Liguria Italy travel guide

Basic information

The region Liguria is located in northern Italy in the south of the Piedmont (Piemonte) and has an area of 5421 km² and approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. The Liguria consists of 4 provinces, the capital city Genoa (Genova), La Spezia, Savona and Imperia.

Liguria is geogrraphically seen a mountain scenery and a coastline which is called the Ligurian Sea. The major cities of this region are all located near the coast.

The coastal section consists partly of sandy beaches but also of abysses and steep rock. The region Liguria is bordering at the west to France, in the north to Piedmont (Piemonte) and Lombardy (Lombardia) and at the east to the Emilia-Romagna and the Tuscany (Toscana).

Riviera dei Fiori

The western part of the region Liguria from Genoa (Genova) through Savona to Imperia is called Riviera. Some call this stretch of coast Palm Riviera because there are many palm trees planted along the brach promenades. The Riviera has a great popularity among tourists because of the pleasant climate which is almost the whole year enjoyable.

Ligurian Riviera Ponente

Long sandy beaches can be found anywhere on the Ligurian coast, who want to spend his vacation at a beach can spend his holiday at Varigotti, Finale Ligure or Celle Ligure.

The tourism there is relatively small and so you can really relax and enjoy the nice weather at beautiful and clean beaches.

Levante Ligurian Riviera

The Levante Riviera in Liguria has mostly rocky coasts and ranges from Genoa (Genova) to La Spezia. The most popular towns on the Ligurian Riviera Levante are the cities Portofino, Portovenere and the localities in the Cinque Terre National Park (Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre). Idyllic beach promenades and partially protected waters such the entire coastal of the Nature Reserves of Portofino which was unter protection by the National laws since 1999 by the Environment Ministry.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In Genoa (Genova) can be visit the Palace of Rolli (Palazzo dei Rolli) which is a large part of the historic Old Town and was protected and recognized 2006 by the UNESCO and included into the World Heritage List.
The Cinque Terre are the most popular vacation destination of the region Liguria and were already 1997 included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage.

Cinque Terre - Gulf of Poets

On the Gulf of Poetsin the oriental part of the coastal region of Liguria are located the Cinque Terre, they're up to 5 places in a National Park which are all connected by a over 12 km long trail and are best suited for hiking or trekking.

The 5 towns in the Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza and Corniglia. In this part of the region Liguria is also produced the so-called Sciachetrà wine, a specialty which is only produced in this region.

Ferry connection

The port of Genoa (Genova) provides ferry services from Liguria to Sicily (Sicilia), Sardinia (Sardegna) and to Naples (Napoli).