Portofino

What is actually there

Physical smallness shapes everything. The harbour cannot absorb a crowd, so a crowd feels enormous; the square holds a handful of tables, so those tables carry a premium that has nothing to do with the cooking. Arriving in the middle of a summer day means seeing the village at an unflattering hour, which is how it acquired a reputation for being style with nothing behind it.

Behind it, though, is a wooded promontory, and this is the part people miss. Trails run up through the pines to a headland with a lighthouse at the end of it, and onward over the ridge to a cove along the coast where an old abbey sits almost on the beach, reachable on foot or by boat and by nothing else. Walk for an hour in any direction and the yachts drop out of sight entirely.

When to come

May, June and September suit this stretch of coast best. Summer heat is manageable near the water but tiring on the trails, and the village is at its most congested through the middle of the season. Late spring gives green hillsides and warm, clear days for walking; September gives warmer water and a village settling back into itself.

Couples should think about the ends of the day. Morning here is quiet and the light comes across the water into the harbour; evening empties the square of visitors and hands it back. Anyone staying overnight, or nearby, gets both. Day visitors get neither.

Whether it is expensive

At the harbour front, yes, and unapologetically so. A table on that square is priced like the view that comes with it, and the view is the product rather than the plate. The village has very few rooms and no way to add more, which does the rest.

What makes this manageable is that everything good here is cheap or free. The walking costs nothing. The swimming costs nothing. The view from the headland is free. Staying in one of the larger towns just around the bay puts you a short hop away at a completely different level of expenditure, and it is what most people who know the coast actually do. Given how sharply the local rates move with the calendar, comparing current stay and experience options across your dates is worth the time.

What is worth paying for

One meal on the harbour, taken deliberately, at an hour when the light is good and you are not sharing the square with a coach party. Treat it as theatre and it is worth it; treat it as dinner and it is not.

Beyond that, a boat. The coast either side of the promontory is properly visible from the water, and a small boat for a few hours turns a very small village into a whole stretch of coastline.

Where to stay

Splurge

A grand hotel set in gardens above the harbour, with a pool cut into the hillside, terraces looking down over the boats, and a private path to the water. These are old-establishment places with a long memory. Right for travellers who want the harbour view and the quiet at once, and intend to walk down rather than stay down.

Mid-range

A small hotel or restored villa in the wooded hills behind, or in the next bay along, with a garden, a terrace and a short journey to the harbour. You get the coastline and the walking without the harbour-front premium. Well matched to couples who plan to be out all day.

Good value

A guesthouse or apartment in one of the larger towns around the bay, where there are proper shops, a beach and restaurants priced for residents. The village is a brief trip away whenever you want it. Ideal for anyone who would rather spend on boats and long lunches than on proximity.

Portofino at a glance