Luxury holidays in Riviera di Ponente

They say west is best, which might just be true of Riviera di Ponente, a colourful stretch of Mediterranean coastline in Liguria, which winds west towards the French border. More rustic than Genoa’s easterly coastline, which harbours Portofino, it’s been a beloved haunt of literary legends (Byron, DH Lawrence and Hemingway, to name a few) and we can see why: crumbling churches, fishing-boat-dotted waters and forest-carpeted hills make a rather inspiring landscape.

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When to go

Though summer sees the warmest weather, Riviera di Ponente is better enjoyed in spring or autumn when the crowds have packed up and left.

Getting there

  • Planes

    Riviera di Ponente perches panoramically between Genoa and Nice’s international airports; Genoa airport makes more sense for stays on the eastern end of the riviera, though more western spots, like Sanremo, are still under two hours away by car.

  • Trains

    ItaliaRail and Intercity offer several rail routes along the Riviera di Ponente. From Genoa, it’s a one-hour ride to Finale Ligure or two hours to Sanremo and Ventimiglia (from here, SNCF runs a one-hour connection to Nice).

  • Automobiles

    If cruising along the Italian coast sounds like a romantic idea, hire your own wheels to soak up the beatific backdrop. At most, it’s a two-hour drive from Genoa to Ventimiglia (just by France’s border), and less for destinations in-between.