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Recommended Reviews - Portovenere
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Like most people who visit here I used this as the hopping point to the Cinque Terre, more specifically Monterosso al Mare. Of all the places that I visited in Italy I can say with 100% confidence this was the location I liked the most. Its a small town with great people, amazing food, and gorgeous views. Located right on the water with towering mountains in the background and a history to match. I really was transported to Medieval Europe when I was here and that is probably because this is a local town with very few tourists. As Matt R pointed out in his review this is probably the best place to get you hands on pesto and I will second that motion. Simply gorgeous.
Buongiornio! This is the place I fell in love with. When I talk about Italy, I always mention this place because it is spectacular!! Getting to there was interesting because it requires one to get a taxi or bus (we chose taxi) from La Spezia. It's 30 minutes away. When you get to Porto Venere, the water is so beautiful and clear; the sun just warms you up, and the people bustling around makes you feel like you belong! Now mind you, I don't speak any Italian and this place was the least tourist place we end to, so the language thing was sort of funny at times. We also did the Cinque Terre hike, which added to my love for the place. Thahs another review... Honestly, just walking around the small town and eating gelato was the highlight of my trip (we went to 6 cities)... If you're ever in Italy, just check it out.
Our NCL Viva cruise ship docked at the port of Livorno, Italy. This was our first time here on vacation. We took a cruise ship bus up to Lerici, Italy, which is located on a natural bay discovered by the Romans. Lerici is a nice nautical town with lots of boats docked including some very large yachts. We took the rubber boat across to the other side of the bay or to Porto Venere. This was also our first visit to Porto Venere. Porto Venere is a village on the Ligurian coast of northwestern Italy. It's known for Porto Venere Regional Natural Park, a protected area with trails and dive sites. The park encompasses Palmaria Island, dotted with beaches and caves. The Gothic-style Church of St. Peter sits atop a rocky headland. We walked the local streets up to St. Peter, but did not go inside St. Peter. Nearby is the centuries-old Castello Doria, an imposing cliff top fortress with views of the Gulf of Poets. More to come regarding our lunch in Porto Venere before we returned to Lerici on our two rubber boats. read more
5 years ago
We had our base on the hills of La Spezia, driving to some of the Cinque Terre (Vernazza and Manarola are the most beautiful). Besides that we checked out Portofino as well. Our BnB host recommended also Porto Venere, which we visited on our last day. And what a wonderful visit it was. I imagined parking is easy to find. But it seems everybody went to Porto Venere that day. Mostly locals and national tourists....not many international visitors (too bad, you missing out on a beautiful little town). Walked along the nice waterfront to town. The Via Calata Doria right at the sea is a very nice place to sit down and have a drink or to grab something to eat. Reasonable prices even. The backstreet Via Giovanni Capellini leads through the old town center and is very charming with lots of small shops. Then of course there's the Chiesa di San Pietro at the end of town and the Grotta di Lord Byron. Both famous sights, not to miss out. The Castello Doria sits on the cliffs above. Visit it for a small fee if you like (we didn't...too steep for our Bulldog). A really great little town that has it all. A nice waterfront, a historic center, a castle, some beaches. Loved it. read more
Like most people who visit here I used this as the hopping point to the Cinque Terre, more specifically Monterosso al Mare. Of all the places that I visited in Italy I can say with 100% confidence this was the location I liked the most. Its a small town with great people, amazing food, and gorgeous views. Located right on the water with towering mountains in the background and a history to match. I really was transported to Medieval Europe when I was here and that is probably because this is a local town with very few tourists. As Matt R pointed out in his review this is probably the best place to get you hands on pesto and I will second that motion. Simply gorgeous. read more
9 years ago
Buongiornio! This is the place I fell in love with. When I talk about Italy, I always mention this place because it is spectacular!! Getting to there was interesting because it requires one to get a taxi or bus (we chose taxi) from La Spezia. It's 30 minutes away. When you get to Porto Venere, the water is so beautiful and clear; the sun just warms you up, and the people bustling around makes you feel like you belong! Now mind you, I don't speak any Italian and this place was the least tourist place we end to, so the language thing was sort of funny at times. We also did the Cinque Terre hike, which added to my love for the place. Thahs another review... Honestly, just walking around the small town and eating gelato was the highlight of my trip (we went to 6 cities)... If you're ever in Italy, just check it out. read more
Portovenere is awesome. If you go to Italy - anywhere in Italy, make it here. Don't only make it Cinque Terre, don't only make it Rome. This is the place where the real culture of Italy shines and where some of the real specialty foods can be found. Notably they have an absolutely amazing (and friendly) pesto shop, it's a beautiful location well known due to the gulf of poets (from a historical perspective), and it's easily accessible by bus. I actually stayed in La Spezia and took the bus here, which was about 20 minutes. The view here is probably one of the best I have seen in Italy, there are places to swim and bask in the sun on the rocks and basically enjoy the area, as well as a nearby beach and numerous awesome restaurants, including a very highly rated (for good reasons) vegetarian restaurant. Did I only mention it's beautiful during the day? Well, it's just as awesome at night. read more
