Portofino & the Italian Riviera: Europe's Most Glamorous Harbour

Portofino has been the byword for Italian Riviera glamour since the 1950s, when Slim Aarons photographed the international jet set lounging on its harbour walls with Campari in hand. The village itself is tiny — barely 400 permanent residents — clustered around a horseshoe harbour of extraordinary beauty, its pastel-painted buildings reflected in water so clear you can see the anchor chains of the superyachts moored within. Its hold on the collective imagination of luxury travel is absolute, and for good reason.

The Italian Riviera — the Ligurian coast stretching from the French border at Ventimiglia to La Spezia in the east — is one of Europe's most scenically dramatic coastlines: steep hillsides of olive groves and pine forest tumbling to narrow coves, the sea a deep and vivid turquoise, and a series of villages whose beauty ranges from the famous Cinque Terre to the less-visited jewels of Camogli and Sestri Levante.

Where to Stay: Portofino's Great Addresses

Belmond Hotel Splendido (belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/portofino/belmond-hotel-splendido) is the defining hotel of the Italian Riviera — a converted 16th-century monastery above Portofino harbour, its terraced gardens cascading down the hillside to a pool with views that have appeared on more magazine covers than any other in Italy. The 69 rooms and suites are decorated in the grand European hotel tradition — antique furniture, hand-painted Ligurian ceramics, and Frette linen — with the best rooms offering direct harbour views. Suites from $2,500/night in season.

Belmond's sister property, Splendido Mare (belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/portofino/belmond-splendido-mare), sits directly on the piazzetta at the harbour's edge — smaller, more informal, with six rooms above the water and access to the Splendido's facilities via shuttle boat.

For a quieter alternative with access to the same harbour, Hotel Nazionale (hotelnazionaleportofino.com) in the village itself offers well-appointed rooms from $600/night and is preferred by those who want to be in the village rather than above it.

The Harbour and the Piazzetta

Portofino's social life concentrates on its piazzetta — the small square at the harbour's edge lined with restaurants and cafés where the aperitivo hour (roughly 6–8pm) is an unmissable ritual. Ristorante Puny (ristorantepuny.it) has served the same Ligurian classics — trofie al pesto, grilled branzino, fritto misto — to the same crowd of regulars for over 50 years. The basil pesto here, made with Ligurian small-leaf basil (DOP protected), is a benchmark.

Da u Batti in the village makes the definitive focaccia di Recco — a paper-thin unleavened flatbread filled with fresh crescenza cheese and baked at extreme heat until the exterior crisps and blisters. It is one of the great simple pleasures of the Ligurian table.

By Boat: The Essential Riviera Experience

The finest way to experience the Ligurian Riviera is by sea. Chartering a day boat from Portofino — available through Portofino Charter (portofinocharter.it) or through concierge arrangements at Splendido — opens the coast from Camogli and San Fruttuoso (a medieval abbey accessible only by sea or on foot) west to Santa Margherita Ligure, or east toward the Cinque Terre. The five villages of the Cinque Terre (https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/) — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore — are best visited in the early morning by boat before the day-trippers arrive; from the water, with a glass of local Sciacchetrà in hand, the view of the cliff-clinging villages is among the most spectacular in the Mediterranean.

Cinque Terre National Park (parcnazionale5terre.it) manages access and hiking trails between the villages. The Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) connecting all five villages is among the most walked coastal paths in Europe — though sections require booking in advance in peak season.

Getting There

Genova Cristoforo Colombo Airport (GOA) is the closest major airport, 35km from Portofino. Milan Malpensa (MXP) is 2.5 hours by road or train to Santa Margherita Ligure, from where a taxi or water taxi to Portofino takes 15 minutes. The most stylish arrival is by helicopter from Nice or Milan — Portofino has a small helipad managed through Splendido.

The season runs May through October, with July and August the most crowded and September–October the most pleasant: warmer water, thinner crowds, and the olive harvest underway on the hillsides.