Liguria apartments - holiday apartments throughout Liguria

LIGURIA

Hilltop Village of Apricale

This boomerang-shaped region is one long beach, beginning with the Riviera di Ponente and running into the Riviera di Levante. Thanks to the dramatic picture painted by mountains pressing up against Liguria's shore, beaches here are as pretty as any in Italy, though the crowds are not as pressing. Towns like Santa Margherita Ligure make a good base for exploring the coast, though for a more intimate feel you can head to smaller villages like Portofino, a ritzy resort town, and Camogli, once a quiet fishing village. Other popular towns are Bardighera and San Remo; the latter is perhaps the best-known town on Liguria's coast.

Read our mini guide to Liguria

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Liguria's capital, Genoa, is famed as being Christopher Columbus' birthplace, and you can visit a small house where the explorer supposedly lived. Even more interesting is the maze of twisting streets that forms the core of the old city. Wriggling around Genoa's busy port, these medieval streets are full of activity day and night. Genoa is also an important art centre, and Hemingway, Lord Byron and Shelley all worked here for a time.

Genoa's wide boulevards are great for shopping (the lace and ceramics of the region are famous), and there are plenty of small plazas for resting in afterward. The city's architecture- a mix of medieval, Renaissance and modern- is always interesting, if not always authentic. A fake medieval castle (built in the 19th century) is one of the showier buildings of the city, while other historic buildings were rebuilt after the second World War.

Hilltop Village of Apricale

Liguria boasts an excellent Mediterranean climate, with warm but not scorching summers and mild winters, thanks to the breeze that rolls in off the sea. Rainfall is light, dropping to almost nothing in July. Spring and Autumn are ideal times to visit, as the crowds have dispersed and the weather is pleasant.

Hilltop Village of Apricale

Genoa is Liguria's main point of entry, and flights from the UK arrive here daily. A direct flight from London takes about two hours.

The coast is well-connected to Genoa by train and bus; the train also heads to other Italian regions. In summer, ferries are another good way to move about, and you can travel between Santa Margherita, Portofino and the Cinque Terre National Park by water.

Renting a car is the best way to explore the region, especially if you're planning to search out hidden beaches and out-of-the-way villages.

Hilltop Village of Apricale

Laying on the beach and splashing in the waves are the prime activities in Liguria, but this is also excellent walking country. You don't have to go far inland to find great mountain trails that give views of the coast below. From the Riviera di Ponente you can take a pretty, view-filled walk up to the Monastery of San Fruttuoso. Another good option is the strikingly scenic trail that runs past five secluded fishing villages in the Cinque Terre National Park.

Bikers can ride the long coastal trail that stretches 24km from Genoa to Varazze, passing tiny seaside villages and beautiful coastal scenery. Other bike paths criss-cross the region too.