My husband and I will be arriving in Nice mid-May and have a week on our own before our family arrives to go to the house we have rented about 30 minutes outside of Nice. We are thinking of a week in Italy and are considering going (either by car or train depending) to Santa Margherita Ligure for 3 nights, go to Genoa, spend 2 nights, then head back to Nice to meet family. We are not beach people—but loved the Amalfi Coast and think this could be a similar experience. Would love your thoughts—and if going inland might be a better fit for us. We like history, art, great food, beautiful scenery…We have stayed in Nice before, and visited quite a few of the surrounding towns, and since we will be in the area another week, thought this might be a good mix.

We spent some time on the Ligurian coast few years ago, day 16 onwards in this TR if helpful
Northern Italy May 2024 : Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria

Given the distance from Nice, I'd probably take the train to Genoa and rely on public transport onwards from there (we didnt need a car in this region at all).

Yes..you could take the train to Genoa, and even on to Rapallo; rent car in Rapallo and base yourself, maybe, in Camogli or Chiavari. And for food, you could go a bit inland to dine at LA BRINCA in Ne, and look around the area of Montemarcello, reportedly a little of a food mecca....near the border of Liguria and Tuscany..

What a beautiful trip report—thank you for linking it. It provides really wonderful photos and insight to the area.

What a beautiful trip report—thank you for linking it. It provides really wonderful photos and insight to the area. Thank you for the restaurant/ food info as well.

After a little more research in the area, we are looking at possibly Genoa + Finale Ligure/ Finalborgo/ Noli/ Savona rather than SML. We are thinking, and please give input if you can, that this area might be a little less “resorty”.