PORTOFINO - S.MARGHERITA LIGURE

From Genova - 4 hours or 8 hours tour

Perched on Italy's northwest coast, Portofino is one of the most perfect, most photogenic fishing ports in the Mediterranean. It has been a magnet for Europe's beau monde, from Rex Harrison to Elizabeth Taylor, for decades. Portofino is known for being Italy's most picturesque and romantic village. Like the postcard photos it's famous for, Portofino seems to be frozen in time with its pastel fisherman houses lining the winding streets. Portofino is the old Italian Riviera at its best. When a cliff-face road was built, the Municipality elders used restrictive zoning to limit the modernization and development of the community, thus retaining the old-world atmosphere.

Santa Margherita offers very contradictory features. Over the centuries man's work has enhanced the original gift of nature. Indeed it has gone further: it has added something unmistakable to an already perfect shape. Santa Margherita's forms, colours, the arrangement of its characteristic houses, its rich villas, its great hotels have painted around its bay something similar to a magical reflection.

In Santa Margherita the visitor experiences a great sense of freedom and at the same time the pleasant impression of belonging to a privileged and happy world. Santa Margherita leads an intense life around its harbour: elegant social occasions, celebrations and traditional events.