Top popular places to visit in Liguria

Italy

Top popular places to visit in Liguria

Wandering what are the top popular places to visit in Liguria? From Cinque Terre to Portofino, we will be covering the most popular sites in the Italian Riviera, as well as what to do in each of them, so you can add them to your itinerary when visiting this beautiful part of Italy!

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Located between Cote d’Azur (French Riviera) and Tuscany, Liguria (also known as the Italian Riviera) has plenty of beautiful places to visit, and it is especially popular for its colourful coastal houses, in particular Cinque Terre and Portofino, as well as the city of Genoa.

Even though Portofino is within the most popular places to visit in Liguria, it is still fairly unknown compared to other Italian towns such as Rome, Pisa and Venice, so it’s a perfect place to visit if you’re trying to escape the crowds. Even Cinque Terre, the most popular area in Liguria, has a lot fewer visitors during peak season than places like Rome. I visited Cinque Terre in August, back in 2018, and even though it had quite a few people visiting, it wasn’t flooded like what you will see in Rome and Venice.

To make it easier to visualise and identify these locations, I will start with the most popular locations from west to east (from France to Tuscany), and will later write another post on off the beaten path locations in Liguria.

Tips to use the map above

You will find different layers on this map, showing you all points of interest by categories. To see these, click on the tab icon (top left). All layers will be enabled by default. By clicking on the check marks, you can disable/hide a specific label to better understand the info you’re looking for.
To view more detailed information on any point of interest, click on it’s icon over the map.
You can save this by clicking on the star on the top of the map (right next to the title). This will be added to your Google Maps, and you will be able to access it from any device (Google Maps – Your Places – Maps)

And if you’re more of a visual learner and would prefer to watch a YouTube video on the top popular places to visit in Liguria instead, I’ve made this content available on my channel:

Genoa (Genova)

Genoa is not a pretty coastal town with colourful houses, but it’s a big reference point in Liguria: located in the centre of this region, Genoa has a massive port, a large medieval centre with many squares (piazzas) and many historical monuments and museums, including the largest Aquarium in Italy (and one of the largest in Europe). If you’re into culture and history, you will find interesting attractions to spend your time on, but if you’re into pretty locations, you will find Genoa a bit too industrial and unattractive.

Genoa can also be a good option for accommodation due to its great train connections and fairly low prices compared to other areas such as Portofino and Cinque Terre.

We spent two nights here and this was definitely my least favourite town in Liguria, mostly because of how *disgusting conversation alert* dirty the city was and how many dodgy places we encountered, to the point of having bus stops that stink and had marks of piss on the floor and the seats.

That being said, there is an area of Genoa that is quite popular for its colourful houses, and it is photo-worthy: Bocadasse.

Portofino

Portofino is a beautiful fishing village located in the Italian Riviera, known as a fancy destination for celebrities, which explains its prices and luxury shops. Beautiful coloured houses aligned around its small square (Piazzetta) and the harbour, fancy restaurants, hotels and boutiques, and stunning green hills in the background, this place will surely steal your heart as you visit.

While this is a popular meeting place for VIPs, you will also have plenty of opportunities to hike and enjoy the nature in Portofino Regional Park, with all its lush vegetation and stunning views of the town and coast. The views from the Church of St George and Castello Brown towards the harbour and square are well worth the hike, and you can also hike from Santa Margherita Ligure through a beautiful path along the coast. On top of that, you can hike through Portofino Regional Park to get to San Fruttuoso, a location that I talk about in my off the beaten path locations in Liguria post. If you’re into water activities, you can also take a boat tour, go kayaking, snorkelling or diving.

Access to Portofino can be a little tricky due to its location. You can drive to Portofino, but parking tickets are absurd, so I would recommend taking a bus or hiking (1h30min hike) from Santa Margherita Ligure, or even getting there by boat.

Another thing to consider is the fact that while during the day you will see many other tourists like you, at night the atmosphere is completely different, and you might feel a bit off in your sweaty clothes as everyone else is dressing nicely and smelling good to sit by the harbour for a fancy dinner under the lights of a pricey seafood restaurant.

Cinque Terre

As mentioned previously, Cinque Terre is the most popular destination of the Italian Riviera. It is the most touristy of all locations, and it includes (just as the name indicates) 5 different villages (terre), from west to east: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore – Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore being the most picturesque of all 5 and Corniglia the least interesting.

Most people visit all 5 villages by hiking the popular trails available (payment is required to access some of these hikes, but the views are stunning), but you can also visit them by train (just make sure you validate your ticket every time to avoid a big fine) or even by boat (only available during Summer, and subject to weather and tide conditions – if the waves are too strong, they won’t operate).

Cinque Terre is a super picturesque region, with beautiful views of the coast, many souvenir and local art shops, tasty fried seafood, and an amazing, relaxing vibe, so you will surely feel like staying to enjoy the water and the Italian sunshine.

The mistake most people make when visiting Liguria is to only include the highlights of the Italian Riviera, when this part of Italy is full of small and colourful towns, where you can truly appreciate the culture and local life.

I would highly recommend that you check my off the beaten path locations in Liguria post and include some of those locations on your next trip!

Hope this post was helpful to you, and have a lovely day! ❤

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