Rapallo Itinerary help - trains, adventures, what we must see
 

This is a repost - I forgot the city in the topic line the first time *sorry*

My husband and I are taking our honeymoon (finally) in May (12-21). We fly to Milan and are staying at the Excelsior in Rapallo. Neither of us has been to Europe before (we are 40-ish). I am an interior designer with a keen interest in historic architecture. He is a full-blooded (New York) Italian. We love shopping and exploring - and EATING!

How do we best get from Milan to Rapallo? What must we see while we are there? Should we rent a car? Can you tell us some fabulous restaurants? Day trips?

Thank you so much for your input!

Rapallo is an interesting destination for your first trip to Italy. It is a little off the tourist track. It is located on the Ligurian Coast between Santa Margherita Ligure and the towns of Cinque Terre. The train ride from Milano Centrale to Rapallo is anywhere from about two hours and 10 minutes to three hours and 15 minutes depending on whether your train goes direct or has to change in Genova. I wouldn't think a car is necessary, or even desirable.
From Rapallo, you can take day trips to Cinque Terre, Santa Margherita, Portofino, Camogli and Genova.
We stayed in Santa Margherita, took the train to Riomaggiore (the southernmost of the five Cinque Terre towns) and hiked our way back up to Monterosso. It's an all day trip (particularly if you stop for food and wine along the way.)
Santa Margherita is a very pretty seaside town in its own right. It is a favorite destination of Milanese who come down for weekends. It has a number of great restaurants. Our favorite was Il Frantoio, but do a search on this forum and you will find many other recomendations.
From Santa Margherita you can take a ferry, bus, or hiking trail to Portofino. Portofino was not one of my favorite places (I get nervous when I see a lot of multi-million dollar yachts at anchor), but there are many people who like it.
I've never been to Camogli, but based on what others have written about it, I'm sorry I didn't get there.
If you are interested in architecture, I suggest you take the train to Genova for a day. I also think you should consider staying a few nights in Milan either at the beginning or end of your trip.

Ditto on what rbrazill said.

There's a restaurant called L'Arenella in the adjacent village of Zoagli. It's built right into the old wall that borders the bay. A bit tricky to find (ask your hotel for explicit directions), but the walk along the rocky pathway from the village square is very scenic and romantic. My description probably isn't doing it justice. L'Arenella specializes in fish dishes. Everyone we interacted with spoke little or no English, and since the menu did not have translations either, some things we ordered were a bit of a mystery until they arrived on the table. We enjoyed some of the dishes better than others, but the overall experience was really special.

There are a lot of places right on the Rapallo waterfront, as well. Most seem pretty touristy, but the one we chose was actually very good. I think it was called the Miramare.

As mentioned, you can take the ferry to Portofino and SML. You can also take it to the San Frutuosa (sp?) abbey, which is accessible only by foot or ferry. From there, you can take a motorboat out to view an underwater statue of Jesus. I wish we had done that, but since we didn't know how long the ferry stopped, we were afraid to get off. It was so hot when we were there that we were happy to ride the ferry around, just for the breeze!

Have a wonderful honeymoon :)

Hi staci,

If you have a sunny, windless day, pack your corkscrew, buy picnic stuff and take the cable car from Rapallo to the Santuario di Montallegro high in the hills above the city. The views of the Golfo di Tigullio and the Promentorio di Portofino are spectacular.

Lunch in Portofino, if only to people-watch is another good idea.

And I second rbrazill's suggestion of spending a day in Genoa for the architecture.

Thanks, everyone, for the responses - I'm taking notes and would appreciate more input!!!

I've stayed in Rapallo a couple of times. It's a long-established holiday resort with loads of hotels and restaurants. It's on the main railway line, there are frequent buses to Santa Margherita and Portofino, and boats as well (www.traghettiportofino.it). Of the towns along the coast, I found Camogli the most memorable, perhaps because it was less touristy than Portofino, and because I couldn't get to San Fruttuoso because the boats (www.golfoparadiso.it) weren't running.

We really appreciate the help - we could use all the information you can share. Keep it coming, please!