Portofino Travel Guide

Portofino is on one of the most attractive sections of the Italian Riviera southeast of Genoa. It has mountains, clear bays, thick evergreen forests, a National Park and divine villas. Several weeks could be spent exploring this charming area and the Italian Riviera in general. Rather than staying in Portofino (overnight) however we recommend nearly Santa Margherita Ligure - a favorite of wealthy yachters - or Rapallo as Portofino’s bay is so small and the access road to town is very narrow. In the summertime expect lots of people waiting in line to find a spot to park their cars. Nevertheless we recommend spending a whole day in Portofino and enjoy its favourable natural position that already attracted very early human settlement. As we learned from Pliny, "Portus Delphini" was already known in Roman times.

Portofino Live

The tourist harbour can berth up to 300 boats and has hosted the most prestigious leisure craft in the world, since it attracts the most exclusive type of tourists. So many of the most famous names of twentieth-century history and art have visited Portofino that even a partial list of names would be difficult to draw up. All kinds of sea sports can be practised here, especially sailing and windsurfing. The reef is a paradise for divers: certain parts are extremely interesting, such as Punta del Faro and the wreck of the "Mohawk Deer". The Portofino Diving Centre is open all year round.

The Mediterranean vegetation of Monte di Portofino Natural Park is another favourite tourist spot: the pines and olive trees stretch right down to the sea, alternating with a variety of shrubs and bushes such as gorse, thyme, erica, myrtle, saxifrage and strawberry trees. However, botanists have so far identified over seven hundred species, and their work is not yet finished. As you go towards the mountain the excursions become a little more arduous, although the park itself is crossed by a network of hillside paths that are very easy to walk along.