Nice and Portofino
Dec 19th, 2015, 01:15 AM
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Nice and Portofino
I have booked flights to Nice for a week in September with my wife from our home in Scotland . Have also booked Hyatt Regency in Nice but it is fully refundable if we change our mind on hotel . We were thinking of hiring car and staying in Portofino for last 2 nights possibly Hotel Nazionale but also wondered about staying in nearby Santa Margherita possibly at Grand Hotel Miramare . It is our first trip to this area but have been to France and Italy many times before . We are in our late 50's and enjoy sightseeing sun shopping and good food . Would appreciate any comments on choice of hotel , practicality of car journey , Nice to Portofino , choice between Portofino or Santa Margherita as base for 2 nights and any 'not to be missed' day trips from Nice . Was thinking of Cannes , Monte Carlo and possibly Entibes as possible day trips by public transport
Dec 19th, 2015, 03:07 AM
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I assume that you are flying and out of Nice, and returning the car in Nice. But if you are thinking of renting the car in France and dropping it off in Italy, you need read the fine print for drop-off fees and insurance requirements.
If you are thinking of driving from the Portofino area back to Nice the same day of your return flight, be aware that there is considerable traffic along that route, especially on weekends in September if the weather is sunny and warm.
Portofino is a very tiny and quite beautiful harbor village that got some jet set notoriety perhaps starting in the 70s, attracting an ostentatiously wealthy yachting crowd. Now all the tourists, including those disgorged by huge cruise ships that dock in Santa Margherita Ligure in summer (which includes all of September. It only takes any an hour or less to walk around the entire town of Portofino, and the boutique shops sell internationally famous luxury brand goods -- Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Rolex, Armani, yada yada, a smattering of very high end contemporary Italian art, plus all the usual tourist tat with "Portofino" written on it. Restaurants are quite overpriced. Only a very few serve good food. It is difficult to go elsewhere to eat because of the secluded position of Portofino and traffic jams getting in and out of the town at high season.
Santa Margherita Ligure is right next door, and bigger, but it shares much of the same culture as Portofino, but there is more elbow room and a bigger choice of restaurants. In addition, Santa Margherita has a train station (Portofino does not), which makes doing a little sightseeing along the coast of trying another town for lunch easier, since there are no places to park in most of the Riviera towns during most September days.
If the hotels you are contemplating book are not offering you free parking in a private garage or lot, be sure you understand where you would be parking that car and the cost per hour/day. If you don't get free parking and are shocked by the fees they are charging, you might want to check out Cenobbio dei Dogi in the pretty seaside village of Camogli for reviews and rates (it has its own parking lot). Or consider a hotel in lively Rapallo, which is slightly bigger than neighboring Santa Margherita Ligure and also has a train station. plus ferries to Portofino and a greater variety of shopping (not necessarily better or more restaurants, but great gelato).
In some ways it makes sense to drive from France to Portofino/Santa Margherita Ligure, because it is much faster than taking the train. But once you are around Portofino, parking the car is about all you can do with it. On sunny weekends in September, the road in and out of Portofino (a narrow road that at many points turns one-track) turns into one long parking lot. What in winter time is a 20 minute drive turns into a 2 hour drive. If you stay in Santa Margherita Ligure or one of the other towns I mentioned you can take boats to visit Portofino. Nicest to go at the cocktail hour.
However, in case you have not considered this, the Italian town of Bordighera that is not far from the French border is totally Italian, historic Riviera town (it was actually the original home of the Cannes film festival) whose beauty Monet was fond of painting. Staying in Bordighera means you can use your car to take excursions to such atmospheric ancient wine towns as Dolceacqua (which Monet also famously painted) or dramatic medieval Apricale, one of the more vertical and amazing hilltowns in Italy.
Staying closer to the French border would put you in a much better position to get back to Nice airport, yet you would have totally Italian experience with excellent Italian food and wine, plenty of sunshine and destination shopping in nearby San Remo or Ventimiglia, if you care.
If you are thinking of driving from the Portofino area back to Nice the same day of your return flight, be aware that there is considerable traffic along that route, especially on weekends in September if the weather is sunny and warm.
Portofino is a very tiny and quite beautiful harbor village that got some jet set notoriety perhaps starting in the 70s, attracting an ostentatiously wealthy yachting crowd. Now all the tourists, including those disgorged by huge cruise ships that dock in Santa Margherita Ligure in summer (which includes all of September. It only takes any an hour or less to walk around the entire town of Portofino, and the boutique shops sell internationally famous luxury brand goods -- Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Rolex, Armani, yada yada, a smattering of very high end contemporary Italian art, plus all the usual tourist tat with "Portofino" written on it. Restaurants are quite overpriced. Only a very few serve good food. It is difficult to go elsewhere to eat because of the secluded position of Portofino and traffic jams getting in and out of the town at high season.
Santa Margherita Ligure is right next door, and bigger, but it shares much of the same culture as Portofino, but there is more elbow room and a bigger choice of restaurants. In addition, Santa Margherita has a train station (Portofino does not), which makes doing a little sightseeing along the coast of trying another town for lunch easier, since there are no places to park in most of the Riviera towns during most September days.
If the hotels you are contemplating book are not offering you free parking in a private garage or lot, be sure you understand where you would be parking that car and the cost per hour/day. If you don't get free parking and are shocked by the fees they are charging, you might want to check out Cenobbio dei Dogi in the pretty seaside village of Camogli for reviews and rates (it has its own parking lot). Or consider a hotel in lively Rapallo, which is slightly bigger than neighboring Santa Margherita Ligure and also has a train station. plus ferries to Portofino and a greater variety of shopping (not necessarily better or more restaurants, but great gelato).
In some ways it makes sense to drive from France to Portofino/Santa Margherita Ligure, because it is much faster than taking the train. But once you are around Portofino, parking the car is about all you can do with it. On sunny weekends in September, the road in and out of Portofino (a narrow road that at many points turns one-track) turns into one long parking lot. What in winter time is a 20 minute drive turns into a 2 hour drive. If you stay in Santa Margherita Ligure or one of the other towns I mentioned you can take boats to visit Portofino. Nicest to go at the cocktail hour.
However, in case you have not considered this, the Italian town of Bordighera that is not far from the French border is totally Italian, historic Riviera town (it was actually the original home of the Cannes film festival) whose beauty Monet was fond of painting. Staying in Bordighera means you can use your car to take excursions to such atmospheric ancient wine towns as Dolceacqua (which Monet also famously painted) or dramatic medieval Apricale, one of the more vertical and amazing hilltowns in Italy.
Staying closer to the French border would put you in a much better position to get back to Nice airport, yet you would have totally Italian experience with excellent Italian food and wine, plenty of sunshine and destination shopping in nearby San Remo or Ventimiglia, if you care.
Dec 19th, 2015, 08:44 AM
#3
I would not stay in Portfino, but recommend Santa Margherita Ligure. We have stayed in SML twice and both times visited Portofino for an hour or so which was enough. It is set in a beautiful location but unless shopping for name brand luxury goods appeals to you, only make a brief vist there. There will be cruise ship tours to contend with as well. We loved Santa Margherita and would happily return there.
Dec 19th, 2015, 08:50 AM
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Rent a car in Ventimiglia Italy - first Italian town across the river from France - frequent trains from Nice - return the car somewhere in Italy to avoid steep drop-off charges potentially.
I also recommend SMLigure vs the total tourist trap IME of nearby Portofino - go in for a few hours - enough and spend more time in the Cinque Terre, especially if into hiking between the villages - easy day trip from SML a more real town.
I also recommend SMLigure vs the total tourist trap IME of nearby Portofino - go in for a few hours - enough and spend more time in the Cinque Terre, especially if into hiking between the villages - easy day trip from SML a more real town.
Dec 19th, 2015, 11:20 AM
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Good info . Thanks for all the useful replies . May stay in SML or one of the other suggested alternatives and go into Portofino for an hour or two . Don't like the idea of a 2 hour traffic jam for a journey that would take 20 mins in winter . Reminds me of our first trip to Positano by car . Second time went by ferry which was much better . Portofino looks beautiful but I feared it may be a tourist trap . Would be thinking of picking up car in Nice and dropping off either in Nice or Nice airport . I presume there is no problem taking hire car over the border to Italy and back ?
Dec 19th, 2015, 12:27 PM
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I presume there is no problem taking hire car over the border to Italy and back ?>
If you don't look like a young Muslim absolutely not - check to see if French rentals covered car theft in Italy and all other coverages are the same.
If you don't look like a young Muslim absolutely not - check to see if French rentals covered car theft in Italy and all other coverages are the same.
Dec 19th, 2015, 01:41 PM
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You can take the train all the way too if I'm not mistaken.
I did Portofino and Santa Maria Margherita as a day trip out of Monterosso.
Took the train and really the main part of the day trip was walking from the SML train station to Portofino, along the coastal road. Many beautiful coves with beaches.
Easy walk, flat all the way unless you want to climb up a little bit before arriving in Portofino.
I didn't take the boats to San Fruttuoso or Camogli this time but those are nice excursions and there are some nice hikes if you're willing to climb.
But in Portofino itself, you can climb up to Castello Brown for great sweeping views over the harbor. They charge €5 for entry.
Chiesa San Giorgio also has nice views and isn't a big climb and is free.
I did Portofino and Santa Maria Margherita as a day trip out of Monterosso.
Took the train and really the main part of the day trip was walking from the SML train station to Portofino, along the coastal road. Many beautiful coves with beaches.
Easy walk, flat all the way unless you want to climb up a little bit before arriving in Portofino.
I didn't take the boats to San Fruttuoso or Camogli this time but those are nice excursions and there are some nice hikes if you're willing to climb.
But in Portofino itself, you can climb up to Castello Brown for great sweeping views over the harbor. They charge €5 for entry.
Chiesa San Giorgio also has nice views and isn't a big climb and is free.
Dec 20th, 2015, 04:23 PM
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If you want to experience the beauty of the Italian Riviera and you're getting a car in Nice and returning it to Nice then there's no reason to drive as far as Portofino to do so. As mentioned, it's tiny and way over-touristed, although it is quite beautiful. I also love Santa Margherita, Camogli and all the nearby towns but they are some of the most touristic towns on that part of the Riviera and get all the attention. However, there are many beautiful and interesting towns much closer to France that won't require that you drive so far and will give you just as much charm as those towns without all the tourists. I'd suggest you look into visiting Noli, Finale Ligure, Finalborgo, Varigotti, Verezzi, Toirano, Balestrino (an abandoned hilltop village), Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena and Zuccarrelo. Several of these places are ranked among I Borghi più bella d'Italia (Italy's Most Beautiful Villages) and they're all located west of Savona so don't require the extended driving time as Portofino. I wrote a photo report about visiting all these places (and more) if you want to have a look. It's a long report but you can get to the part about these towns by scrolling half way down the first page to the reply dated Dec 4, 2012 at 1:08am. At the very end of the report there are links to the local tourist brochures for all these places and they give extensive info on accommodation, dining, local cuisine, sites to visit etc. http://tinyurl.com/bjgz52m
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