In 1870 he planted two pines on the main terrace for his wedding – one for him and one for his wife, Agnes Bellingham – and they are still a prominent feature today. The scenic path continues for a kilometre or so, down to the Faro (lighthouse) on the very tip of the promontory. The only way back is up the same path.
Northwest from the village, steeply stepped paths head through vineyards and orchards to Olmi and on to San Fruttuoso, while the best sandy beach is the sparkling cove at Paraggi, 2km back towards Santa Margherita on the coast road (buses will stop on request) – not exactly remote, but less formal than Portofino and with a small stretch of pebbly sand and a couple of bars set back from the water.
Practicalities
Portofino’s tourist office is at Via Roma 35 (summer daily 10am–1pm & 3–7pm; winter Tues–Sun 10.30am–1.30pm & 2.30–4.30pm; 0185.269.024). Accommodation is unsurprisingly expensive: luxury is really the point of Portofino. The Eden is probably the cheapest option, set within its own delightful gardens in the centre at Vico Dritto 8 (0185.269.091, www.hoteledenportofino.com; €251–300), and very nice it is too; rates drop drastically midweek, out of season. But if money is no object, the place to stay is the Splendido, high above the village at Viale Baratta 16 (0185.269.551, www.hotelsplendido.com; €401 and over), with its fabulously lush grounds and stupendous views. There is another, smaller location – the Splendido Mare – for those who prefer to be down in the port. Eating out is similarly pricey, but it’s worth it to eat seafood at the Splendido’s Chuflay restaurant right on the harbour (0185.269.020; closed Mon & Tues), or at the chic Il Pitosforo, also on the waterfont (0185.269.020; closed Mon & Tues).
Local boats to Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita
During summer, dozens of boats serve points along the Tigullio coast and beyond. There are shuttles between Genoa’s Porto Antico and Camogli several times a day, taking an hour (€10). Golfo Paradiso (Via Scalo 3, Camogli; 0185.772.09, www.golfoparadiso.it) run regular ferries connecting Camogli with tranquil Punta Chiappa, ideal for a spot of swimming and basking in the sun, and San Fruttuoso – ditto (May–Sept at least hourly; Oct–April Mon–Fri 3 daily, Sat & Sun hourly; €8 to Punta Chiappa, €10 to San Fruttuoso). The most popular line shuttles between Rapallo, Santa Margherita, Portofino and San Fruttuoso, taking around fifteen minutes between each (summer hourly; winter 2 on Sun; 0185.284.670, www.traghettiportofino.it). There are also lovely night excursions on the same route (July & Aug 2–8 weekly). The most you’ll pay for a one-way fare is €15.50. Boats also connect Camogli and the places above to the Cinque Terre (€15), and some continue to Portovénere and Lérici (€19). The best-value round-trip cruise ticket is the Super Cinque Terre, which allows stops of 1hr in Riomaggiore, 3hr for lunch in Monterosso and 1hr in Vernazza (June–Sept 2 weekly; €30).
San Fruttuoso
The enchanting thousand-year-old abbey of SAN FRUTTUOSO is one of the principal draws along this stretch of the Riviera, occupying a picturesque little bay at the southern foot of Monte di Portofino. The only way to get there is on foot or by boat, dozens of which shuttle backwards and forwards from practically every harbour along the coast during peak season. On summer weekends, the tiny pebble beach and church may be uncomfortably crowded, but out of season (or at twilight, courtesy of the occasional night cruise), San Fruttuoso is a peaceful, excellent place for doing very little.
The Abbazia di San Fruttuoso (daily 10am–5.45pm; €7) was originally built to house the relics of the third-century martyr St Fructuosus, which were brought here from Spain after the Moorish invasion in 711. It was rebuilt in 984 with an unusual Byzantine-style cupola and distinctive waterside arches and later became a Benedictine abbey that exerted a sizeable degree of control over the surrounding countryside. The Doria family took over in the sixteenth century, adding the defensive Torre dei Doria nearby, and the small, elegant church, with its compact little cloister and half-dozen Doria tombs. Off the headland, a 1954 bronze statue known as the Cristo degli Abissi (Christ of the Depths) rests eight fathoms down on the sea bed, to honour the memory of divers who have lost their lives at sea and to protect those still working beneath the waves. Taxi boats queue up to take you there.
There are a handful of simple restaurants on San Fruttuoso’s beach serving sandwiches, pasta and steamed mussels, the largest of which – Da Giovanni (0185.770.047; half-board €151–200) – offers simple rooms, but you’ll need to book ahead.
Walks around Portofino
The Portofino headland – protected as the Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino (www.parks.it) and encircled by cliffs and small coves – is one of the most rewarding areas for walking on the Riviera coast. At 612m, Monte di Portofino is high enough to be interesting but not so high as to demand any specialist hiking prowess. The trails cross slopes of wild thyme, pine and holm oak, enveloped in summer in the constant whirring of cicadas. From the summit, the view over successive headlands is breathtaking. Not many people walk these marked paths, maybe because their early stages are fairly steep – but they aren’t particularly strenuous, levelling off later and with plenty of places to stop. One of the best trails skirts the whole headland, beginning in Camogli, on the western side of the promontory. The path rises gently for 1km south to San Rocco (221m), then follows the coast south to a viewpoint above Punta Chiappa, before swinging east to the scenic Passo del Bacio (200m), rising to a ridge-top and then descending gently through the olive trees and palms to San Fruttuoso (3hr from Camogli). It continues east over a little headland and onto the wild and beautiful cliff-tops above Punta Carega, before passing through the hamlets of Prato, Olmi and Cappelletta and down steps to Portofino (4hr 30min from Camogli). There are plenty of alternative routes. About 1km south of San Rocco, an easier path forks inland up to Portofino Vetta and Pietre Strette (452m), before leading down again through the foliage to San Fruttuoso (2hr 30min from Camogli). Ruta is a small village 250m up on the north side of Monte di Portofino, served by buses from Camogli, Santa Margherita and Rapallo; a peaceful, little-trod trail from Ruta heads up to the summit of the mountain (2hr), or diverts partway along to take you across country to Olmi and on to Portofino (2hr 30min from Ruta).
Santa Margherita Ligure
SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE is a small, thoroughly attractive, palm-laden resort, tucked into an inlet and replete with grand hotels, garden villas and views of the glittering bay. In the daytime, trendy young Italians cruise the streets or whizz around the harbour on jet skis, while the rest of the family sunbathes or crams the gelaterie. Santa Margherita is far cheaper to stay in than Portofino and less crowded than Rapallo, and makes a good base both for taking boats and trains up and down the coast and for exploring the countryside on foot.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Santa Margherita’s train station overlooks the harbour, from where it is a five-to ten-minute walk to the tourist office, right in the centre on the waterfront Piazza Vittorio Veneto (daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 1–8pm; 0185.287.485). Buses stop right outside for Portofino, San Michele and Rapallo.
Hotels
Albergo Fasce 0185.286.435, www.hotelfasce.it. A good mid-priced hotel nicely located on a quiet side-street, with good-sized rooms and a panoramic roof-terrace. Free bikes for hotel guests’ use. €121–150
Annabella Via Costasecca 10 0185.286.531. Simple hotel whose attractive rooms have shared bathrooms. €61–90
Continental Via Pagan 8 0185/286.512, www.hotel-continental.it. One of a group of hotels just above Santa Margherita, five minutes’ walk from the centre, this has spacious rooms with balconies and sea views, a lovely terrace and gardens which lead down to private bathing facilities. A treat for the price. €201–250
Lido Palace Via Doria 3 0185.285.821, www.lidopalacehotel.com. This impressive seafront hotel is right by Santa Margherita’s small beach and has spacious, modern rooms. €201–250
The Town and around
The town is in two parts: one set around a harbour and gardens and a small town beach; and a second, more commercial harbour around the headland. In between there’s a small castle, and behind this the shady gardens of the sixteenth-century Villa Durazzo (Jan–March 9am–5pm; April & Oct 9am–6pm; May, June & Sept 9am–7pm; July & Aug 9am–8pm; free), which is host to art exhibitions and the like. There’s a decent if small town beach, but the best beaches are out of town, accessible by bus: south towards Portofino is Paraggi, while to the north the road drops down to a patch of beach in the bay of San Michele di Pagana. In addition to its beach bars and crystal-clear water, a Crucifixion by Van Dyck in the church of San Michele may prove an added incentive for a visit.
Santa Margherita is a popular venue for watersports. The European Dive-In Center, Lungomare Milite Ignoto (349.211.8893, www.europeandc.com), offers diving courses and excursions around the Portofino headland, and there’s a handful of places in the old harbour offering boats for rent. Walking trails cross the Monte di Portofino headland: marked paths from Santa Margherita to Pietre Strette (1hr 30min) and Olmi (1hr 40min) link in with the trails outlined in the box Walks around Portofino.
Eating and drinking
Dei Pescatori Via Bottaro 43 0185.286.747. Nice place on the waterfront in the old port for traditional fish dishes such as fish baked with potatoes, olives and pine nuts (€16.50). Closed Tues, except in July and Aug, when it closes Mon & Tues lunchtime.
L’Ancora Via Maragliano 7 0185.280.559. This excellent-value, mid-priced, traditional fish restaurant a block back from the waterfront in the old port is a great place to try baked fish with potatoes. No outside seating. Closed Tues.
Trattoria Baicin Via Algeria 5 0185.286.763. A very good and reasonably priced family-run seafood restaurant, right in the centre of town, just back from the waterfront park, offering great Ligurian specialities such as swordfish with tomato sauce and olives. Closed Mon & Jan.
Rapallo
RAPALLO is larger and has a more urban feel than anywhere else along the coast, a highly developed resort with an expanse of glass-fronted restaurants and plush hotels crowding around a south-facing bay. In the early part of the twentieth century it was a backwater, and writers in particular came for the bay’s extraordinary beauty, of which you now get an inkling only early in the morning or at dusk. Max Beerbohm lived in Rapallo for the second half of his life, and attracted a literary circle to the town; Ezra Pound wrote the first thirty of his Cantos here between 1925 and 1930, D.H. Lawrence stayed for a while and Hemingway also dropped by (but came away muttering that the sea was flat and boring). There’s a pleasant old town tucked away behind the seafront hotels, but otherwise the town’s landmarks are the large marina and the castle, now converted into an exhibition space, at the end of a small causeway. Despite the beauty of the bay, there’s not much to Rapallo’s beaches: there’s a free patch of shingle right by the castle, and some pay-beaches on the other side of the bay close to the Riviera.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Rapallo’s train station is a five-minute walk from the sea on Piazza Molfino – just follow Corso Italia from the station and turn left at Piazza Cavour for the old town and seafront. The tourist office is at Lungomare V. Veneto 7 (daily 10am–1pm & 3.30–7pm; 0185.230.346), and can provide details of diving outfits in the town and places to rent boats.
Hotels
Bandoni Via Marsala 24 0185.50.423, bandoni@tele2.it. Housed in a fine old palazzo overlooking the sea, next door to the more expensive Miramare, this is the best bargain in town, if a little rough around the edges. €61–90
Excelsior Palace Via San Michele di Pagana 8 0185.230.666, www.thi-hotels.com. Rapallo’s flagship five-star hotel, at the western edge of town high above the shore, has splendidly lavish rooms, a state-of-the-art spa, and two refined, romantic restaurants. €301–400
Miramare Lungomare V. Veneto 27 0185.230.261, www.miramare-hotel.it. Pleasant hotel with spacious, spotless rooms overlooking the sea. €251–300
Riviera Piazza IV Novembre 2 0185.50.248, www.hotelrivierarapallo.com. Hemingway wrote Cat in the Rain while staying in this belle époque hotel overlooking the sea in 1923. Service is good and the rooms are nice with balconies and sea views, but the sense of history has been lost in their renovation. €151–200
Stella Via Aurelia Ponente 6 0185.50.367, www.hotelstella-riviera.com. An affordable and welcoming place, with a roof terrace and decent rooms, a couple of which have small balconies, though the busy main road outside can be noisy. €91–120
Eating and drinking
Antica Cucina Genovese Via S. M. del Campo 133–139 0185.206.009. A couple of kilometres outside town, this place gives you the chance not only to sample some of the region’s best cuisine, but to learn how to cook it as well. There’s an emphasis on the vegetables and local produce of the area, with lots of vegetarian options, and the chefs give demonstrations on cooking everything from ravioli to cheese focaccia. Closed Mon.
Da Mario Piazza Garibaldi 23 0185.53.736. Moderate prices, and great seafood served on tables outside under Rapallo’s medieval arcades. Pasta dishes €7–11, mains €15–20. Closed Wed.
Il Castello Lungomare Castello 6 0185.52.426. Delightful restaurant and wine bar just past the castle, with a pleasant waterfront terrace and pasta dishes for €9–14 and mains for €14–18. Closed Thurs.
O Bansin Via Venezia 105 0185.231.119. Affordable old-town restaurant; try their signature pasta dish with pesto, tomatoes and cream. Closed Sun lunch.
Sestri Levante
Some 20km east of Rapallo, SESTRI LEVANTE is another large resort, though with a quite different feel to its brasher neighbours, its centre set on a narrow isthmus between two bays – the Bay of Fables, with a broad sandy beach decked with umbrellas, and the quieter Bay of Silence, a picturesque curve of sand overlooked by bobbing fishing boats. A former fishing village, the town has a relaxed feel, and is one of the nicer places to stay along this stretch of coast, with a number of decent hotels in its old quarter and within easy walking distance of the town’s beaches.
The train station is a five- to ten-minute walk from the beach at the end of Viale Roma in the modern part of town, on Piazza Caduti di Via Fani. From here it’s a two-minute walk to the tourist office at Piazza Sant’Antonio 10 (daily 10am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; 0185.457.011). For accommodation, try the Albergo San Pietro, at Via Palesto 13 (0185.41.279, hotelsanpietro59@libero.it; €61–90), a simple hotel but in a great location just steps from the sands of the Bay of Silence. The Villa Jolanda, on the other side of the Bay at Vico Pozzetto 15 (0185.41.354, www.villaiolanda.it; €61–90), has nice rooms with balconies, a shady terrace and garden for alfresco breakfasts, and overlooks the Due Mari, Vico del Coro 18 (0185.42.695, www.duemarihotel.it; €151–200), which also has gardens and a pool, as well as fairly palatial rooms, and parking. For restaurants, try the Millelire, Via XXV Aprile 153, for focaccia and snacks at lunchtime, or the excellent Cantina del Polpo (0185.485.296), around the corner at Piazza Cavour 2, a cosy, dark-wood restaurant with covered terrace that does a good line in seafood and fish, mostly for €10–15, and has lots of daily specials. The canteen-like L’Osteria Mattana, Via XXV Aprile 36, is open evenings-only for Ligurian specialities (0185.457.633).
The Cinque Terre
The stupendous folded coastline of the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) stretches between the beach resort of Lévanto and the port of La Spezia. The area is named for five tiny villages – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – wedged into a series of coves between sheer cliffs; their comparative remoteness, and the dramatic nature of their position on a stunning coastline, make them the principal scenic highlight of the whole Riviera. They get pretty crowded in summer, and all the villages have lost some of their character to the tide of kitschy souvenir shops and overpriced, under-quality restaurants, but outside August you should try to take in at least part of the area – the scenery is breathtaking and there is some lovely walking between villages.
Walking in the Cinque Terre
Most people come to the Cinque Terre to walk, but in order to walk the national park’s most popular route – the Blue Route (Sentiero Azzurro), or Path no. 2, from Riomaggiore to Monterosso – you have to invest in a Cinque Terre Card, which gives access to the path for one (€5), two (€8), three (€10) or seven days (€20). You can also get a version which includes the train for €8.50, €14.70, €19.50 and €36.50 respectively. The park’s Red Route (Sentiero Rosso), or Path no. 1, is free. The rudimentary tourist offices at each of the stations that sell the card can provide maps and information, and advise on itineraries.
Despite its popularity, the Blue Route is well worth doing, out of season at least (11km; around 5hr); it hugs the shoreline between all five villages, offering spectacular scenery along the way. Another highly rewarding walk is Path no. 10, which leads from Monterosso station up through pine woods and onto a flight of steps that emerge at the Sant’Antonio church on the high point of the Punta Mesco headland (1hr), giving a spectacular panorama along the length of the Cinque Terre coastline.
Note that most of the paths are unshaded and can be blisteringly hot in summer – make sure you wear a hat and carry a water bottle for even a short stroll. Walking shoes are advisable as paths are rocky and uneven at the best of times. Also, take note of weather forecasts in spring and autumn, as rainstorms can brew up rapidly and make paths treacherously slippery.
Cinque Terre practicalities
Much of the area is now officially protected as the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, the website of which, www.cinqueterre.com, also operates a hotel booking service. You can also book apartments and hotels through Arbaspaa (0187.760.083, www.arbaspaa.com), based in Manarola. You can get to and around the villages of the Cinque Terre by train, boat and on foot. There are regular slow trains between Lévanto and La Spezia that stop at every village. Boats from every company on the Riviera shuttle along this bit of coast all summer long. Be sure to confirm which of the four waterside villages you’ll be stopping at (Corniglia has no harbour), and specify if you want a one-way ticket, rather than the more usual round-trip. Hopping between Cinque Terre villages by boat is easy, with between five and eight a day (April–Oct; sporadic service in winter) going in both directions – although watch out for a lull between about noon and 2.30pm. The most satisfactory way to get around is on foot: there’s a network of trails (see Walking in the Cinque Terre) linking the villages along the coast or up on the ridge-tops, which offer spectacular views. However, the coastal path in particular can get uncomfortably crowded throughout the summer months.
Trying to tour the area by car or motorbike truly isn’t worth the effort. All five villages have road access, although the streets are narrow and exceptionally steep. There’s also very little public parking. You’d do better to leave your vehicle in Lévanto or La Spezia.
Lévanto
Anchoring the westernmost point of the Cinque Terre, the unpretentious small resort of LÉVANTO feels quite cut off by Ligurian standards, but it has a nice sandy beach (attracting a surfy crowd), inexpensive hotels and good transport links that make it perhaps the best base for exploring the area. There are no real sights – only the Loggia Comunale on the central Piazza del Popolo, the black-and-white-striped church of Sant’Andrea across the road from here in the old part of town, and the odd surviving stretch of medieval wall – but the town is a pleasant and, for the most part, thoroughly Italian seaside resort.
Practicalities
The tourist office is right by the beach at the end of the main Via Roma at Piazza Mazzini 3 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 3–6pm, Sun 9am–1pm; 0187.808.125), while the train station is ten-minutes’ walk inland from the seafront.
Hotels
Europa Via Dante Alighieri 41 0187.808.126, info@europalevanto.com. This charmingly old-fashioned hotel is one of the nicest places to stay in the centre of Lévanto. It’s not high on mod cons, but does the simple things well, with pleasant, clean rooms and a warm welcome. €91–120
Maremesco Via Vecchia Mesco 10 0187.808.154, www.maremesco.it. A secluded and relaxing B&B on the footpath leading towards Monterosso; driftwood sculptures and beach-glass mosaics decorate the rooms and terraces, and the ten-minute walk up from town is rewarded by spectacular views – and, when it’s hot, a dip in Enrico’s hand-built plunge pool. €61–90
Stella Maris Via Marconi 4 0187.808.258, www.hotelstellamaris.it. Nicest of the hotels, with a handful of opulent rooms in the nineteenth-century Palazzo Vannoni, plus some others in a more modern annexe. €151–200
Hostel and campsites
Acqua Dolce Via Semenza 5 0187.808.465. Right by the medieval walls of the old town, this is the most convenient of several decent campsites in and around the town. Closed mid-Nov to mid-Dec & mid-Jan to Feb.
Albero d’Oro Via Albero d’Oro 6 0187.800.400. The best of a grouping of campsites ten minutes’ walk from the centre, out past the train station.
Ospitalia del Mare Via San Nicolò 0187.802.562, www.ospitaliadelmare.it. A clean, modern and central hostel. Dorm beds €21.
Eating and drinking
Antica Trattoria Centro Corso Italia 4 0187.808.157. Plenty of room here, inside and out, at one of Lévanto’s longest-established restaurants. Excellent food and the best service in town.
Bruna Piazza Staglieno 42 0187.807.796. With a few tables outside and a fairly bare interior, there’s nothing immediately alluring about this place, but the pizzas are absolutely top-notch and reasonably priced. Not surprisingly, you can’t book, and you may have to wait for a table.
Da Rino Via Garibaldi 10 0187.813.475. In the heart of old Lévanto, this place has outside tables and another room across the street to take the overflow. Its menu is not especially adventurous but consistently hits the mark with great seafood pasta.
Da Tapulin Corso Italia 10 0187.808.671. One of the cheapest and best places in town, with great pasta and mains, and pizzas too, but it’s ever-popular – you may have to book to be sure of a table, particularly if you want to sit outside.
Monterosso
Tucked into a bay on the east side of the jutting headland of Punta Mesco, MONTEROSSO is the chief village of the Cinque Terre. It’s the largest of the five – population 1800 – and perhaps the most developed, conjoined with the modern beach resort of Fegina whose shingle beach strings along the shore by Monterosso’s station; there’s a free section right by the station. Beyond the rocky outcrop at the end, atop which is the seventeenth-century Convento dei Cappuccini, the old village is a pleasant tangle of streets around the striped thirteenth-century church of San Giovanni Battista. Monterosso’s most recent claim to fame is as the home town of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Eugenio Montale; his Ossi di Seppia (Cuttlefish Bones) is a collection of early poems about his youth in the village. The coastal ferries stop in the little harbour, and there’s another, smaller stretch of shingle beach, again with a small free section.
There’s a Cinque Terre tourist office in the station (daily 9am–7pm; 0187.817.059), and a Pro Loco tourist office right outside at Via Fegina 38 (April–Nov daily 9.30am–noon & 4–7.30pm; 0187.817.506). The top hotel in town is the Porto Roca, atop the rocks above Monterosso’s beach at Via Corone 1 (0187.817.502, www.portoroca.it; March–Nov; €201–400). The public areas are decorated in rather dingy style with suits of armour and huge drab pictures, but the bedrooms come with sea views, terraces and sun loungers. The Amici, in the old part of Monterosso at Via Buranco 36 (0187.817.544, www.hotelamici.it; €151–200), is cheaper and has a garden with views of the sea, as well as a good restaurant, while the Villa Adriana is at the other end of town in Fegina, at Via IV Novembre 23 (0187.818.109, www.villaadriana.info; €151–200), two blocks from the beach, and has parking. As for restaurants, try either Da Andrea, Via Vittorio Emanuele 3 (334.395.2045), which has a typically fishy Ligurian menu, or Il Moretto, around the corner at Piazza Colombo 1 (0187.817.483), which has more of the same but also branches out into more adventurous territory with swordfish and Tuscan steaks.
Vernazza
A few headlands east of Monterosso, VERNAZZA, loveliest of the five villages, throws a protective arm around the only natural harbour on this rocky coast. The narrow lanes with their tall, colourful houses are typical of the area, and the cramped village is overlooked by stout medieval bastions and a watchtower, built by the Genoese after they’d destroyed the previous castle in 1182 to punish the locals for piracy.
The village’s main street, Via Roma, leads down from the station to Piazza Marconi and the small harbour, where the Gothic church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, with its elegant octagonal campanile, overlooks the small town beach. There are lots of places offering rooms – try Antonio e Ingrid, just off Via Roma at Via Carattino 2 (0187.812.183; €61–90), or one of the places on Piazza Marconi: Barbara at no. 30 (&0187.812.398, www.albergobarbara.it; €60–120) has seven rooms, a couple with great views over the harbour, while the rooms at Gianni Franzi at no. 5 (0187.823.1003; €61–120) are variable but some have good views. For food, Gianni Franzi’s restaurant is fine and has a terrace overlooking the harbour, or there’s the cheaper Osteria Il Baretto, Via Roma 31 (0187.812.381), which lacks a sea view but has excellent seafood pasta dishes.
Corniglia
CORNIGLIA is the smallest and remotest of the Cinque Terre villages, clinging to a high cliff 90m above the sea, its only access to the water (and the train station) via a long flight of steps. Floral-decorated squares fill the village, and the little Gothic church of San Pietro boasts an exquisite, marble rose window. There are no hotels, but there is a small, no-frills private hostel, the Ostello di Corniglia, Via alla Stazione 3 (0187.812.559, www.ostellocorniglia.com; closed 1–3pm; dorm beds from €24), plenty of places offering rooms, and a handful of unremarkable restaurants. Oddly for a hilltop village, Corniglia stands out for its beach: on the southern side of the village’s rocky promontory is the Spiaggone di Corniglia, a narrow stretch of pebbles that has relatively easy access from the footpath towards Manarola.
Manarola
MANAROLA is almost as pretty as Vernazza, its pastel-shaded houses either squeezed into a cleft in the cliffs or crowded impossibly up the sides of the prominent headland of dark rock. The station is on the other side of the headland, connected to the main part of the village by a tunnel, from where you can either turn left up the hill, past a small museum devoted to the local white dessert wine, Sciacchetrà, and eventually to the fourteenth-century church of San Lorenzo, or left around the main square down the main street to Manarola’s pretty harbour. You can swim from the rocks or the slipway down into the harbour – the water is lovely – but there’s no beach. Bear in mind also that a lot of people walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore on the paved Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Path) – a twenty-minute jaunt that’s perhaps the least demanding trail in the national park; the path starts at the train station and you will almost certainly be asked for your Cinque Terre pass if you decide to take it.
Manarola has a handful of excellent accommodation options, including the family-run Ca’ d’Andrean, just below the church at Via Discovolo 101 (0187.920.040, www.cadandrean.it; €91–120), which takes pride in its service and airy rooms (some with balcony); breakfast is taken in the garden in summer. Down near the harbour, the Marina Piccola, Via Birolli 120 (0187.920.103, www.hotelmarinapiccola.com; closed Nov to mid-Feb; €121–150), has 13 cosy rooms, half of which have sea views. There’s a small hostel, Ostello 5 Terre, Via Riccobaldi 21 (0187.920.215, www.cinqueterre.net/ostello; closed 1–4pm; dorms €23), a clean, friendly place up the hill by the church of San Lorenzo, though you should book well in advance in summer. For eating options, try the restaurant of the Marina Piccola, which offers a raft of reasonably priced fish dishes and has a terrace right on the harbour, or join the locals a few paces back up the hill at La Scogliera (0187.921.029; closed Sun), which serves a fine signature seafood spaghetti on its outside terrace.
Riomaggiore
Lively RIOMAGGIORE is the easternmost of the Cinque Terre, and its relatively easy road link to the outside world makes it also the most crowded of the five. Nonetheless, its vividly multicoloured houses piling up the steep slopes above the romantic little harbour give the place a charm untempered by the café crowds, especially the higher you climb. Like Manarola, the train station is connected to the main part of the village by a tunnel (and to its upper town by a lift), which brings you out at the bottom of the main street. From here you can either go right under the rail track down to the harbour – where you can hire snorkels and kayaks, plus there’s a small stony beach just around the headland to the left – or left up the main street, which is home to the bulk of Riomaggiore’s rooms and restaurants.
The only hotel is the pleasantly modern Villa Argentina, in a lovely spot in the upper part of town at Via De Gasperi 170 (0187.920.213, www.villargentina.com; €121–150); they have parking and also rent apartments. Otherwise, there are three spotless simple rooms at the B&BIl Boma, Via C. Colombo 99 (0187.920.395, www.ilboma.com; €61–90). For food, La Lanterna has a good, moderately priced pasta and seafood menu, and a great location at the harbour. Otherwise, try Ripa del Sole, in the upper town at Via De Gasperi 4 (0187.920.143; closed Mon), which serves unusual specialities such as pasta with rabbit ragù or lobster ravioli at very reasonable prices.
The Golfo dei Poeti
After the beauty of the Golfo Paradiso and Golfo del Tigullio, and the drama of the Cinque Terre, Liguria still has a final flourish. Hard up against the Tuscan border is the majestic Golfo di La Spezia, an impressively sweeping panorama of islands and rough headlands renamed the Golfo dei Poeti in 1919 by Italian playwright Sem Benelli for the succession of romantic souls who fell in love with the place. Petrarch was the first; Shelley lived and died on these shores; Byron was another regular; and D.H. Lawrence passed the pre-World War I years here. The town at the head of the gulf is workaday La Spezia, a major naval and shipbuilding centre with a fine art gallery. Small resorts line the fringes of the bay, linked by buses that hug the twisting roads or boats that shuttle across the glittering blue water – Portovénere, sitting astride a spit of land to the southwest, and Lérici, on the southeastern shore, are both highly picturesque stopovers.
La Spezia
Most travellers pass by LA SPEZIA or just use it to change trains. Its large mercantile port and the largest naval base in the country aren’t a particular draw for tourists, and the city doesn’t have a great many other tangible attractions. But it’s not a bad place by any means, and in the Museo Amedeo Lia, probably the finest collection of medieval and Renaissance art in Liguria, it has a genuinely compelling sight. La Spezia’s centre was pretty much rebuilt after World War II, but it’s pleasant enough, with a grid of streets opening out onto seemingly random squares and pockets of interest. Realistically priced hotels and restaurants make it a feasible if not especially picturesque base from which to explore both the Golfo dei Poeti and the Cinque Terre.
Arrival, information and accommodation
The train station is a ten-minute walk from the town centre – head left out of the station, cross Piazza S. Bon and follow Via Fiume to Piazza Garibaldi and the pedestrianized artery of Via del Prione, which strikes through the heart of the centre to Via Chiodo and the waterfront. There is a branch of the tourist office on the station forecourt and a larger office at Viale Mazzini 47 (Mon–Sat 10am–1pm & 4–7pm & Sun 10–1pm; 0187.770.900, www.turismoprovincia.laspezia.it), while the bus station is on Piazza Chiodo, at the western end of Via Chiodo in front of the naval arsenal, where ATC buses from Tuscany arrive. Buses to Portovénere and Lérici depart either from the train station forecourt or from Piazza Cavour. Ferries to the Cinque Terre, Portovénere and Lérici leave from the waterfront Passeggiata Morin, at the far end of Via del Prione.
Of La Spezia’s hotels, the Mary, Via Fiume 177 (0187.743.254, www.hotelmary.it; €91–120), is the nicest of those handy for the train station, with bright modern rooms and a restaurant. In the old centre you could try the friendly and good-value Il Sole, Via F. Cavalotti 31 (0187.735.164, www.albergoilsole.com; €91–120), with twelve simple, spacious rooms and a garden, or the city’s branch of the My One Hotel chain, Via XX Settembre 81 (0187.738.848, www.myonehotel.it; €151–200), which couldn’t be more central and has slick, modern, if slightly characterless rooms.
Boats from La Spezia
Dozens of boats make excursions throughout the summer – and on certain days in winter too – between La Spezia and just about every port along this coast. The most popular line is the one to Portovénere and the Cinque Terre, which leaves La Spezia about six times a day in season, taking 45 minutes to Portovénere and reaching Monterosso in just under two hours. The principal operator is Consorzio Marittimo Turistico “5 Terre–Golfo dei Poeti” at Via Don Minzoni 13, La Spezia (0187.732.987, www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it); but you could also try Battellieri del Golfo at Banchina Revel (0187.21.010). Tickets cost €7 one-way to Portovénere, €11 to Manarola.
The Town
Sandwiched between the hills and the sea, La Spezia proved an early attraction to conquerors, with its strategic importance reflected in the number of Genoese castles that stud the hills. These were the town’s first fortifications, yet it took Napoleon to capitalize on what is one of Europe’s finest natural harbours and construct a naval and military complex at La Spezia early in the nineteenth century. The naval presence made the town a prime target in World War II and most of the centre had to be rebuilt following Allied bombing. It is now a largely pedestrianized grid of streets behind the palm-fringed harbourfront promenade of Viale Mazzini and busy Via Chiodo. At the western end are some lovely public gardens, a short distance from Piazza Chiodo and La Spezia’s raison d’être – the vast naval Arsenale, which was rebuilt after destruction in World War II. There’s no public admittance to the complex itself, but just to the left of the entrance the engaging Museo Tecnico Navale (Tues–Sat 8.30am–1.30pm & 4.30–9.30pm, Sun 9am–8.30pm; €1.55) contains battle relics, nautical models and suchlike.
From the public gardens it’s a short stroll inland on Via del Prione to Piazza Beverini and the striped church of Santa Maria Assunta, which houses a polychrome terracotta by Andrea della Robbia, and, just behind, the lively, covered marketplace of Piazza Cavour. Further up Via del Prione, the Museo Amedeo Lia, Via Prione 234 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €6.50), houses paintings and sculpture from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries in a restored seventeenth-century Franciscan convent. Among the highlights are Pontormo’s sharp-eyed Self-Portrait, a supremely self-assured Portrait of a Gentleman by Titian, and Bellini’s Portrait of an Attorney, as well as bronzes by Giambologna and Ammanati. The museum’s most celebrated item is the Addolorata, a half-statue in polychrome terracotta of a sorrowful Madonna by Benedetto da Maiano.
Eating and drinking
La Spezia has no shortage of decent places to eat. La Pia on Via Magenta, just off Via del Prione, does good pizza and farinata to eat in or take away; Trittico, Via Cavalotti 64–66 (0187.735.509), also does good pizzas but is more of a proper restaurant, with outside seating and other dishes served throughout the day. Down near the seafront, between Via Chiodo and Viale Mazzini, Da Dino, Via Da Passano 19 (0187.736.157; closed Sun dinner & Mon), is a down-to-earth trattoria offering good-value menus of fish and other local dishes.
Portovénere
The ancient, narrow-laned village of PORTOVÉNERE sits astride a spit of land on the very tip of the southwestern arm of the Golfo dei Poeti, blessed with breathtaking views, a memorably tranquil atmosphere and a string of three islets just offshore, each smaller and rockier than the last (see Boats to the islands).
Arrival, information and accommodation
Portovénere’s tourist office, right in the centre of town, just back from the town beach at Piazza Bastreri 7 (daily 10am–noon & 4–8pm; 0187.790.691, www.portovenere.it), has a list of B&Bs. Next door is the least expensive and most convenient hotel, the Genio (0187.790.611, www.hotelgenioportovenere.com; €91–120), which has nice if undistinguished rooms and free parking – a boon in Portovénere where parking spaces are at a premium. If the Genio is full, try the Locanda La Lucciola, five minutes’ walk along the waterfront towards La Spezia at Via dell’Olivo 101 (0187.790.145, www.locandalalucciola.com; €121–150), which has lovely modern and bright rooms with sea views. Among more upscale choices, the pick is the Royal Sporting at Via dell’Olivo 345 (0187.790.326, www.royalsporting.com; €201–250). It has pleasant, cool interior courtyards, spectacular views and a huge saltwater swimming pool, and is close to Portovénere’s shingly beaches. In a different vein, Locanda Lorena offers half a dozen simple rooms on the Isola Palmária, at Via Cavour 4 (0187.792.370; April–Sept; €121–150).
The Town
The town’s characteristic rose- and yellow-painted tower-houses form a defensive wall along the photogenic harbourfront, Calata Doria, a busy waterside strip lined with cafés and restaurants and known as the Palazzata. Up above, the town’s main street, Via Capellini, runs parallel, and both continue to the end of the promontory to join at the thirteenth-century church of San Pietro, which was built over the ruins of a Roman temple to Venus, goddess of love (hence the town’s name), and occupies a fantastic location overlooking the sea. You can wander in and enjoy the view from the attached loggia, and afterwards head through the gate in the nearby stretch of wall down to the rocky cove of the Grotto Arpaia, a favoured spot of Lord Byron, who swam across the bay from here to visit Shelley at San Terenzo. To this day, the gulf has the nickname of the “Baía di Byron”.
Back in the main part of town, steps lead up from Via Capellini to the bare twelfth-century church of San Lorenzo, and above here to the remains of the sixteenth-century Castello Doria (daily 10.30am–1.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; €2.20), where you can amble around the ramparts enjoying yet more great views. The tiny but clean beach, right in the centre, is good for paddling, though not much else. Otherwise most people swim from the rocks off the Calata Doria, the rocky cove of Grotto Arpaia, or a couple of crowded shingle beaches 1–2km back towards La Spezia.
Boats to the islands
Of the three islands that lie south of the peninsula, all but the nearest lie in a military zone and so can only be viewed from the water. Isola Palmária is the largest, just across the water, and regular boats shuttle back and forth for a cost of €2.50 one way, €4 return. Its star attraction is the Grotta Azzurra, which you can reach by boat, and a couple of beaches and places to stay. Next is the Isola del Tino, a rocky islet marked with a lighthouse and the remains of a Romanesque abbey. Finally comes the even tinier Isola del Tinetto, also home to a monastic community in centuries gone by.
Eating and drinking
As for places to eat, the atmospheric, century-old Antica Osteria del Carrugio, right in the heart of the old town at Via Capellini 66 (0187.790.617; closed Thurs), has affordable specialities – anchovies, sheep’s cheese and stuffed mussels (which are cultivated on poles in Portovénere’s harbour). At the far end of the waterfront, slick Le Bocche (0187.900.622; closed Tues in winter) is famous for its seafood salad, dressed with a pesto of anchovies, capers, pistachios and pine nuts, and has lots of fish and seafood dishes for €10–15 – not to mention a great location overlooking the channel between Portovénere and Palmária. If all you want is pizza, focaccia or farinata, try La Pizzacia, Via Capellini 94, which is mainly a takeaway but has a few tables on the street outside.
Lérici
On the other side of La Spezia’s bay there is a string of small resorts, the largest and best known of which is LÉRICI, with its garden villas, seafront bars, trattorias and gift shops. There is one ferry a day from Portovénere to Lérici, at 12.30pm (€10 one way); the other way of getting there is by water taxi (€10 one way, €15 return; minimum €40 per trip). Piazza Garibaldi, behind the marina, acts as the bus station. The tourist office is at Via Petriccioli 82 (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 4–7pm; 329.543.5033). At the top of town, the Castello di San Giorgio (Tues–Sun: July & Aug 10.30am–12.30pm & 6.30pm–midnight; mid-Oct to mid-March 10.30am–12.30pm; mid-March to June & Sept to mid-Oct 10.30am–1pm & 2.30–6pm; €5) has fabulous views across to Portovénere and the three islands and back towards La Spezia. Inside, apart from a Gothic chapel, much of the interior is given over to a museum documenting prehistoric dinosaur life in the area.
Lérici’s two most pleasant hotels are centrally located: the Shelley & delle Palme at Via Biaggini 5 (0187.968.204, www.hotelshelley.it; €151–200) and the Byron at Via Biaggini 19 (0187.967.104, www.byronhotel.com; €151–200); both have suitably poetic sea views from balconied rooms. When it comes to eating, the outdoor places that line Lérici’s harbour provide an attractive setting as the sun goes down. Try Jeri, Via Mazzini 20, which has great-value €40 fish and seafood menus.
Travel details
Trains
Genoa to: Alassio (15 daily; 1hr 10min); Albenga (15 daily; 1hr–1hr 40min); Bologna (4 daily; 3–4hr); Camogli (every 20–30min; 30min); Finale Ligure (15 daily; 45min–1hr 40min); Imperia (10 daily; 1hr 30min–2hr); La Spezia (hourly; 1hr 10min–1hr 40min); Milan (hourly; 1hr–1hr 30min); Pisa (14 daily; 2–2hr 30min); Rapallo (every 20min; 30min); Rome (every 1–2hr; 5–6hr); San Remo (hourly; 1hr 45min–2hr 40min); Santa Margherita (every 20min; 20min–1hr); Ventimiglia (12 daily; 2hr).
Buses
Finale Ligure to: Borghetto Santo Spirito (every 15min; 30min).
La Spezia to: Lérici (every 10min; 20min); Portovénere (every 30min; 20min).
Rapallo to: Santa Margherita (every 20min; 10min).
Santa Margherita to: Portofino (every 15–20min; 15min).
Ventimiglia to: Dolceacqua (14 daily; 18min).
Ferries
See www.moby.it, www.gnv.it and www.tirrenia.it for up-to-date schedules.
Genoa to: Arbatax, Sardinia (2 weekly; 9hr); Bastia, Corsica (7 weekly; 4hr 45min); Olbia, Sardinia (7 weekly; 10–13hr); Palermo, Sicily (7 weekly; 20hr); Porto Torres, Sardinia (6–9 weekly; 9–11hr); Barcelona (3 weekly; 18hr).