My account of Liguria and why you need to make it your next destination…

Italy has always had a special place in my heart. My first time there was to Milan. I did the regular tourist thing and visited the Duomo and queued up to see Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Since then I’ve visited Florence, Chianti, Bologna, Verona and have even been fortunate enough to roam the hills of Tuscany, pick my own olives and press my own olive oil.

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I can tell you three things for certain about Italy – 1) You will eat the most incredible food. Not in fancy restaurants serving gourmet food cooked by top notch chefs. I’m talking run of the mill, regular food. You will eat the best pasta, the best ragu, the best ham, the best tomatoes, the best ice cream and you will sure as hell drink the best coffee. You see Italians, much like the French, don’t do bad food. They are more likely to spit it out than allow terrible food to violate their tastebuds. 2) It will be sunny. Even during winter months Italians enjoy clear blue skies which means there is eternal sunshine. If you happen to be there in the summer, well, it will be VERY hot. Hence why the entire month of August is a holiday and doing very little in August is scheduled in to everyone’s calendar. 3) People will be straight forward. If you ask for a pizza in a farm house they will kindly ask that you leave and look for a pizzeria. If you ask for an Americano they will think you are crazy and bring you an espresso to calm your nerves.

Now I’m no expert but I promise you these three things will be true pretty much anywhere you go. So with this in mind, I decided to visit a lesser trodden part of Italy at the end of this summer. A place where Italians themselves like to spend their holidays. I visited Resort La Francesca in Liguria which is set amidst one of the most astonishing coastlines in the world. This part of Italy is no longer the undiscovered heaven it once was but, honestly, it’s Italy. So, who cares?

Liguria

I stayed at Resort La Francesca which is approximately seven miles from the UNESCO heritage site of Cinque Terre. I flew to Genova airport and took a train along the dazzling coast all the way to the village of Levanto(population 5,500). From here the only way to the resort is by pre-booked taxis of La Francesca’s nominated drivers.

My taxi drove up the mountains along winding roads and steep cliffs to arrive at the resort. The first thing I noticed, as I climbed out of the car, is that the trees here are tall. The second thing was that the sky is a shade of blue which I’m convinced is reserved only for the sky above Italy.

Two Things you Must do Around Liguria

Hiking

The natural trails are made for relaxed walks and the scenery is astounding. This stretch of coast has allegedly remained unchanged since 1722. I walked through quaint medieval villages paved with cobblestone, train tunnels which are no longer in use but connect one village to another and olive groves with their tiny leaves shimmying in the sea breeze.

You could hike east or west of the resort and arrive at identical picturesque villages. The village of Levanto sits to the east. It is an old port with a maritime history. The train service from here will take you to Cinque Terre within five minutes.

Visit Bonassola

Bonassola, so sweet, unforgettable, inexahustible. (Ernest Hemingway)

I hiked west of La Francesca and arrived at the nearby village of Bonassola through an old railway tunnel. It’s a sleepy seaside village wedged between mountains and the sea with a population of just 962 people. Mass tourism hasn’t arrived here yet mainly because there’s little to do. Also, most tourists come to visit nearby Cinque Terre. So what you get as a result is an immersion in to authentic Italy. You will hear lots of Italian, see old ladies hanging washing over balconies and there will be families and children running around freely.

The black sand beach in Bonassola is a place used by local families for sunbathing, teenagers for cliff jumping and old people for sitting in the sun enjoying card games and dominoes. I saw no tourists here except me. So if you are visiting Cinque Terre and need a little respite I suggest a visit to Bonassola. If you don’t fancy hiking in the heat of high season there’s a boat service connecting the village from Cinque Terre and it goes all the way to Portofino.