Thinking about a weekend trip to Italy but not sure where to start? Inspired by using Milan as a base to explore more of Italy, my friend and I locked our sights on Genoa, Italy’s largest sea port, a gateway to the Riviera. We’ve wanted to explore Portofino for a while now and weren’t sure how we could make it happen. It felt like a complicated task to coordinate boats and trains, however once we realised how easy Portofino was to access from Genoa, we started to plan our trip and managed to tick everything off on our ‘must-do’ list.
Below is our itinerary, with some tips and tricks thrown in for good measure. I would say, this is a very packed trip, so if you are looking for something a bit more relaxing, extend your trip if you can or save this for when you are feeling energised!
Travelling from Milan
As soon as we arrived at Milan Airport, we purchased tickets for the Malpensa Express to Milano Centrale, the train runs every 30 minutes and takes an hour. Milano Centrale is quite large, so we got snacks and drinks before we boarded the train to Genoa. Inside the Central Station is Mercato, full of food stalls, bars and seating – we grabbed some pizza, sandwiches and water. Everything is reasonably priced, given it’s a central location and super delicious over the Five Guys or Burger King options in the station (no judgement but a focaccia sandwich and potato pizza is much more our vibe!)
We booked our train to Genoa via the Trainline app, so we simply needed to board the train, sit in our reserved seats and we were off. The train is just under two hours, so it is quite an extensive day for travelling. I’d say, if you can afford the extra day, have a night in Milan so you can explore a bit of the city and have a break before heading onto Genoa. Whilst the train journey isn’t long, you can feel a bit stressed with the constant travel.
Our Evening in Genoa
We had pre-booked our dinner at Officina di Cucian, which had been recommended by our hotel. We were also recommended to pre-book any dinner reservation, as Genoa is quite small and places get booked up quickly. Before we arrived at the restaurant, we took a stroll around the city, wandering the Strade Nuove, Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Spinola. It was a short 10 minute walk back to the restaurant, where we were the first people as soon as it opened, and it did not disappoint. We were celebrating our friendship (over 10 years of travel and trips together), as well as generally catching up, so the waitress recommended a local Sparkling white wine and pasta. Delicious. We also enjoyed a free bruschetta appetizer, which we could see being made up from the partly-opened kitchen. We headed back to the hotel, well fed and to get a good night’s sleep before our boat tour adventure the following day.
Camogli, San Fruttuoso and Portofino
We booked a guided tour to experience three of the most charming villages in Liguria. The tour was only £20, as whilst we could have booked boats ourselves or taken a bus, we felt a tour at least guaranteed spots on the boat (and we like a bit of structure). We also felt the time in each place felt like enough, without being rushed and the boat timetable still gave flexibility on when you wanted to go to each village, you just had a set time to return to Genoa.
Example schedule (June 2024):
- Departures from Camogli to San Fruttuoso at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 14:55
- Unique departure from San Fruttuoso to Portofino at 14:10 or 15:10
- Unique departure from Portofino to Genoa at 16:50, from San Fruttuoso to Genoa at 17:10, and from Camogli to Genoa at 17:30
First up was Camogli, a small seaside town – a firm favourite of the locals, who look to escape their day-to-day. It was a very pretty town but had a bit of grit to it, despite being surrounded by pastel coloured houses and azure water. After admiring the small fishing boats, and walking around the village, we stopped for coffee and breakfast before heading back to the boat. Camogli is much smaller than it looks with just one seafront promenade and a small harbour, so two hours was plenty to take a look around and refuel.
Located between Camogli and Portofino is the abbey of San Fruttuoso. This seaside monastery, is a sight to behold as you arrive by boat. This is an extremely small village but the Abbey more than makes up for its size. You can pretty much do a loop of the village in 30 mins- 1 hours, we were told many people like to walk to Porofino from San Fruttuoso or just chill on the beach. Even though we visited in a quieter month, the beach was busy, you would definitely struggle for a spot in the summer – there is a quieter beach, ‘the not so hidden beach’ as you walk towards the Abbey but I can imagine that would be equally as busy. There are only 3 restaurants here, so you need to book to secure a place for lunch. We lucked out with Da’Laura, arriving as soon as it opened and snatching the only unreserved table. We enjoyed a gorgeous Lasagna el Pesto, surrounded by orange trees. This would be my go-to lunch spot and couldn’t recommend more.
Then onto Portofino, the reason for this whole trip – it did not disappoint. We spent about 30 minutes just standing at the port taking it all, it’s like a picturesque storybook. This is obviously one of the most known spots and was extremely busy, it’s definitely worth a visit but expect a lot more hustle here. Portofino exudes opulence, you can smell money everywhere! We had already decided not to eat here, as we were told it’s quite expensive, so we took to walking around, visiting Casetello Brown and Faro di Portofino. We enjoyed an aperitivo at the Lighthouse bar, as the sun started to set before heading back to Genoa for our evening meal.
Michelin Food in Genoa
Another hotel recommendation was Trattoria Rosmarino, which was one of our favourite meals of the whole trip. Thankfully the hotel booked for us, as we smugly entered whilst observing the crowds of people queuing to get in. The menu was surprisingly simple but so delicious, the wine, as always, was affordable and perfectly paired. Our whole meal only came to £70 given the quality and experience, we had expected to pay at least double!
We also enjoyed Vizio Wine bar, for something more local. Served with focaccia bread and personal recommendations from the waiter, we didn’t want to leave! But we had found a secret bar, where you could only enter if you knew the password, so we finished the evening working out the clues and being granted entry to this hidden Speakeasy. Cocktails were based on films and we tried as much as we could; The Avatar, Barbie and Ken, India Jones and Forrest Gump. A perfect way to end the evening.
The following day, we headed straight back to Milan. Grabbed lunch and darted back to the airport. A whistle stop trip of some of the most picturesque places in Italy, short and sweet but full of everything you want and expect from an epic Italian holiday.
