4 days – A TASTE OF ROMANTIC LIGURIA

A TASTE OF ROMANTIC LIGURIA

Genova – 5 Terre – Portofino – Portovenere

This is an example itinerary that allows one to explore two UNESCO site like Portovenere and Cinque Terre, admire amazing views (from the seaside) and experience local specialties.

DAY 1 – GENOVA & SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE
City tour by tourist train with commentary available in English, French, Spanish and Italian. Free time for lunch.
In the afternoon guided tour of the famous Acquarium of Genova with the richest aquatic biodiversity exposure in Europe. The exhibition shows more than 70 rooms and about 12,000 specimens of 600 species from all the seas of the world from those rare such as the manatees, sea mammals that gave rise to the myth of the sirens, to those best known such as the dolphins; penguins, the great predators of the sea: sharks. And then jellyfish, seals and colorful tropical fish.
Dinner and overnight in Santa Margherita Ligure in a 4* hotel as Santa Margherita Palace.

SANTA MARGHERITA PALACE ****
The Hotel Santa Margherita Palace is the brand-new landmark hotel in the Santa Margherita Ligure area. It is a 4-star boutique hotel that stands out for its matchless design, hospitality and relaxing atmosphere. Everything at the Hotel Santa Margherita Palace evinces the language of wellness: the lily-white color of the rooms that pacify the eyes and the sensuous fragrances that fill all areas of the hotel, loosen tense muscles and blow away the heaviest thoughts. The Relax area has been designed to afford you an intimate and reserved wellness space: beautiful to see and perfect for rest with its sublime treatments. It is perfectly situated just 5 km from Portofino and only 100 meters from the seafront where it boasts a sophisticated style that is incomparable among other Santa Margherita Ligure hotels.

The package includes:

Welcome drinks
A bottle of italian Spumante
One elegant dinner in a restaurant in Santa Margherita Ligure upon the waterfront
Complimentary late check-out upon availability

DAY 2 – PORTOFINO
After breakfast, transfer by taxi-boat to the charming village of Portofino, where high society and nature meet. Crossroads of famous people and the Natural Protected Area, with hiking trails, the Mediterranean maquis, its deep waters. Free time to relax and look around the harbor to search some VIP boat.
Free time for lunch. After lunch transfer to St.Fruttuoso and guided tour with entrance to the St. Fruttuoso Abbey. The Abbey is situated in Capodimonte, in a deep bay of the jagged coast of Monte di Portofino. A little gem with a very ancient history and which was generously donated to the FAI by Frank and Orietta Pogson Doria Pamphili. With nature and landscape values, there are also those architectural and historical notes: a wonderful fusion, where the work of nature was overlapped with that of man.

Return to Santa Margherita Ligure for dinner and overnight.

DAY 3 – CINQUE TERRE
After breakfast, transfer by boat to Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Rio Maggiore. Five villages recognized by UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, within the National Park and Marine Protected Area. Situated on the corner of Liguria that reveals its history by the structure of the villages, churches, shrines, museums scattered but mostly through the landscapes.
Generations of men created a monumental architecture of terraces overlooking the sea supported by more than 700 kilometers of stone walls, where the vineyards produce excellent DOC wines. The boat trip tour offers unforgettable views and unique sensations. Free time for lunch.

Dinner and overnight in Portovenere in a 4* hotel as Grand Hotel Porto Venere.

GRAND HOTEL PORTO VENERE ****
Grand Hotel Portovenere has recently been carefully renovated. The hotel, which used to host the San Francis convent, overlooks the picturesque village of Portovenere. Guests will be charmed by the elegance and the beauty of the structure. The surrounding nature provides a scenery that astonishes travellers from all over the world. Thanks to its strategic, seafront position in the Gulf of Poets, Grand Hotel Portovenere allows you to easily and quickly reach artistic, cultural and eno-gastronomic attractions by car or by boat. Portovenere Wellness Center is just a few meters away from the Hotel. The Wellness Center offers several Beauty and Therapeutic Treatments.

The package includes:

Welcome drinks
One elegant dinner in Palmaria Restaurant
Complimentary late check-out upon availability

DAY 4 – PORTOVENERE
Breakfast and free visit of Portovenere, the beautiful village which takes its name from a temple erected in honor of Venus Ericina. The unique landscape, the marina, the beach clubs, the innumerable crevices created by the sea on the cliffs in front of the village and islands, make Portovenere one of the most famous destinations of the Italian landscape. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Restaurants are esteemed for the fine local cuisine based on fish and local DOC wine of the Cinque Terre. Recommended the visit of Palmaria, one of three islands, with Tino and Tinetto, in front of Portovenere.
Palmaria is the largest of the three islands and is much appreciated by tourists that visit by boat the wonderful Grotta Azzurra. Palmaria comes from the gray stone (the “Marble portoro”). The same material used to build churches, houses and fortifications. The three islands are a major tourist attraction, where the landscape is unique and offers stunning sea views and spectacular examples of flora and fauna.