Marea56

My husband and I will be travelling to the Italian Riviera in July 2016 and want to spend 7-10 days there. We will be travelling from Milan and thought we'd start our journey with a couple of days in Genoa. What I'd like some advice on is do we stay in one place for the whole time and travel down the coast to visit Cinque Terra etc or move and stay 3-4 nights in different places? If so any suggestions of places to stay? I was thinking of somewhere like Rapallo and then one of the towns of Cinque Terra. From there we are heading to Florence to stay. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks Marea

HappyTrvlr

Seriously look at Santa Margherita and Camogli, beautiful towns.
Spend a few nights in the Cinque Terre if you plan to hike the trails.

annhig

a place I have always wanted to see but haven't got to yet is the Villa del Principe [Villa of the Prince] in Genoa; here's the website in English:

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/genova/en/the-villa/

So I would definitely want to stay in Genoa itself long enough to spend a day looking round the city, and another for the Villa.

annhig

a place I have always wanted to see but haven't got to yet is the Villa del Principe [Villa of the Prince] in Genoa; here's the website in English:

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/genova/en/the-villa/

So I would definitely want to stay in Genoa itself long enough to spend a day looking round the city, and another for the Villa.

sandralist

The city of Genoa probably is most rewarding for people who have a lot of interest in medieval history and the crusades, shipbuilding, the history of modern Italy and WW2. Although it has some quirky museums, the collections are considerably thinner than other Italian cities of similar size, and the buildings themselves in need of restoration (including Villa dei Principe, which doesn't rank at the top of Genova's best palace art museums). Having said all those negatives, loads of people really warm up to Genova for its totally untouristy personality and of course its lovely food and fascinating fully intact medieval core.

As for where to stay along the coast to enjoy the coast, if you plan to hike in le Cinque Terre in July, as mentioned above, you really need to stay in one of the villages so you can get an early morning start. Temperatures soar by mid-morning and the summer sun is extremely fierce. It is not a good idea to be hiking midday.

If you just like to take beautiful hikes, and would rather not deal with the intense crowds that descend upon tiny le Cinque Terre in summertime, then there are dozens of town between Genoa and le Cinque Terre, strung along the train line, with lovely hiking opportunities with panoramic views, and charming town centres with beaches and good food and very few foreign tourists. The most posh is Santa Margherita Ligure, adjacent to Portofino, followed by Rapallo and Chiavari, then Camogli. Extremely family-friendly and great for swimmers in Sestri Levante, nearer to le Cinque Terre. Levanto is next door to le Cinque Terre and beloved of surfers (although July can be rather flat for waves). Moneglia and tiny Bonassola are undiscovered, with lots of charms and access to good hikes.

isabel

I have stayed in both Camogli and Rapallo and like them both. I really enjoyed Rapallo more probably because I loved the hotel I stayed in that time. I would pick one of those (or Santa Margherita but I personally preferred Camogli and Rapallo over SM) and stay put the whole time. The trains are frequent and less than an hour down to the CT so you could still get up early if you wanted to hike early in the day. In that length of a trip you will also have time for day trips to Portovenere (by boat from Vernazza is how I did it and it worked great) and Portofino (by boat from Rapallo).

My most recent trip to that region was in 2013 - here is the trip report (including hotel details). Scroll down about half way to get to the part you'll be interested in.http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm

Here are my photos. The first one is of the hotel. http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/151985951

Tabernash2

We stayed three nights in Santa Margherita Ligure, at the Hotel Nuovo Riviera, which is a lovely small hotel, in a mansion. Very friendly innkeepers, continental breakfast included. (No elevator, though) It's a nice harbor town.

From there, we took the train to the Cinque Terre for a day hike. Also we took the train to Portofino one day.

TheFlyingScotsman

Grand Hotel Miramare, Santa Margherita Ligure

It is not inexpensive but worth every penny in my opinion. Ideally situated for visiting the area.

Marea56

Thank you everyone! It sounds like we're going to have a wonderful time no matter where we stay. We weren't thinking of doing any hiking but it looks like the thing to do around Cinque Terra, so maybe we will look into that also. Does anyone know anything about the town of Recco? It's near Camogli and has a reasonably priced hotel on the beach?

sandralist

During WW2, Recco took a direct hit from a British bomb which destroyed 90 percent of the beautiful historic town centre. The town was rebuilt with completely modern post-war construction. It is totally untouristy, and has some of the best food on the Italian Riviera. If "picturesque" isn't a requirement for you, Recco is fine.

Rapallo usually offers good prices on hotels and b&bs. Just make sure you are relatively close to the train station and the water, and read reviews regarding noise.

If you are not big on hiking, the hiking trails of le Cinque Terre can be very strenuous, hot and sometimes crowded. While it is true that hiking has become "the thing to do" in le Cinque Terre, many people enjoy boat rides or simply lunch with a beautiful view.

Marea56

Thank you again, your advice has been very helpful. I will look at some of the other suggested towns.

HappyTrvlr

We had a fabulous meal in Recco, but, as sandralist said, it lacks charm, a rebuilt city after the war.

sandralist

The charm of Recco, apart from the excellent restaurants and food shops, is the workaday liveliness of the town and its popular seafront scene along the lungomare. It has a true Riviera culture, and partly just because it is not picturesque, and therefore not a tourist attraction, prices for everything are low, so it is very popular with teens and big families for a day out at the beach. There are also a couple of scenic swimming coves within walking distance of the main center, but in July they will be jammed.

But for someone visiting the area, who is likely to be taking a lot of day trips to other places -- meaning they will be out of Recco most of the time -- it is usually nicer to stay in one of the beautifully situated towns with historic architecture, to enjoy evenings and having morning coffee is a lovely place with a lovely view.

lily3

We stayed in Camogli recently for 4 nights after a day and half in Genoa, and loved staying there. Stayed at the Cenobio dei Dogi, which we enjoyed a lot - the views from the pool area and sea view rooms can't be beat! It's a much bigger hotel than we normally like, but it was very quiet when we were there and we often had the terrae area outside the restaurant almost to ourselves.The atmosphere changed a lot the day we left when there was a largish convention and the breakfast room and pool area were much more crowed,and we were glad we were were leaving that day. So July may be a bit crowded, but it was lovely staying there in October. We did take the ferry to some of the other coastal towns nearby, walked around Santa Margherita a bit, did not get off the boat in Portofino - and were very glad we stayed in Camogli! Visited Chiavari on a rainy day, enjoyed walking around the town, and had a great meal there at Lupin, also had some excellent meals in and around Camogli.