FrenchMystiqueTours

I don't ever post here in the Italy forum but if any of you regulars here ever go to the France forum then you might be familiar with the trip reports I post over there. If that thought scares you then you might want to bail out now because this report is just like all my France reports except it takes place in Italy.

I'm documenting my vacation time on my sister and brother in-law's farm in the Liguria region and my travels in the area exploring some its villages and landscapes, focusing on the coastline and the mountainous hinterlands behind it starting about 30km west of Genoa in Varazze and continuing west down the coast to the environs of Finale Ligure. This area doesn't attract nearly the attention of the more famous stretch of Riviera east of Genoa to Cinque Terre but is really no less worthy of exploration. It abounds in beautiful coastline with rugged mountains stretching down to the sea, charming medieval villages, local gastronomy, wine, and all the things you'd seek in an Italian Riviera experience. If you're intrigued here's the link to the photo report I've made.

http://tinyurl.com/bjgz52m

yorkshire

I'd love to know more about this region--being unfamiliar with the France forum, will you be writing also or just posting photos?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Hi yorkshire. I do photo essays so what's in the report you saw is all there is. If you want to learn more about this region at the very end of the report I put links to all the essential tourist office websites for this region. There are about five 40 page booklets you can view and/or print that will tell you everything you need to know about this region. You can also get these booklets when you visit a local tourist office in person though I don't know which ones have them so it might be best to print these booklets. Hope you enjoyed the report.

yorkshire

okay, thanks--will check it out!

HappyTrvlr

Your report is treasure trove about this less known area. We visited Noli last July and were so happy that we chose to stay there with it's waterfront location and medieval town center. Thanks so much for posting this beautiful, photo filled report! Thanks for sharing it.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Thanks HappyTvlr. This is a totally overlooked part of the Riviera and has so many Most Beautiful Villages concentrated in one location that it's amazing no one has discovered it yet, except for folks like you.

Holly_uncasdewar

Nice job, FMT. Thanks for posting this.

HappyTrvlr

We were looking for place in between Tuscany and Nice and were so happy to discover this hidden gem.

sundriedpachino

Nice report! We stayed overnight in Noli on our first trip to Italy, 2005.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Thanks everyone. For any future readers, the first part of the report mostly documents my time on the farm so if you want to get right to the villages scroll down about halfway through the report.

travelgirl2

Thanks for posting. Really enjoyed it.

Mimar

Interesting report about a less known area, FMT.

Rocks/stone certainly seem to loom large in your life!

packed

Intriguing pictures. This could be a stop on our next trip thanks to you.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Thanks travelgirl2, Mimar and packed.

packed - Just in case you didn't notice, and for anyone else reading, at the end of the report I put links to all the tourist office websites you need to plan a trip in this area. There is also a link to the website for Italy's Most Beautiful Villages.