Summary:
Portovenere - Grand Hotel Portovenere: https://www.portoveneregrand.com/en/default.html
Monterosso Hotel Palme www.hotelpalme.org
Michelin starred restaurant in Monterosso: http://www.ristorantemiky.it/
Santa Margherita Grand Hotel Miramare, Via Milite Ignoto 30, 16038, Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy - http://www.grandhotelmiramare.it/en/
Belmond Hotel Splendido, www.belmond.com , Via Roma no 2 - 16034 Portofino
+39 0185 267801
Milan Hotel: Hotel Sina Gray - www.hotelthegray.com
Day 1: Arrival in Milan on overnight flight from New York
Portovenere
We always take the train to the center of the city (Milano Centrale station) where we connected with a train to La Spezia. The train was over 3 hours long but a very scenic route and it stopped at a few towns along the way. Upon arrival in La Spezia we took a taxi to go to Portovenere – there is bus that goes also but since there were 4 of us it the cost was not bad for a taxi- the ride is on winding road for most of the way as it goes down towards the sea and it took half an hour to get there. Portovenere is a beautiful port in the Cinque Terre area –and it has a very pretty harbor with nice beach areas. Our hotel was located at the tip of the harbor and had an awesome view.
We strolled around the town and then settled down at our hotel for a nice dinner in the terrace of our hotel overlooking the harbor – after dinner drinks on the terrace were very enjoyable as we watched the lights over the harbor. The town is very pretty with a nice grotto and the side streets have lots of little shops with fresh focaccia sold everywhere.
The next day we rented a private boat – that took us around and into a grotto which was absolutely beautiful. The cost for around 100 euros but for 4 of us it was worth it. In the afternoon we took the shuttle boat across to the beach –it was a pebble beach so swim shoes are highly recommended. The shuttle boats run every half hour and are easy to take from the front of the hotel.
The next night, we had dinner in the town at a nice local restaurant overlooking the harbor. The food was delicious – we had the local ravioli with the walnut sauce which is a regional specialty. We were seated at table outside and it was a lot of fun to watch the people stroll by.
Day 4: Boat to Monterosso
After spending 3 days here we took the boat to Monterosso which has a very nice beachfront area. The boat ride was very pretty as we saw all the seaside towns some of them perched on top pf hills. The beach is sandy and quite lovely to laze around on the chaise lounges there. The promenade has a few gelato places and eateries and a lovely focaccia bakery all of which were perfect for lunch. We had dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant named “Miky” – it was a wonderful meal and highly recommended.
This town was our base in Cinque Terre and we used the train to visit the other towns as well as hiked to the next town. We took a long hike from Monterosso to Vernazza starting after breakfast and reaching there by lunch time – the hike was steep at times and the views were spectacular. As we were reaching Vernazza the view from the top was so picturesque that it looked unreal. Since we were there in August ti was quite hot – we had our swim suits on under out shorts and once we reached Vernazza we statin the water to cool off and managed to swim a little This was repeated in every town that we went to and there were so many people swimming and sun-tanning. Some the trails connecting the towns were not open so find out before you r start hiking and take a train there – the trains run frequently and are very easy to use. One of the towns, Corniglia is perched on top of the cliff –there are over 300 steps to get to it – try to do this in the morning as it gets quite in the afternoon sun. In the town of Rio Maggiore be sue to have the calamari in a cone – it is sold in a couple of places – and there is a line to get to the counter but worth the wait. We spent 5 enjoyable days visiting each town – Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Vernazza, Manarola and Monterosso being our base.
Day 7: Train to Santa Margherita
The next stop was Santa Margherita - we took a train from Monterosso to get here and it was a short ride. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Miramare which facing the beach – a beautiful resort with a nice large property and old luxury. On the first night, the resort had a nice free cocktail hour in the evening with delicious calamari and oysters – what a treat!
Day 8: Half a Day in Portofino
It is a short boat ride away and boats run every hour. Portofino is beautiful – we had lunch on the terrace in the Splendido Hotel which is perched on top of a hill. The yachts in the harbor are so beautiful to see as we strolled around the town. In the afternoon we headed back to Santa Margherita and spent some time on the beach. We strolled astound town and stopped for dinner at local restaurant.
Day 9: Train to Milan
The train ride to Milan is not too long and we reached Milan at mid-day which gave us enough time to shop and stroll around. We stayed near the Doumo so it was a beautiful sight as we ate dinner on the rooftop restaurant that is above the La Rinascente department store. This is a very nice spot to see the Duomo anytime of the day – especially for drinks or dinner and you can gaze at it from the best vantage point.
Day 10: Flight to New York
Half a day in Milan for last minute shopping and then heading to the airport for the flight home.