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Ah, Portofino — a coastal Italian city that defines luxurious. Beyonce, Princess Diana, and Madonna have all vacationed on this gem of the Ligurian coast.
The precise city of Portofino is kind of small — shockingly small, while you get there. Once a quiet Ligurian fishing village, Portofino rose in recognition and now attracts tons of vacationers with its colourful homes, slim streets, and picturesque harbor.
Since Portofino is definitely fairly small, I feel it makes extra sense as a day journey vacation spot. You can simply go to Portofino in just some hours, or longer in order for you some seashore time. Rapallo, Camogli, and Portofino’s next-door neighbor of Santa Margherita Ligure are higher Italian Riviera cities to base your self in.
One essential factor to learn about Portofino is that it’s fairly costly. My husband and I received two affogatti (espresso poured over gelato) at a restaurant, and we have been charged a whopping 30 euros — I believed it will be perhaps 10 euros, and that will be costly in comparison with the remainder of Italy!! But exorbitant costs apart, it’s value visiting this picture-perfect coastal city.
Ready to find Portofino? Let me present you the perfect issues to do on this iconic Italian Riviera vacation spot.
This submit was printed in January 2025 and was co-written by Adventurous Kate and Dale Peterson.
Best Things to Do in Portofino, Italy
Go on a strolling tour
If you’re visiting Portofino on a day journey from Santa Margherita Ligure, this tour is the proper solution to get acquainted with the city. You’ll start in Santa Margherita and take the ferry down the coast to Portofino.
Then you’ll discover the city on a strolling tour, making a cease for a focaccia tasting at an area bakery. For lunch, you’ll have a pesto-making class and luxuriate in your lunch overlooking the water.
This is adopted by free time to discover Portofino earlier than catching your return ferry.
Take within the fancy boutiques
You wouldn’t anticipate it for such a small city, however Portofino is filled with luxurious boutiques. It may need the very best ratio of luxurious boutiques to sq. footage of a city in Italy!
You’ll discover the shops of iconic Italian designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, and Pucci, in addition to small luxurious manufacturers Italians love.
(My husband Charlie was amused by this. “Why would anyone buy a bag that says Celine on it?…This town needs an Apple Store. And a high-end bike shop.”)
Even when you don’t have the price range to splurge at one among these shops, it’s at all times enjoyable to walk down the primary avenue of Portofino and window store.
Visit the church buildings
Take a while to discover Portofino’s church buildings, notably the Chiesa di San Giorgio and Chiesa del Divino Martino. While neither of those church buildings is among the many most spectacular you’ll see in Italy, they’re each value a go to.
Chiesa di San Giorgio is a historic church providing spectacular views over Portofino and the harbor, which is at all times stuffed with yachts and different boats.
Chiesa del Divino Martino is a reasonably church with a novel striped facade that’s proper within the middle of city.
Visit Castello Brown
Castello Brown is a historic fort perched excessive above the harbor of Portofino. This strategic location was used for navy protection since Roman instances. However, the fort fell into disrepair after being deserted within the nineteenth century, till it was restored by an English couple who bought it within the Fifties.
Now, you may go to the fort and benefit from the panoramic views it affords over Portofino. To attain the fort, it’s a straightforward however uphill 10-minute stroll from the middle of city.
Entrance to the fort and grounds is 5 EUR ($5.50 USD) for many guests and free for kids aged 12 and below.
Walk to the Faro di Portofino
If you’re already at Castello Brown, you may preserve strolling for one more 10 minutes to succeed in the Faro di Portofino, a working lighthouse on the sting of the peninsula. From the lighthouse, you may soak up sweeping views of the ocean.
There’s additionally a cocktail bar known as La Portofinese on the lighthouse if you wish to seize a drink or some mild snacks whereas having fun with the view.
Visit the Museo del Parco
Museo del Parco is a small open-air sculpture museum in Portofino. There’s not a ton to see right here, however if you wish to spend a while strolling round admiring the distinctive installations, it is a good exercise to do in Portofino.
The entrance payment to the museum is 5 EUR ($5.50 USD.) In addition to the sculptures, you may soak up fabulous views of the harbor from right here.
Relax on the seashore
Although Portofino is on the coast, it’s not a typical seashore vacation spot with huge, sandy seashores. However, there are a number of seashores in and round Portofino the place you may swim within the clear, refreshing waters of the Ligurian Sea.
Baia di Paraggi is the perfect seashore close to Portofino, and it’s positioned about 20 minutes from the middle of city on the street towards Santa Margherita (you may as well take a five-minute bus trip on the 782 bus). This pebbled seashore has solar loungers for hire and is surrounded by cafes and eating places.
Baia Cannone is only a five-minute stroll from Portofino, and it’s accessible by steep, slim steps main right down to a small seashore. However, it’s an important spot for swimming!
Hike to the San Fruttuoso Abbey
If you’re up for an lively journey, you may’t miss the hike to San Fruttuoso Abbey. This Tenth-century abbey in a secluded cove is just accessible by boat or by foot.
The hike from Portofino takes about two hours, however when you arrive, you’ll be rewarded with wonderful historical past and an important seashore the place you may loosen up and funky off with a swim.
There are a number of eating places across the abbey, primarily serving seafood. I like to recommend packing your personal snacks for the hike, and perhaps bringing your personal picnic lunch, too.
Enjoy a ship tour
You can’t go to Portofino with out getting out on the water at the very least as soon as. One of the perfect methods to do that is with a ship tour.
This small group tour is the proper solution to end off a day in Portofino as you watch the sundown whereas having fun with a glass of prosecco and a few mild snacks.
For a extremely particular expertise, you may as well constitution a ship in Portofino. This boat constitution contains snorkeling tools and drinks onboard, and you’ve got management over the place you go and the way lengthy you cease.
Go coasteering
If you’re up for an adrenaline-pumping exercise, you may strive coasteering in Portofino. This combines climbing, leaping, and swimming alongside the rocky shoreline. With assist from an skilled information, you’ll be scaling and leaping off seaside cliffs prefer it’s nothing.
This coasteering tour contains nearly every thing you’ll want, together with all security tools, a helmet, a life jacket, and a full-body wetsuit. The solely merchandise you might want to convey is waterproof footwear with a great grip because you’ll be scaling moist, rocky surfaces.
Hike via Portofino Natural Park
If the thought of climbing two hours every solution to San Fruttuoso Abbey isn’t sufficient for you, there are much more choices! Portofino Park is a nature park spanning a lot of the peninsula, and it incorporates practically 50 miles of climbing trails.
There are loads of scenic treks you are able to do throughout the park. You may even hike from Portofino to a different village like Camogli or Santa Margherita Ligure taking the scenic route via the high-elevation hills of the peninsula.
Go kayaking or paddleboarding
Another enjoyable solution to get out on the water in Portofino is by going kayaking or paddleboarding. This paddleboarding tour means that you can see Portofino from a special perspective as you paddle via the Baia di Paraggi. You’ll get a better view of the city from the water than you’d when you have been on a ship.
Another choice is this kayaking tour which helps you to discover the Portofino Marine Protected Area. You’ll additionally get to entry small inlets and caves that aren’t accessible by boat. You can even select to guide a kayaking plus snorkeling tour, or get pleasure from a sundown kayaking tour.
Take the ferry to Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita is a big city close to Portofino that’s nicely value a go to. It has a number of the identical allure as Portofino, however there’s much more to it than a tiny village. While nonetheless an upscale place (with BOATS on BOATS on BOATS), Santa Margherita feels extra for “regular people” than Portofino.
You can take a 15-minute ferry trip from Portofino to Santa Margherita, take a 15-minute bus trip, and even stroll. From Portofino to Santa Margherita, there’s a coastal path that could be a good, straightforward stroll of roughly 3.2 miles.
Visit Camogli
One of my favourite locations to go to on the Italian Riviera is Camogli, and it’s so near Portofino! This is one other quaint Italian Riviera city that was as soon as a quiet fishing village and is now a preferred resort vacation spot. It’s additionally fairly small, so you may discover it in a number of hours.
You can get to Camogli from Portofino two methods. The most scenic choice is taking the ferry. But if it’s not operating, you may take a 15-minute bus trip to Santa Margherita Ligure, after which hop on the prepare one cease to Camogli.
Read More: 11 Fun Things to Do in Camogli, Italy
Spend a day in Cinque Terre
The most well-known place alongside the Italian Riviera is Cinque Terre. With a reputation which means “Five Lands” in Italian, Cinque Terre is a string of 5 colourful coastal villages.
If you may get your self Santa Margherita Ligure by bus or boat, it’s only a 40-minute prepare trip to Monterosso al Mare, the biggest of the 5 cities. From there, you may then hop between cities on the regional prepare — it doesn’t take greater than 5 minutes to go between any of the cities.
Monterosso is house to the one respectable seashore in Cinque Terre, however Vernazza, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are all impossibly charming and picturesque. I like to recommend heading to Manarola simply earlier than sundown. You can go to all 5 in a day, however if you wish to skip one, skip Corniglia.
Read More: Guide to the 5 Towns of Cinque Terre
How Much Time to Spend in Portofino, Italy
How a lot time do you want for Portofino? I feel Portofino works greatest as a day journey vacation spot.
If you’re simply dropping in for a go to, two hours or so is all you want – however if you wish to do extra of the issues on this checklist, you may make a full day of your go to.
How to Get to Portofino, Italy
How are you able to get to Portofino? You have a number of choices for reaching Portofino. There are buses and ferries from the encompassing cities locations. Santa Margherita Ligure tends to be extra of a hub on this area because it has a prepare station, and from there, it’s a 15-minute bus trip to Portofino. You can even take a scenic 3.2-mile stroll alongside the coast to get to Portofino.
There’s additionally a ferry from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino, which takes about quarter-hour, and there are ferries from different locations like Rapallo, Camogli, and Genoa. Keep in thoughts that ferries generally don’t run in case of inclement climate.
The closest airports are in Genoa and Pisa. Genoa is nearer, however is a really small airport with a handful of flights round Europe; Pisa is a bigger airport and serves many extra European locations, totally on price range airways.
From Genoa, there’s a 20-minute quick prepare to Santa Margherita Ligure, whereas from Pisa, it’s a 2-hour prepare trip.
Where To Stay in Portofino, Italy
Wondering the place to remain in Portofino? Although it’s a small city, there are a selection of lodging choices in Portofino, starting from opulent luxurious motels to easy albergos, which usually seek advice from fundamental native motels in Italy.
While you may actually go to Portofino on a day journey, it can be used as a base to discover the Italian Riviera.
Staying in Portofino additionally means that you can benefit from the quiet city within the mornings earlier than the day journey crowds arrive, and within the night as soon as they depart.
These are the perfect locations to remain in Portofino:
Find offers on locations to remain in Portofino right here.
Best Time To Visit Portofino, Italy
What are the perfect instances to go to Portofino? Summer is THE time of yr for the Italian Riviera, however don’t overlook the spring or fall, which can be a beautiful time to go to!
Many small cities on the Italian Riviera, together with Portofino, are roughly shut down within the winter months, so I’d keep away from this time of yr. (Honestly, I’m modifying this submit in January, and Google Maps is roofed with “Temporarily Closed” companies throughout Portofino.)
If you’re trying to go to in summer season climate however barely off-peak, I’m an enormous fan of early June, which is earlier than the crowds actually begin to are available, or late September, when the crowds have dropped off.
Portofino can get extraordinarily crowded throughout the summer season, particularly when massive cruise ships are docked in close by Genoa. If you go to from mid-June via early September, you would possibly encounter large crowds and highly regarded climate in Portofino.
Is Portofino Worth It?
I’ll be trustworthy — I wouldn’t make Portofino the middle of my journey to the Italian Riviera. (And yeah, perhaps these 30 euro affogatti had one thing to do with it.)
But I feel it’s a wonderful day journey vacation spot, particularly while you pair it with the encompassing cities of Santa Margherita Ligure and San Fruttuoso, and even develop to Camogli and Rapallo.
I hope you’ve got a beautiful time in Portofino!
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Have you been to Rapallo, Italy? Share your favourite experiences!