I am planning a trip to Italy in May / June 2002 and would like to include a week to ten days in the Italian Riviera. This portion of our vacation will come following a quiet ten days exploring Tuscany / Florence.<BR><BR>Do you have suggestions as where to stay and what to do while in this part (Italian Riviera) of Italy? We are looking for moderate to high end accomodation..... and love to hear of great places to eat and drink.

Bill, That is a rather lengthy topic and I do not have time right now. I will try to answer domani or you can email me directly.

Well, Bob the Navigator is the expert but I'll just toss in my two cents. If you do a search you might find me raving about the Grand Hotel Villa Balbi in Sestri Levante. Sounds like it fits your desire for moderate-to-upscale. And we had an incredible meal at the Portobello restaurant on the Bay of Silence in Sestri Levante. <BR><BR>Ten days sounds fabulous. Surely you will want to spend some time in the Cinque Terre but if you want to also spend some days in an Italian resort town I'd recommend Sestri Levante.

There are several high-end hotels in Santa Margherita Ligure, a good-sized, centrally-located town near Cinque Terre.

Portofino is a lovely Ligurian resort. Forte dei Marmi is farther south--upscale beach town where many Tuscans have second homes. Viareggio is an old fashioned bigger resort with some large hotels. San Remo is, of course, in the north. Ten days is too much to spend at any one of these suggestions. Suggest three days at three different places.

I agree with kam. Break it up a bit & you will find it more enjoyable & are less inclined toward boredom.<BR><BR>San Remo is great. I would highly recommend a 5th floor room in the Royal Hotel. (www.royalhotelsanemo.com)<BR><BR>For dining in San Remo, you can't beat Paolo e Barbara, named after the husband & wife who own & run the place. Address is 47 via Roma, and dinner will be 2-3 hours. Another good spot is Da Giannino, which has an extensive wine list, boasting the best in both French & Italian wines.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!

We're very high on Camogli and the Cennobio dei Doge hotel there. The town is a less touristy, more fishing village-like version of Portofino and the hotel has a fabulous pool with views over the sea and the town. You can take boats from Camogli to Portofino and to Santa Margherita Ligure and probably also to Rapallo. There are many cute little restaurants with fish specialities right on the harbors and one above the harbor with excellent views--Rosas. You can comfortably spend 3 - 4 days here and see quite a bit of the Italian Riviera.

My favorite place is a midievel (sp?) town called Portovenere. It is breath-taking. Check out the website for more info on hotels - I think you can find info on www.portovenere.com

Hello Bill, I am sorry to be evasive but alot depends on other variables.<BR>Are you driving?<BR>Are 4 star hotels at $150-200 your range<BR>Where are you going after here?<BR>Define the " Italian Riviera". Some see it as 100 miles from Genoa to La Spezia, and others as 300 miles of coast from Viareggio to France.<BR><BR>I agree that staying in 2 or 3 places makes more sense. My quick answer would be Portovenere and Santa Margherita as starters, with either San Remo or Menton, France as the third option. However, if you are departing from Milan then I would spend my last 3 nites at the Lakes. But, I do not like to make quick answers. Let me know more and I can give a good answer.

Yes, Camogli as well and the Cenobio dei Doge--great place. To add to Bob's question: I see the Italian Riviera as the long coast from France to Viareggio, but the Italians tend to think of it as two areas above and below Genoa.Above Genoa is technically Riviera di Ponente (though many call it the Riviera di fiori for the many flowers) and the Riviera di Levante is the coast south of Genoa. Farthest south is the Versilia, roughly from Carrara to Viareggio. Confusing?? In general north of Genoa and the Versilia have the wide beaches we think of as "riviera" and Riviera Levante is more fishing villages such as Cinque Terre, Camogli, Santa Margherita, Portofino etc. It depends on what you are looking for. All parts are beautiful--therefore, my suggestion for a combination.

I would recommend a couple of days in Portofino at the Nazionale with a harbor view room. Charming, great view!<BR>My favorite locations in Italy are Positano and Ravello, but I recommend staying in Positano because Ravello is a little out of the way for day trips. K

Thanks to you all, I am going to look into all of your responses... very much appreciated<BR><BR>Bob The Navigator:<BR><BR>I am staying 20km outside of Florence for 10 days - booking a place called Poggio Nardini. Looks great and comes with good reviews.<BR>For our stay in the Italian Riviera we are looking for good quality beach areas, fine dining and reasonably accessable 'areas of interest'(markets,historical sites, etc.) to explore<BR>I am looking for upscale accomodation as this is a special trip and am willing to blow the budget. We will leave for home following this portion of our trip.

Bill,<BR><BR>To really blow your budget, the Splendido Hotel in Portofino. It is situated on top of a hill overlooking Portofino Harbor. Last September we rented a Villa close to Forte dei Marmi and went there every day for great meals and designer shopping. Very nice town. In Cinque Terra, the high end hotel is Porto Roco in the town of Monterroso. Ask for a room overlooking the Meditteranean! My suggestion would be either Portofino where you can go to Santa Marguerita as a side trip or CT. Forte dei Marmi is pretty much it. Great beaches though.