Liguria curls around the Gulf of Genoa in a narrow arc, with the Apennines and the Maritime Alps at its back and the Ligurian Sea at its feet.
Go in May to June and September.
- Fly into
- Genoa (GOA)
- Capital
- Genoa
- Size
- 5,416 km² (2,091 sq mi), about the size of Delaware
- People
- 1.5 million
There is almost no flat ground, so the land is terraced wherever it can be, vines and olives and lemons stacked on dry-stone walls above the water. West of Genoa runs the Riviera di Ponente, gentler and warm, with the flower nurseries around San Remo and the long beaches of the Savona coast. East lies the wilder Riviera di Levante, where Portofino, Camogli and the five villages of the Cinque Terre cling to the cliffs.
The Ligurian character is reserved and quietly seafaring, shaped by centuries as a maritime republic. This is the home of pesto, pounded from Genoese basil with pine nuts and Parmigiano, of trofie and trenette, of focaccia eaten warm from the oven and the chickpea pancake known as farinata.
Come in late spring or early autumn, when the sea is still warm, the terraces are green and the coastal paths are clear of the summer crush.
What to see in Liguria
Save the ones you want and we'll find which of our routes reaches the most in the fewest nights.
Riomaggiore
A Cinque Terre village of vertical tower houses, steep lanes, a medieval castle and the church of San Giovanni Battista.
Vernazza
A Ligurian harbor village of tower houses, medieval lanes, Santa Margherita and the Doria fortifications.
Manarola
The oldest Cinque Terre village, its tower houses stacked over a fishing cove and terraced vineyards.
Palazzi dei Rolli
Genoa’s historic system of palace hospitality, explored along Via Garibaldi, through the Strada Nuova Museums and on Via Balbi.
Royal Palace of Genoa
A Genoese patrician residence transformed by the Durazzo and Savoy families, with a celebrated Hall of Mirrors and historic state rooms.
Portofino
A sheltered Ligurian harbor of pastel houses and fishing boats, beneath Castello Brown and the wooded Portofino promontory.
Portovenere
A Ligurian waterfront settlement within the UNESCO cultural landscape, with a narrow carruggio, San Pietro by the sea and Castello Doria above.
Cinque Terre
Five Ligurian villages shaped by steep slopes, stone terraces and the sea.
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How many nights in Liguria?
Choose your nights and the route redraws: where to sleep, what to see, and the towns an easy day out from each base.
3 nights in Liguria: Genoa for 2 and Vernazza for 1.5 nights in Liguria: Genoa for 2 and Vernazza for 3.7 nights in Liguria: Genoa for 2, Camogli for 2 and Vernazza for 3.10 nights in Liguria: Finale Ligure for 2, Genoa for 3, Camogli for 2 and Vernazza for 3.
Add your first day and each link opens on that stop's dates.
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Where to stay in Liguria
Each stop with what to see and, where we have them, a day out and the hotel we'd book.
A Riviera di Ponente town with sandy beaches and a well-kept medieval quarter, Finalborgo, ringed by walls inland.
- Day out
- Alassio
The pale limestone cliffs above it have made Finale one of Europe's great rock-climbing destinations.
55 km from Finale Ligure as the crow flies
Liguria's proud capital and a former maritime republic, where the labyrinth of the medieval caruggi opens onto the gilded Palazzi dei Rolli.
A Belle Epoque grand hotel opposite Principe station, restored with a nautical theme, for easy rail links and old-Genoa glamour.
Check dates: Grand Hotel Savoia GenovaMore in Genoa
Palazzo Grillo
A sixteenth-century palace hotel in the Rolli palaces district, with frescoed ceilings and a grand staircase, steps from the old port and aquarium.
Check dates: Palazzo GrilloA grand Liberty-style palazzo on Via XX Settembre, known for its sweeping elliptical marble staircase, for old-world elegance close to Piazza De Ferrari.
Check dates: Hotel Bristol Palace
15 km from Genoa as the crow flies
A former seafaring town on the Riviera di Levante, its tall pastel houses, some painted with trompe-l'oeil facades, lining a curved fishing harbour.
- Day out
- Portofino · Santa Margherita Ligure
A seaside hotel in Mediterranean greenery above the Gulf of Camogli, with a saltwater pool, private beach and panoramic terrace.
Check dates: Cenobio dei DogiMore in Camogli
B&B Casa Ninni
A family-run bed and breakfast in an early twentieth-century villa on the hill above Camogli, with sea views and a garden.
Check dates: B&B Casa NinniA small guesthouse in a nineteenth-century building near Camogli's harbour, with breakfast on the veranda and boats to San Fruttuoso close by.
Check dates: Al Piccolo Scoglio
65 km from Genoa as the crow flies
50 km from Camogli as the crow flies
Many call Vernazza the loveliest of the Cinque Terre, its tight piazza opening directly onto a natural harbour of fishing boats.
- See
- Vernazza
- Day out
- Portovenere · Cinque Terre · Riomaggiore
A Doria watchtower guards the cove, and tall pastel houses climb the ravine behind it.
Other places to stay
A seaside hotel in Mediterranean greenery above the Gulf of Camogli, with a saltwater pool, private beach and panoramic terrace.
Check dates: Cenobio dei DogiB&B Casa Ninni
A family-run bed and breakfast in an early twentieth-century villa on the hill above Camogli, with sea views and a garden.
Check dates: B&B Casa NinniSplendido
A hillside former monastery above Portofino harbour, with sea views from most rooms, a saltwater pool and the old Riviera glamour.
Check dates: SplendidoSplendido Mare
A small harbourfront hotel on the Piazzetta, once a fishermen's guesthouse, with nautical decor and use of its sister hotel's pool and spa.
Check dates: Splendido MareB&B L'Ancora
A tiny seafront B&B on Portovenere's waterfront with a handful of rooms, some facing the sea, and breakfast brought to the room.
Check dates in PortovenereGrand Hotel Portovenere
A former Franciscan convent on the water's edge, now a hotel with a sea-facing terrace restaurant and bar, for history and harbour views.
Check dates: Grand Hotel Portovenere
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A traditional dinner from Liguria
Every course is one the region actually serves. Change any of them and the wine, the timing and the shopping list follow.
Antipasto
Farinata di ceci
A thin chickpea-flour bake with a blistered golden surface, crisp edges and a soft centre, best cut and served straight from the pan.
First course
Trofie al Pesto Genovese
Ligurian trofie with basil pesto, potatoes and green beans, dressed off the heat.
Main course
Cima alla genovese
A veal-belly pocket filled with eggs, veal, brains, peas and herbs, gently poached and pressed cold before slicing.
Dessert
Pandolce genovese basso
A low Genoese Christmas loaf with raisins, candied citrus, pine nuts and orange blossom water, lifted with baking powder.
What to pour
A young Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato: its herbal notes and saline edge sit with the basil instead of competing with it.
Pigato
Start the Cima alla genovese the day before: 9 hr 45 min, most of it waiting.
Taste it there
A half-day food walk through Genoa
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What Liguria is known for
You will find these here and nowhere else.
No road reaches San Fruttuoso: you hike steep wooded trails or come by boat to a secluded bay and an abbey holding the Doria family tombs.
Walk Genoa's Corso Italia to the very end and the city gives way to Boccadasse, an old mariners' village where a few fishermen still work its cobblestone beach.
Wine held on stone terraces
In the Cinque Terre, vineyard plots are held above the sea by stone walls. The cultivated slopes are part of the same landscape as the villages below, with maintenance and water management central to their survival. Look uphill as well as along the coast: Ligurian wine country can be read in the structure of the ground.
Wines from LiguriaAt Christmas
Choose the scale of a Ligurian Christmas table before starting: herb-filled pansoti, layered cappon magro and a slice of Genoese pandolce are three different projects. Cappon magro brings separately cooked fish and vegetables together with its parsley sauce; the low pandolce uses a compact fruit-filled dough. Follow the individual methods and decide which preparation deserves the centre of your meal.
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