My husband and I will be attending a wedding in Turin in 3 weeks. We have been to italy 4-5 times. we have been to the Cinque Terre once for 2 days. We would like to spend a little more time in the Italian Riviera and/or NW Italy. We have 1-2 weeks. (Flexible). We will be traveling by train exclusively.
1). Where do you recommend as a "Home base". Of course we can and probably will move
2). Which places are "must see"
3). If you have any guides and special sites that you particularly like, we are open and flexible.
Keep on Traveling!
Michelle
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11758 posts
We spent a week in Camogli in October a few years ago. Lovely weather, great town, mostly Italian tourists. Good restaurants and a ferry or hike to San Fruttuoso is nice. Feasible to day trip to the Cinque Terre, but Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, and many small towns along the coast on the way to the Cinque Terre are worth a look. There is a path in the old railway tunnel that is a novel and easy walk from Framura to Levanto. This article https://cinqueterre-travel.com/activities/outdoor/biking/ focuses on cycling but we walked and it was nice. Time it for lunch in Levanto and take the train back.
Posted by
New Jersey
215 posts
Michelle,
Here is a link to an excellent website that we used in planning our trip to the Italian Riviera (Liguria). It provides the pros and cons of all the towns. We too were coming from Turin and chose a somewhat lesser known Riviera town called Chiavari and absolutely loved it. It is a less touristic town and from its train station you can easily reach the other Riviera town within 15 minutes or so. It made for very easy day trip travels.
One thing we really liked was riding the funicular in Rapallo where you will be rewarded with breathtaking views (I couldn't believe how high up we were!) We really lucked out as when we reached the top where a very pretty church is located, there was a wedding just beginning -- making our ride even more exciting. Another place we enjoyed was the castle in Portofino -- another lovely panoramic location. The gardens were so pretty and all through out the castle were black and white photos of celebrities like Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and other 1960s stars who visited Portofino.
Also, at the bottom is another excellent site providing good dining/shopping information on Santa Margherita. The woman who created this site, Enrica Monzani, also provides food-centric tours (see private experiences tab) of the Liguria area. We didn't have time to pursue it but it looks very worthwhile.
https://www.apathtolunch.com/2015/02/hotel-recommendations-portovenere.html
https://www.asmallkitcheningenoa.com/santa-margherita-ligure-food-guide/
Posted by
Northern Rockies, British Columbia, Canada
542 posts
The Italian Riviera is mostly about slowing down, walking the beaches, checking out the markets, walking the villages centres, enjoying a second cappuccino. There aren’t really the typical blockbuster sites like in other parts of Italy. For the Italian Riviera in February 2023 we based in Menton France, Genoa and Sestri Levante. Despite the many negative views of Genoa ( looking at you Roberto da Firenze :) ) we enjoyed our time there. Genoa, being a larger centre was always busy. Sestri was very quiet with few people and limited hours on most restaurants and shops that time of year. Some shops and restaurants were closed. Sounds like you’re there in late September so everything should be full speed ahead.
The frequent trains that run along the coast make it cheap and easy to explore the area.