Blog Seven – Genoa and Portofino, Italy

Published by Alastair Reid on October 8, 2019October 8, 2019

Genoa and Portofino [30th September – 2nd October 2019]

We arrived close to midnight in Genoa, having phoned ahead to our hotel. They asked us to check in down the road at their 5* sister hotel, so we had two nights in a fabulous room in the, appropriately ocean liner-themed, Grand Hotel Savoia.

We didn’t have time to explore Genoa, because we wanted to be handily situated for the train station, to go to Santa Margherita and then on to Portofino. The brief impression we got of the city of Genoa was that it is a well-heeled city, with grand buildings and old money based on its maritime success – it is an absolutely huge working port.

Our full day in the Genoa area was spent intially working out how to get the train to Santa Margherita, which is beautiful and reminded us both of the Italian Lakes, perhaps particularly Lake Maggiore. Thanks to Jamie Rillay at Darroch/Blaze basketball, we knew we could get a boat to Portofino, rather than the more prosaic bus – this was a fantastic way to approach this beautiful village. Since we were in Amalfi way back in 1984, we have had a hankering to see Portofino, so this was a long-standing desire fulfilled.

The port area is almost impossibly picturesque, with its painted building facades, and its cramped little marina, towered over by Castello Brown. We knew it would be expensive, so we decided not to be tempted to eat there. We sat in a waterfront cafe to escape the fierce sun – a litre of water and two coffees set us back Euros 16.

After about an hour in the cafe, I said to Fiona: “I’ve taken so many shots of buildings and boats, I’m going to take some photos of the beautiful people who frequent Portofino’s waterfront.” No sooner had the words left my lips , than two female Italian models appeared by the waterside, apparently doing a bridal wear shoot with a pro photographer. All the amateur tourist snappers joined in, and I was no exception. I said to Fi that I’d not be sexist about it, and I’d happily snap some chic and attractive Italian men too – it was just that there were none in evidence at the time.

We spent a lovely, lazy afternoon in Portofino, which didn’t fall short of the expectations we had held for many a year. No doubt there are many rich folks who live in the town, and who I’m sure breathe a sigh of relief when the hundreds of day trippers leave town in the late afternoon. Not too many were in evidence, and I’m not sure I would covet their lifestyle. However, Portofino is a beautiful place to visit – just arrange a mortgage in advance if you want dinner and a few drinks!

The lovely 20 minute boat trip returned us to Santa Margherita, to catch the train back to Genoa – the city’s grandeur is a little undermined by the piles of used toilet paper which festoon the tracks in metro stations – not sure why that has to be the case.

Another night, and breakfast, in the fabulous Grand Hotel Savoia, and we were off to the ferry terminal to join our MSC cruise to Lisbon!

My dozen favourite images from our brief visit to Genoa and Portofino are included in the gallery below. Click on a thumbnail to see a bigger image.

Image Gallery