Liguria Off The Beaten Path

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Most Viewed Off The Beaten Path in Liguria

1.

palazzi   Genoa

palazzi, Genoa

 15 Reviews  Also known as Palazzo del Principe, this building would be one of the pearls of Genova's if it wasn't so hidden, without even an inscription or a sign, close to the Principe railway station. This... 

 See All 52 Off The Beaten Path in Genoa

2.

Islands   La Spezia

Islands, La Spezia

 2 Reviews  I had the chance to visit the nearby islands with a local guy I had met at a club and found it simply enchanting. In a seculed beach he was able to ride the "baloney pony' until he could not stand it... 

 See All 22 Off The Beaten Path in La Spezia

3.

San Giorgio   Portofino

San Giorgio, Portofino

 6 Reviews  The interior of San Giorgio is nice , but not very special, in comparison with plenty of other churches in Italy. The church was almost completely destroyed in WW II and reconstructed afterwards. 

 See All 14 Off The Beaten Path in Portofino

4.

Eastern Riviera   Genoa

Eastern Riviera, Genoa

 6 Reviews  Bocadasse at sunset is an interesting and romantic area just minutes from the center of Genoa. It's a great place to begin shaking off the jet lag, exploring the boardwalk and neighborhoods, absorbing... 

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5.

Cathedral   La Spezia

Cathedral, La Spezia

 2 Reviews   Having seen on a map that La Spezia has a cathedral, we wandered around trying to find it. So far, the churches we had visited in Italy were beautiful and antique, so I was looking forward to... 

 See All 22 Off The Beaten Path in La Spezia

6.

Surrounding, San Fruttuoso di Camogli   Portofino

Surrounding, San Fruttuoso di Camogli, Portofino

 1 Review  San Fruttuoso di Camogli - you may reach it by boat or you may walk there from Portofino ( 2 hours one way ) The church is of special beauty and dates back to 1000 A.D. For lovely pics and some... 

 See All 14 Off The Beaten Path in Portofino

7.

sea and harbour   Genoa

sea and harbour, Genoa

 6 Reviews  Sometimes, cities are lucky enough to reinvent themselves. Genoa, given short shrift in travel guides 20 years ago, has undergone a striking renaissance since 1992, when it hosted an international... 

 See All 52 Off The Beaten Path in Genoa

8.

surrounding, Portovenere   La Spezia

surrounding, Portovenere, La Spezia

 3 Reviews  . Climb up to this church on the picture in Portovenere, try to enter to it's tower to admire the view. When I was there in 1994 the tower was closed to public and there was nobody in the church to... 

 See All 22 Off The Beaten Path in La Spezia

9.

San Martino church   Portofino

San Martino church, Portofino

 1 Review  Unfortunately the church of San Martino ( just a few steps from the main square ) was locked when I wanted to see the interior. It is in fact usual at many places in Italy to lock the churches most... 

 See All 14 Off The Beaten Path in Portofino

10.

hillside   Genoa

hillside, Genoa

 5 Reviews  In Italy, as many countries in europe I assumed.. the houses locate higher on the hill are much expensive than those ones in lower area.. normally people who are rather rich will be living there..... 

 See All 52 Off The Beaten Path in Genoa

11.

surrounding, lerici   La Spezia

surrounding, lerici, La Spezia

 2 Reviews  . The city is located at the center of the La Spezia Gulf called often "Golfo dei poeti" = Poets' Gulf. Driving to Lerici (south) you can stop for the moment to admire a view to the gulf and the... 

 See All 22 Off The Beaten Path in La Spezia

12.

castello Brown   Portofino

castello Brown, Portofino

 1 Review  Have a look from the terrace of the castle towards the church S. Giorgio : You will see, how small the peninsula gets at that place, between the bay and the open sea. and this lovely orchid was... 

 See All 14 Off The Beaten Path in Portofino

13.

Il Carmine   Genoa

Il Carmine, Genoa

 1 Review  The "Carmine" district is a part of the Historic Centre almost unknown to tourist, and to many genovese people too! It's still a bit in bad conditions, but several restorations have been done in these... 

 See All 52 Off The Beaten Path in Genoa

14.

Western riviera   Genoa

Western riviera, Genoa

 1 Review  Each Friday, for over 50 decades, traders and bargain hunters have flooded into Ventimiglia at dawn, creating chaotic traffic jams for the Carabinieri to sort out. Shoppers flood down from normally... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Portofino > Castle Brown & San Giorgio

by globetrott

When you are in Portofino I may highly recommend to walk up to the castle Brown (on the left of my picture )in order to have the great view over the bay.The old castle had great strategic importance since times of the roman empire, as from there the whole bay of La Spezia & the Ligurian Coast could be seen and approaching enemies had no chance to land on the coast unwatched.On the right of my picture you may see San Giorgio, easyly to be reached by a walk of about 10-15 minutes. The church itself is great although it is not as richly decorated as many other , less famous churches in Liguria.And in front of the church you will have a terrace for a first great view of the whole Portofino-bay.

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LAVAGNA

by globetrott

Lavagna is a lovely town east of Genua / Genova and I stayed there for a few days simply for the fact, that I found an easy parking free of charge for my motorhome there.Lavagna has perfect connections to 5terre and Genua by train.My favorite place in Lavagna , besides the Marina, was the cemetery with a lot of great and touching sculptures - you will see some of them on my picture-conbination and another one in the tips about "Local customs"Also the church looks really beautiful.Please click here in order to see, where to find Lavagna :www.multimap.com - LavagnaFor more infos and pics of Lavagna - just click on my link below !

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NERVI - a suburb of Genova / Genua

by globetrott

Nervi is a place I saw first , when I passed by in the train to Genua, and all the coastline was lighted, including the 2 small castellos and so decided to go there with Chiara the other day.Nervi has a lovely path along the coast with a lot of palmtrees and other great vegetation.My favorite place was the rosary, that looked great already in march, although just a few roses survived the winter.Lots of squirrels will be in the park and do NOT miss the interesting sign at the entrance of the park, saying the park will be open, till the bell rings... ;-))Well, THEN you better run, run, run quickly...You may click here in order to see where to find Nervi on the map :www.multimap.com - NerviOn the link below you may see more infos and pics about Nervi and the famous Rosary

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NERVI - Roseto Villa Grimaldi

by globetrott

This lovely Rosary is certainly worth a visit, when you search for a nice and quiet park with great palmtrees and lovely roses...Unfortunately in March it was too early in the year to see any blooming roses... :-((But there are as well plenty of tropical flowers and trees, that I knew only in small versions, planted in a small pot in Austrian living-rooms......but there in Roseto Villa Grimaldi they are huge trees and look really great and interesting and stay in the garden the whole year long.Something funny is the sign at the entrance of the rosary:they open at 08.00a.m. and will close the gate, when the bell rings...and then you better run, run, run to be in time at the gate ;-))

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GENUA & Righi

by globetrott

In Genua you may take the funiculare to Righi - one of the hills above town.From up there you will have this wonderfull panorame-view of Genua / Genova.The funiculare takes about 15 minutes and starts in the centre of town and has a 2nd stop at half way (close to Palazzo Brutto and also the youth hostel).There is a large castle on top of Righi - in a walking distance of about 20 minutes ( and a public bus will also take you there )You may as well drive up Righi with your own car, but the funicolare is a lot more fun !

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Genua & the Righi castles

by globetrott

On top of Righi - in a walking distance of about 20 minutes - you will see a massive castle, or rather the ruins of it.The castle seems to be partly used by the army and partly private and there was just a small restaurant / buffet inside the arch seen on my pic.But it was a nice walk and you may also see plenty of more castles on the nearby hillsDirectely at the funicolare you may take the bus and it might be a good idea to go with it a big distance and finally walk back in order to see all of these castles.I have been up there in march 2003 and saw also many of local people camping up there at the big car-parks.

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Vernazza - take a look inside the church

by globetrott

When arriving in Vernazza by boat you will see the small church in the bay on your left.Have a look inside the , the interior is not as richly decorated as most of the other churches in Italy, but it still looks great and you have to considder, it is more than 1000 years old and all materials had to be taken there by boatHave a look out of the medieval arches of the church-windows in order to have a great view to the bay of Monterosso al mare.Monterosso is in a distance of just about 10 minutes by boat , or 1,5 hours walk over the hills

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Genova - Galleria Mazzini

by globetrott

Galleria Mazzini is obviously named after Giuseppe Mazzini, who was one of the revolutionaries around G.Garribaldi.This galleria is a traditional shopping-centre with great architecture , lovely chandeliers and a great atmosphere.Galleria Mazzini is just a few meters behind of Teatro Carlo Felice, and only about 200 meters from Piazza de ferrari with the famous fountain.You may click on this link in order to see, where to find galleria Giuseppe Mazzini:www.multimap.com - Genua / Genova

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Genova - Palazzo Brutto

by globetrott

This lovely palazzo may be seen from almost every place in Genua and so it attracted my attention and I walked up the hill behind the " Castelletto "It took me about 40 minutes to walk up there on Corso Firenze simply to find out, it is a private home now, and the closer you get, the less of it you may see.But that walk also showed me lots of other great buildings and it might be a good idea to take a walk up that hill, if you have a lot of time.(You may also simply take the funicolare per Righi and leave the 2nd station ) and walk just downhill again.On my map you may see where to find Corso Firenze :www.multimap.com -Genua / Genova

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Monterosso - Orario Santa Croce

by globetrott

Have a look for this lovely Orario in Monterosso al Mare.An Orario / Oratory is a building ment to pray, BUT no real church. This oratory has a great and interesting interior in Baroque style.When you click on my picture you may see a typical cross for the area of Liguria on the right and also the model of a sailing-ship hanging down from the ceiling.The church is open during the day and waiting for your visit - free of charge, and on a really hot summerday it might be also a great place to escape the heat.www.multimap.com - Monterosso al Mare

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Unique Places in Liguria

Top 3 Hotels in Liguria

Best Western Hotel Metropoli  Genoa

 1 Review and 237 Opinions  It's good 3* hotel, rather centrally located (about 15 min walk to Duomo and 25 min walk to the... 

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La Baia di Rio  Riomaggiore

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Camere Giuliano  Vernazza

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715 Hotels in Liguria
 
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Off The Beaten Path: Cities in Liguria
  1. Genoa Off The Beaten Path
  2. Monterosso al Mare Off The Beaten Path
  3. Riomaggiore Off The Beaten Path
  4. Manarola Off The Beaten Path
  5. Vernazza Off The Beaten Path
  6. La Spezia Off The Beaten Path
  7. Portofino Off The Beaten Path
  8. Santa Margherita Ligure Off The Beaten Path
  9. Portovenere Off The Beaten Path
  10. Sestri Levante Off The Beaten Path
  11. San Remo Off The Beaten Path
  12. Corniglia Off The Beaten Path
  13. Chiavari Off The Beaten Path
  14. Camogli Off The Beaten Path
  15. Lerici Off The Beaten Path
  16. Nervi Off The Beaten Path
  17. Alassio Off The Beaten Path
  18. Lavagna Off The Beaten Path
  19. Savona Off The Beaten Path

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  My husband and I are traveling to N. Italy in July with friends for their 30 anniversary and am wondering if anyone can give... 

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A: Do not miss Verona where you could take a train to Venice. Only a bit over an hour and close to Milan by train. No need for a car in Verona. I also loved Sestri Levante... 

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