My buddy, Laura Giannatempo, is on a regular basis touring to the dreamiest places in Italy (and, in actuality, has merely started her private journey agency, ViaVai Journey) so I requested if she would share one among her favorites with us—some place we would not have heard about…
I was driving the observe counting the minutes until the following stop so I’ll get a bit help, since a small army of people was pressing in the direction of me on all sides, sticky arms in the direction of sticky arms, heavy beads of sweat working down the sides of my temples. No, I wasn’t driving the New York Metropolis subway in a vehicle with no air-con. I was on the native observe that connects Monterosso to Vernazza—two of the Cinque Terre—some time in August of ultimate yr. And the people on my observe weren’t commuters, they’d been vacationers.
Rising up, I spent most summers in Liguria, in a metropolis not too faraway from the Cinque Terre. For me—a girl from foggy-in-winter, hazy-in-summer Turin—Liguria has on a regular basis been a strip of eternal sunshine the place temperatures not at all fall beneath floral-dress-fluttering-in-the-breeze diploma, the place an infinite stretch of blue sea sparkles in daylight, and the place meals and wine have a selected sensuous top quality—notably when your meals are relished in a front-row seat to the Mediterranean.
My summers had been spent inside the small coastal metropolis of Bonassola, merely two cities far from Monterosso. Nonetheless whereas Monterosso and the alternative Cinque Terre villages are pretty truly invaded by vacationers, notably within the summertime, Bonassola has managed to retain a neighborhood kind of attraction—and with that, a gradual tempo paying homage to at least one different interval. Even inside the canine days of summer season season, Bonassola clings anachronistically to a comfortable provincialism, a decidedly small-town vibe varnished with solely the thinnest layer of city-folk fashionable, as a consequence of visitors from Genoa, Milan and Turin.
That’s the Italian Riviera I would really like you to know; the one which not typically makes it on Instagram. With over-tourism now plaguing the Cinque Terre (as I clearly witnessed on my observe expertise ultimate yr), I imagine it’s essential for all of us to be additional accountable vacationers and diversify our places. I moreover suppose it’s additional pleasurable and attention-grabbing to find paths a lot much less trodden. That’s everytime you truly get a very really feel for a spot, its people, its meals. That’s when the experience is additional real and feels actual. And that’s what I attempt to do at ViaVai Journey.
So if you’re pondering of touring to the Cinque Terre, bear in mind attempting previous and together with some lesser-known nevertheless equally charming places to your Ligurian itinerary. Listed under are a few of my favorites…
Camogli
It may have one factor to do with the reality that I obtained married proper right here, nevertheless Camogli will on a regular basis preserve a selected place in my coronary coronary heart. For many who’re looking out for the pastel-colored properties and the rocky hills plunging straight into the Mediterranean, look no further. This fishing-village-turned-resort-town boasts earlier, impressively tall properties painted inside the typical Ligurian colors, a vigorous stretch of seaside correct in town, and a implausible lodge: the Cenoby of the Dogesperched on a hill on the jap side of the town’s half-moon seaside. The Cenobio has a surprising pool and entry to a lido with umbrellas and chairs correct on a small private seaside.
In your morning stroll in town, stop by Focacceria Revello for a bit appetizer of cheese focaccia (a specialty of shut by Recco) after which eat your weight in seafood at trattoria Da Paolo. When you’re bored with chilling by the pool or on the seaside (it’s arduous work, I do know, nevertheless someone’s gotta do it), take a ferry to shut by San Fruttuoso di Camogli, a turquoise lagoon hidden by tall, rocky hills and basically essentially the most inconceivable location for a benedictine monastery.
Portovenere and Lerici
It’s no coincidence this part of jap Liguria generally known as Gulf of Poets (Bay of Poets): varied poets, along with Bryron and Shelley, have lived proper right here at one degree or one different. Every Portovenere and Lerici are true hidden gems: they’re merely as picturesque as a result of the Cinque Terre nevertheless with a fraction of the vacationers.
In Portovenere, snag an ocean-front room on the Grand Lodge Portovenerewhich is right in town on the water and has an outstanding restaurant, or carry on the Porto Venere Towera surprising design-forward B&B (the rooms are stunning nevertheless tight). The Gulf of the Poets Relays & Spain Ameglia nearer to Lerici, is a swanky resort worth attempting out, too.
Lerici is believed for its medieval fortress, an imposing presence correct on the promontory. I prefer to hike the attractive two-mile, castle-to-castle stroll that connects it to shut by San Terenzo fortress and take inside the spectacular bay views from the fortress rooftop. From Portovenere, be certain to take a quick boat expertise to the island of Palmaria for a seafood lunch at Locanda Lorena. And since this area is believed for the great Vermentino Colli di Luni DOC, whose manufacturing area straddles Liguria and Tuscany, make time for a wine tasting stop at a neighborhood winery. I prefer to suggest Terenzuola or Ca' Lunae.
Alassio
Whereas the western part of Liguria (known as Ponente) is generally missed by American vacationers, northern Europeans have been coming proper right here to journey for not lower than a pair hundred years, maybe additional. And people from northern Italy have made this side of Liguria their go-to seaside trip spot, far more so than the alternative side, the Levante.
There are pockets which is perhaps actually charming, notably inland, and the historic services of many Ponente cities are worth a go to.
Amongst my favorites are Alassio and Albenga. In Alassio, hold at Villa della Pergolaa villa-turned-hotel constructed by an English family inside the early twentieth century. E book a free tour of the villa’s botanical gardens—a unusual occasion of an English yard in Italy—after which head to the gutthe historic center, the place you probably can meander by way of the bustling streets (typical Ligurian slim streets) full of shops, bakeries and markets.
Have lunch at Ristorante Babette correct on the seaside between Alassio and Albenga, whereas having enjoyable with views of the Gallinara island merely off the coast.
And don’t miss out on the small metropolis of Albenga, with its well-preserved medieval center constructed over the standard Roman metropolis.
Dolceacqua
Whereas Liguria is most interesting acknowledged for refreshingly crisp white wines, its crimson Rossese wines are merely as yummy—fragrant and aromatic, ranging from gentle bodied to completely structured. In all probability essentially the most prized Rossese is from the realm near Dolceacqua, an uber-cute village inland from Ventimiglia, the ultimate Italian metropolis sooner than the French border. Rossese is troublesome to go looking out inside the US, so if you’re inside the area, it’s essential to go for a wine tasting and maybe get a bottle or two to hold once more. I prefer to suggest White Landswhose vineyards are positioned utterly on a hillside with beautiful valley views.
Keep in mind to go to the town of Dolceacqua, notably inside the evening when it comes to life all through the stroll (Italian for stroll). Eat at Casa e Bottega, a surprisingly good restaurant considering its place in a reasonably touristy area.
And don’t miss out on Apricale, a close-by medieval hilltop village, and get misplaced in its rambling, up-and-down stone streets. You probably can drive to Dolceacqua and Apricale from Alassio for a day journey, nevertheless when you want to hold nearer, attempt the small coastal metropolis of Sanremo, whose unruly improvement improve all through the Fifties and ’60s didn’t pretty deal with to cover its excellent earlier as a chic seaside resort.
The Miramare The Palace is a these days refurbished grand lodge that straddles old-school and trendy—although it just about feels a bit too Miami. I similar to the easier agriturismo Sagliettoa few one-hour drive from Dolceacqua in the direction of Imperia.
Sounds unbelievable! Has anyone visited? Thanks, Laura!
P.S. Further Italian inspiration: Travelogues for Rome, Puglia, and Tuscany
Laura Giannatempo is the founding father of ViaVai Journeya New York-based Journey agency that curates immersive, boutique journey experiences to a couple of most interesting, and typically stunning, wine places in Italy. She’s presently engaged on a Liguria journey. A journey, meals and wine writer/editor and a passionate traveler, Laura was born and raised in Turin, Italy, and lives in Brooklyn. All ViaVai Journey itineraries are personally curated by her and her group and companions inside the U.S. and in Italy. Collectively, they handpick the right wineries, the chicest boutique motels, the buzziest eateries that highlight native cuisines and loads of distinctive experiences.
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