Portofino, Italy

Portofino is a small fishing village in the province of Genoa on the Northern Italian Riviera that many have not heard of in the States. Many know of the Cinque Terra, which is 75kms to the south. Portofino is not a rustic village, it is quite posh and is a spot that celebrities from Sophia Loren to Beyonce visit. This is a town to visit to relax, explore, and soak up the culture.

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Portofino is reachable by car, train, bus and boat - we arrived from Milan via train to Santa Margherita Ligure Train Station and took a cab to our hotel -but vou can also catch a bus. Once at your hotel there are foot paths that lead to the piazza where you can catch a ferry to neighboring villages or towns. I can't remember the parking situation, but there is not a lot of space for parking lots in this coastal town.

There are not many choices where to stay in Portofino if you are looking to sleep with in the village. We stayed at the Hotel Piccolo and absolutely loved it! ...they were real alright....heaven! A standard European breakfast spread of meats, cheeses, fruit, yogurt, pastries, juice, and the best coffee was provided - what's not to love!

Amazing view from our room. *Note the road in and out of town does run in front of the hotel. During the day there is some noise but it did not disturb our sleep. We found it entertaining to sit and watch the sunset and all the fancy cars coming in and out of town.

If you want to be up in the clouds Hotel Splendido might be the choice for you. It was way out of our price range but we had a wonderful dinner there. There is a shuttle that will pick you up in the piazza or right outside Hotel Piccolo that takes you up and down the hill.
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We enjoyed taking the walk paths and marveling the view at every turn. On our first full day we walked into town and then up to Castello Brown that overlooks the harbor. Portofino sits on a rocky hook that reaches out into the Tigullian Gulf so there is water on three sides of the castle. It almost beats not having an actual window. On the way down from the Castello we stopped for a glass of Sangria.!