Liguria

What’s so special?

Liguria is the Italian Riviera. It is synonymous with strikingly beautiful pastel villages, sun-swept beaches, and rugged seaside trails. From the urban center of Genoa to the world-famous chain of villages known as Cinque Terre, Liguria is a land of variety and contrasts. Inland, the Alps act as an impressive backdrop to this gorgeous coastline. Here, you’ll find terraced vineyards and olive groves sprinkled with medieval villages that look as if they’re frozen in time.

About Liguria

Liguria is a narrow strip of Italian real estate running from the French boarder to Tuscany along Italy’s northwest coast. Its capital, Genoa, was itself a powerful city-state and trading power before the unification of Italy in the 19th Century. Geographically, Liguria is all coastline and mountains. The Italian Riviera is a mix of sandy and pebbly beaches, with a much more down-to-earth vibe than its glitzier counterpart on the French side. There are countless cities and towns all along the coast, each equally beautiful and welcoming. Inland, the terrain rises steeply to the Ligurian Alps and the norther section of the Apennine range. Here you’ll find hiking trails, terraced olive groves, and medieval towns clinging to the hilltops.

While Italian is the main language in the region, some French is spoken, particularly in the western coastal and mountain areas. The regional language is Ligurian, which has more connections to French and Piedmontese than it does to Italian. Less than 10% of the population speaks Ligurian, however, as it is not an officially protected language in Italy. The main Ligurian dialects are Genoese (or zeneize), spoken in and around Genoa, and the Monegasque dialect (a.k.a Intemelio), which is also a national language of Monaco and is spoken along the western boarder. Like most places in Italy, English is hit or miss. In major cities like Genoa, you will find those working in the tourist sectors who will speak English, but in smaller communities, it would be good to have some basic Italian and some good charades skills.

Getting Around

The region’s international airport is in Genoa and Italian national rail connects Genoa and the eastern end of the region with the rest of the country, so flights into Pisa and Milan are also relatively convenient. Across Liguria, regional rail also connects communities to the regional capital. For rail connections to and from France’s Cote d’Azure or Monaco, you’ll need to switch from the Italian rail system to the French TER regional train in western Italian town of Ventimiglia. There are also international ferry terminals in Genoa (for Spain, France, Tunisia, and the Italian region of Sardinia) and Savona (for Corsica).

Within Liguria itself, many people opt for renting a car, but that is certainly not necessary. It can even be a hassle, given parking challenges and traffic, particularly during the summer. Because most of the places you’d want to visit are along the coast, you’ll find that you can get to nearly any city or town via train, bus, or even local ferry (in the summer). If you want to explore countryside outside of any of the town centers, taxis are also prevalent in most places. For Cinque Terre, you definitely want to arrive by train or boat – no cars allowed!

Major Cities and Towns

Genoa: Italy’s 5th largest city, Genoa is a cosmopolitan city steeped in history and architectural delights. Here, an impressive palace that was once home to the Savoy dynasty and a collection of well-preserved pastel-colored mansions, known as the Palazzi dei Rolli, make Genoa’s city center a feast for the eyes. Everything in the city seems geared toward the sea. If you’re not wandering the Porto Antico (old harbor), there’s also a maritime museum dedicated to the seafaring history, as well as Europe’s second-largest aquarium.
Portofino: Perhaps the poshest location on the Italian Riviera, Portofino is a small fishing village that’s turned into a favorite of the rich and famous. The uber-opulent Belond Hotel Splendido, on a bluff overlooking the town draws the rich and famous, like British royalty and Hollywood stars. But even if you’re not a jetsetter, you will find plenty to see and do in this crown jewel of the Riviera. The small town square and harbor look like something out of a movie and the cobblestone streets are lined with luxury boutiques and galleries that are a window shopper’s dream. There’s a small castle overlooking the harbor, which has a beautiful flower garden and local exhibits, and an ancient abbey is just a short hike or boat ride outside of the town center. Swimmers and sunbathers will love the nearby Paraggi Beach, which is famous for its emerald waters and red corals. Note that Portofino is one of the few main towns without its own rail connection, which adds to its exclusivity. Instead, you’ll have to train Santa Margherita Ligure and take a 10-minute bus or taxi ride into Portofino.
La Spezia: The last major city in Liguria before you reach the Tuscan boarder, La Spezia is often considered to simply be a gateway to Cinque Terre, but it’s a worthy destination on its own or as a hub for exploring the eastern coast of the Riviera. More urbanized than the small towns along the coast, the city is still lovely, with a castle, old city walls, and pastel-colored buildings in ornate styles. The city’s waterfront is full of yachts, with palm trees and a beautiful white pedestrian bridge that make it for pleasant strolls. The art museum has masterpieces by artists like Tintoretto and Titian, and there are museums dedicated to the archeological finds from the area as well as the city’s maritime history that are worth visiting. And if you want to arrive in Cinque Terre or Porto Venere by boat, this is where you’ll likely board.
Cinque Terre: Literally translated as “the five lands,” Cinque Terre is a collection of five tiny hamlets clinging to coves and cliffs along some of the most beautiful hills in Europe. These villages lie on the stretch of coast between Portofino and La Spezia. Collectively the five are a UNESCO World Heritage site, with each of the nearly car-free towns linked by walking trails, rail, and boat.
- Monterosso al Mare: Arriving from Genoa, this is the first of the five villages. Popular for its large pebbly beach, it is the largest of the five towns. It’s two sections—an old town and a more modern village—are connected by a tunnel beneath a promontory that separates them. The surrounding hills are full of fragrant lemon orchards, olive groves, and vineyards.
- Vernazza: Moving east, you next come to Vernazza, which many consider the most quaint and beautiful of the five, though that’s certainly subjective in this string of gems. Vernazza is more like a fishing village with an elegant vibe. The town’s castle is its most prominent feature and was built to defend it from raiding pirates in the Middle Ages. It’s an idyllic backdrop to your photos of the town, but also provides great views of the surrounding coast. There’s also an hour hike to a catholic sanctuary in the hills high above the town with stunning vistas over the sea.
- Corniglia: The only village of the five that is not directly on the shore, this is perhaps the quietest of the group. Given its higher vantage point in the middle of this chain of villages, it is the only one from where you can see all of Cinque Terre. While there is a small beach below the town, Corniglia is more for those who are into simply relaxing and taking in the beauty around them. The town is not directly next to its train station, so you’ll have to take a winding shuttle bus ride to the main square or climb a steep staircase that will leave you breathless but reward you with stunning views.
- Manarola: The oldest of the five villages, it was likely founded by the Romans, with the current settlement mostly dating back to the Middle Ages. Situated in a deep ravine that runs into the ocean, you can feel the history of this place. The main square is located in the upper part of the town, surrounded by lemon orchards, fields of thyme and rosemary, and spectacular vineyards. The lower town is a maze of cobblestone alleys, cute shops, and authentic eateries rolling down toward the water. While there really isn’t a beach, there is deep water swimming just off the harbor.
- Riomaggiore: This is last of the Cinque Terre and the closest to the city of La Spezia, which is only 10 minutes away by train. As one of the larger towns, it has a wider selection of places to eat and shop and it has the area’s best nightlife. Like the others it has a spectacular setting and the views from its castle are a must see. There’s a 3-mile return hiking trail up the mountainside that visits a medieval sanctuary and provides views as far as Tino Island before circling back to town. A separate hiking trail runs the length of the cliff over the town’s beach, with stops at a botanical garden and abandoned Nazi-era bunkers.

Porto Venere & Palmaria Island: Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in conjunction with Cinque Terre, this seaside community and the nearby island of Palmaria are within a regional nature park full of protected hiking trails and exquisite diving sites. The town of Porto Venere is as picturesque as those in Cinque Terre, but with a fraction of the visitors and a much calmer vibe, especially in high season. Sitting on the “Bay of Poets” (so named because this area was a favorite of Lord Byron and Shelley), the town has a small castle, a large port, and atmospheric streets to wander. In the summer, water taxis run to the island of Palmaria, just offshore, which is popular for swimming, snorkeling, and diving.
Savona: Heading west from Genoa, Savona is the next major port city you’ll encounter as you head toward the French boarder. A major cruise port, the east of the city is dominated by the industrial port and the western end of the city hosts the ferry port (where you can take boats to various destinations on the French island of Corsica). Between the two, there are over three miles of sandy beaches along the city’s waterfront. Each section of beach is dominated by a private beach club, (most beaches in Italy are not public) so pick one that looks great to you and pay your day fee, grab a sunchair and enjoy the amenities the club has to offer. Savona also has an historic center, near the industrial port, where you can tour a fortress, cathedral, some medieval towers, and the city’s own Sistine Chapel.
Albenga: The town is famous for both its well-preserved Roman ruins that are integrated into the urban plan, as well as a series of medieval towers. If it weren’t for the beach along the shore, the town would feel like one of those famous Tuscan Hill towns, full of history and winding streets well worth getting lost in.
Cervo: If you’re looking for a smaller, more intimate location on the riviera, this fishing village has its old medieval town center on the hill above the sea, with a small rocky beach that is more natural and less resort-like than other sections of the Ligurian coast.
Sanremo: This old-world elegant resort town was the highlight of the Italian riviera from 1880 to the start of World War II. While the area around the train station has seen its shine dim a bit, the western part of town retains its chic and flamboyant charm and still attracts European aristocrats seeking out its nostalgic appeal. There’s a world-famous casino, good beaches, elegant villas, and a picturesque old town which is a maze of alley and flower-covered passageways. Nicknamed the “City of Flowers,” it is also a major exporter of roses, carnations, and even birds of paradise grown in the city’s many greenhouses.
Ventimiglia: Italy’s most western towns, this is the place you switch trains for onward trips to Monaco and the towns along the French Riviera. But Ventimiglia is worth a visit itself. The town is split between an upper historic town—one of the largest historic centers on the Italian Riviera—and a lower, seaside town that is the more classically modern Riviera resort area. Ruins of a Roman theatre and ancient road, old medieval walls, a defensive tower in the old port, and an 11th Century church attest the towns popularity for over two millennia. Some of the world’s oldest humanoid remains–two 25,000-year-old Cro-Magnon skeletons—were unearthed in caves along the nearby red-stone cliffs and there’s a museum dedicated to the discovery. Ventimiglia also holds a huge Friday market each week, drawing throngs of visitors from France to Genoa seeking bargains on everything from produce to leather goods.
Dolceacqua: A medieval hill town in the highlands just a 15-minute drive north of Ventimiglia, Dolceaqua came to international attention after the impressionist painter Claude Monet made the town’s arched stone bridge famous through his paintings. The charming old-world town dominated by a 10th Century castle, is a maze of atmospheric narrow streets, stairways, and covered passages. The town is also a center for winemaking in Western Liguria.

Food and Wine

While located in the North, Liguria’s cuisine is more akin to Southern Italian cooking than its neighboring regions. Tomatoes and garlic are abundant and the Ligurian olive oil has a protected designation to ensure its purity and quality. Perhaps the region’s most famous contribution to gastronomy is pesto. This basil, pine nut, cheese, and olive oil concoction is most commonly paired with trenette (long and thick, like a fat linguine) or trofie (short, thick pasta twists). Other popular dishes include coniglio in umido (rabbit stew), focaccia di Recco col formaggio (an unleavened, paper-thin bread dough filled with melted cheese), tomaxelle (veal rolls), and frizze della Val Bormida (meatballs made with sausage, pork liver, and juniper berries). And for a region largely based on the ocean, seafood plays a huge role in the local culinary scene. Sardines, tuna, swordfish, and anchovies are local specialties. And while cod isn’t local, salted cod fritters are a popular treat.

Sweet cakes are popular across Liguria, included pandolce (a fruitcake popular at Christmas), pan di Spagna (a fragrant sponge cake).

Liguria’s steep inland terrain makes grape cultivation challenging, and the region is the second lowest wine producer in Italy. And while not as famous for its wines as neighboring Piedmont or Tuscany, that doesn’t mean you won’t find quality here. It just means you’ll find more artisanal, locally produced wines, rather than large production centers. Cinque Terre has its own wine domain designation, producing dry, aromatic white wines that use mostly Albarola and Vermentino grapes. The western end of Liguria is known for red wines, including the popular Rossese di Dolceaqua wines, which is a subtle, fruity, and spicy red, and the Ormeasco, which is are slightly more intense with nutty undertones.

Must See and Do

Tour one of Genoa’s more than 100 noble palaces and imagine what life was like in the height of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Sample the region’s “green gold” through an in-depth olive oil tasting at one of the many oil mills in the region.
Hike the Via dell'Amore, the path connecting the Cinque Terre’s five seaside villages. (Note: the section between Riomaggiore and Manarola is currently closed and is not slated to reopen until 2023, though you can still use the train for connections between the two.)
Try our luck at Sanremo’s famous casino.
Visit the Witchcraft Museum or attend a witchcraft festival in the rural mountain town of Triora, known as the "Salem of Europe." This community was the site of Europe's last great witch purge in the 16th Century and is about an hour north of Sanremo.
Take a cooking class and perfect your pasta and pesto-making skills.
Go on a whale watch. The Ligurian coast is famous for its marine life, including dolphins and sperm whales.
Join a beach club and bathe in the sun and surf in any of the seaside towns throughout the region.
Kayak the gem-toned seas, traveling from cove to cove along the coast.
Visit the caves were two 25,000-year-old Cro-Magnon skeletons were unearthed in one of the world’s greatest archeological finds, situated along the red cliffs of Balzi Rossi, just outside of Ventimiglia.
Take a day trip to Monaco, the world’s second smallest country, which is just a two-and-a-half-hour train ride from Genoa.

More information:

The official tourism website of Liguria
YouTube Video playlist of must-visit places in Liguria
As always, contact Always Travel for more information and to plan your trip!

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