Piedmont / Liguria Itinerary
 

Hi (again),

Well, I've been working on the itinerary for my June/July trip to Italy. I was going to visit Piedmont (Turin and Lake Orta) and then Campania (Naples, the coast and the isles), but after realizing that both regions are completely apart and my heart is set on Turin, I've decided to leave Campania for another trip (I think Campania makes more sense with Puglia).

My second part of the trip is ready (Turin and Lake Orta), but I can't decide where to base to visit Liguria.

I have three nights and I wanted to visit Cinque Terre and Portofino. I'd thought of basing in Portofino, but it's very expensive. Then, I thought of Santa Margherita Ligure, but from the few pictures I've seen it looks like a typical cliché beach city (perhaps it's a beautiful place and I'm just looking at the wrong pictures).

I went to Nice two years ago and even though I liked its historic center, I didn't like the general atmosphere of the city (I thought it was an eurpoean version of Miami), so I'm trying to avoid places like that. However, I like Capri even though it's also very touristy and crowded.

Camogli seems like another option. Is it?

I don't want to stay in Cinque Terre, I just want to daytrip there. Besides, I've written to a few hotels in Cinque Terre and they all seem to be booked for June/July.

Should I stay in Santa Margherita Ligure, Genoa or Camogli?

I want to visit Liguria first before heading to Piedmont (Turin and Lake Orta).

Thanks (again).

We stayed in Portovenere last summer, which worked well for visits to Cinque Terre. The ferry boat runs up and down the coast.

Castellanese:

Having last been in this region decades ago, I cannot offer any advice, but am following along with interest because a trip like this combining Turin/Orta and Ligurian beaches is one I would like to take in the future. From my limited reading, I came across two additional possibilities and wonder if either of these would be an option for you:

1. Nervi (close to Genoa; would allow day trips into that city)
2. Sestri Levante. Cadogan calls this resort with palms and sandy one of the "happiest..oon the Riveriera di Levante."

Wonder if anyone here has knowledge of either of these..

sorry for the horrible typos in that last post...

We spent five nights in Piedmont and four in Liguria last June. In Liguria we stayed in Lerici which is just south of Cinque Terre. We were easily able to do a daytrip by boat to the Cinque Terre. Lerici is a a smaller town so you would definitely avoid that "Miami" feel. We really enjoyed our stay there.

We didn't stay in Portovenere, but did visit there, and really liked it. Would definitely consider staying there. The one benefit to Lerici over Portovenere, is it is easier to get on the autostrada from Lerici. Because of this we were able to visit Sarzana (wonderful little town) and the marble quarries in Carrara (very fun!)

Camogli is likely to be the best location based on your post. Genoa is actually a great city and the centre is an absolute historical gem. Unfortunately the impression you get from the autostrada slicing through it is not as good. With three days Comogli wil allow good access (especially by boat) to the towns you want to visit.

Please don't miss at least a drive through the wine region as you pass through the heart of Piedmont towards Torino or Orta. If you are driving from Genoa to Torino for example, take the A26 autostrada and turn off at Ovada and wind through Acqui Terme, Nizza Monferrato and Asti (cuts the motorway "corner") for a great view of some of our "assetts".

Phil can you, or someone else familiar with the area, comment on Sestri Levante? While we are on this subject, I thought I would do some advance planning for the future! Many thanks!

I like Levanto myself, away from the autostrada,but easy to get to, and just next door to Cinque Terre.

And heartly agree with what Phil says about the route from Nizza M to Acqui T and Ovada, it will add at least an extra hour to your journey compared with autostrada, but on a clear day its an absolutely spectacular route and Acqui is a great town to stop at for lunch.

Castellanese:

We enjoyed Santa Margharita very much when we made a similar trip to the one you are planning back in 2001 - Liguria and up to Lake Como. If you will have a car, Portofino is very inconvenient because of the time required to drive in and out. It is not a good location for a base if you plan on driving around the area.

Here's the URL of my web page about that trip. Maybe it can help you in your planning.
http://www.travel.stv77.com/liguria/liguria.html

Hi Castellanese,

We stayed in SML for 3 nts a few years ago. We really liked the town itself and found it very untouristy. From there we did a day trip to Riomaggiore and hiked back as far as Vernazza.

We also did an early morning boat over to Portofino, window shopped and wandered, then plopped ourselves down at one of the marina-side restaurants for a very long lunch with lots of wine.

We would have liked a 4th nt there!

Buon viaggio!