Discovering Picturesque Towns In Liguria, Italy

Arma di Taggia is a cute small town in the Italian Riviera. We found it ideal as base for our day trips because it is quiet and offers amazing beach options. From Arma di Taggia you can easily access the highway and the main road known as 'Via Aurelia' that connects all coastal cities to Rome. You can also get access to the bike track that extends for more than 30km over a breathtaking sea view. 

We stayed in Arma di Taggia the strict necessary between trips but we did enjoy our time there. Other than spending a day at the beach, we would recommend you to head towards the beach side and walk the  'lungomare', which literally translate with 'along the sea'. It  stretches from Arma's harbor from one side to Bussana town on the other. 

Here we walked past to the old fishing village of 'Arma', where early inhabitants dug a church in the rock. The Chiesa dell'Annunziata is really fascinating. It is often closed but still you can steal a glimpse of it from the wide windows. It is located just beneath the medieval fortress built in the XVI century to protect the coastal villages from Saracen attacks.

Just after the tiny church there is an observation point, where you can admire the beautiful Ligurian sea (in front), Bussana (on the right) and Arma (on the left). 

We loved this typical Ligurian town, few kilometers from the renown coastal city of Bordighera for its status and rich history.  

When we approached the town by car, we noticed a entry checkpoint, like we passed a border and then we read signals clarifying that shops accept euros other than luigini, the local currency.

Indeed, Seborga has a fascinating story. A former Roman settlement, Seborga has been a templar stronghold for quite some time  and now it claims to be fully independent from Italy. The city informally elects a prince that leads the principality of Seborga with a parallel government and currency. Don't think this is just a smart way to get more visitors as we learnt there are legal disputes ongoing in this regards.

The town is quite small but offers beautiful things to see. First we got lost in the town's streets. We enjoyed the many paintings decorating the houses and representing templars' life. Then we went to the town main square, Piazza di San Martino, that is the heart of the local community.  We really liked the medieval atmosphere and buildings and spent quite some time walking around. 

We got some luigini as souvenir and were surprised by the exchange rate! They are valued 6 USD each and are valid within Seborga only! 

If you have enough time in your schedule, the local oratory of St Mary is worth paying a visit. The visit won't take long if you are lucky enough to find it open to visitors.

Getting there: Take the highway exit to Bordighera and from there follow the signs to Seborga. Once there, you can find plenty of parking space at the other side of town.

Bussana Vecchia (Old Bussana litterally) is a place like no other. We learnt that the town was inhabited until the late 19th Century when a powerful earthquake destroyed it. 

The local population thought it was easier to abandon the destroyed town and build a new one closer to the beach, on a more solid ground. 

After decades of being abandoned, the town became popular among artists, which redecorated it in an unique style. Yet, they haven't rebuilt it from scratch, leaving the signs of the destructive earthquake there for everybody to see. 

We reached the town by car. Not an easy task if you don't have experience with tiny roads designed for middle ages carts. We got scared a couple of times by the really narrow road but eventually we managed to reach the town's entrance. We found parking quite easily and started wandering around in amazement. 

There isn't a precise or recommended path to be followed. We started walking and visited the many artisanal shops where artists sell their artifacts or offer refreshments. The narrow streets, carrugi in the local dialect, offer amazing photo opportunity, especially during spring and early summer when flowers and plants are at their best.

It is a demanding climb, so wear comfy shoes and be ready to sweat a bit. 

We ended up in Dolcedo by chance, having read on a billboard about a 'sagra' the Italian equivalent of town fair. It was quite difficult to reach the town and we would have got lost without the help of technology. 

The town is a clear example of Ligurian architecture. Small, with a prominent church at the center and developed on the opposite banks of a river. 

The town is unique thanks to the  deep canyon that cuts the town in two and to the medieval bridges that connects them. The fair was lively and we strongly recommend to attend one. The theme is usually something to eat like the 'pasta fair' or 'fair of the sausages' and most of the time there is a live band entertaining guests. 

We dined at a local restaurant, named Maibon, where we enjoyed traditional Ligurian food from a veranda overlooking the river. 

No major attractions to visit, just the quiet and relaxing pace of life in a countryside town. We really liked it.

We used Zoagli as base to explore east Liguria while meeting some friends already staying there. We booked an hotel just in front of the train station in order to park the car at the hotel and use the train to reach the most popular tourist destinations. 

The city of Zoagli itself doesn't have much to offer to visitors, so we spent as little as possible here. Just a quick walk in the city center, with the big central square facing the sea for dinner and nothing else. 

The one thing that is quite interesting is Castello Canevaro, a little castle-like villa used nowadays for weddings and other parties.

The beach is covered by pebbles and the absence of any kind of sand makes the water particularly clear. 

We reached Portofino by car, enjoying the ride by the sea. Even though the town is small, we didn't have any problem in finding parking. There are many paid options available, all quite easy to find. 

Once parked, we walked to the main square, a natural harbor around which fishermen built their houses. We didn't have any plan for the day, so we walked a bit around looking for places to go or visit.

We decided to walk through the botanical park, whose entrance is just next to the Portofino logo and decided to climb further on till the top of the hill. 

The walk was really enjoyable and offered some of the best views of the town you could get. We also bumped into Castello Brown, an elegant villa overlooking the sea and the nearby towns. It was a great discovery and we spent quite some time enjoying the view. 

We also indulged ourselves with a quick lunch by the harbor. We dined at 'I Gemelli' but there are many options available. The food was great, as well as the relaxed atmosphere. Considering the place, we didn't spend too much. Portofino in Italian culture is associated with a posh and expensive place, thanks to its association with movie and TV stars back in the '90s.

We took a train early morning from Zoagli to the Cinque Terre that can be translated in 'five towns'. Indeed, the Cinque Terre is a natural park that includes Manarola, Riomaggiore, Monterosso, Vernazza and Corniglia. 

We decided to visit the towns in two different days to avoid rushing from a place to the other and we were happy to have made this decision. We  

There isn't a mandatory way to visit the towns but some of them are worth being enjoyed for longer than others. You can go from a town to the other with the train, boat or by walk. The train being the fastest option and the other two the most spectacular.

Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso is the typical ligurian coastal town. Nice to visit but we believe it is not as wow as the others. When we arrived, there was an open air market going on. We spent few moments wandering around and then we took the panoramic walk to Vernazza. It was an amazing walk through the Cinque Terre national park. 

We returned to Monterosso on our last day in Cinque Terre to do some shopping. There are many wineries and shops where you can get local wine and goodies to take home with you.

Vernazza

This little fishermen town truly amazed us. A gem built around a natural harbor. We climbed the nearby rock to get a drink with a view and then explored the tiny town on foot. We took the train from the station to go back to our hotel in Zoagli at the end of the day.

Manarola

We arrived by train in the morning and had to walk a long tunnel to reach the town. You won't immediately appreciate the beauty of this fishing village. We walked all the way to the panoramic viewpoint to get a better idea of the town and the view was simply breathtaking. Little colorful houses clustered above a rock, protecting the harbor. We found many boats parked in the streets, ready to go out at sea during the night to fish.

Corniglia

We arrived in Corniglia with the train and took a local shuttle bus to take us to town. Indeed, Corniglia is nestled on top of an hill overseeing the sea. We didn't particularly like the town itself, maybe because we were tired by walking all day around.

We headed to one of the many bars facing the sea and had a very Italian 'aperitivo' with some focaccia and local wine. At sunset the view is amazing.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is perhaps the biggest town in Cinque Terre. Here you can walk around the streets and get some street food. We particularly liked the 'frittura', a paper cone loaded with fried fish that is usually freshly caught by local fishermen. From Riomaggiore we took a boat to take us to Monterosso, thus passing by all towns. We highly recommend to do at least one boat tour because the scenery is amazing.