How to visit Portofino, Italy as a day trip

Portofino is a beautiful small town in north Italy. It has a reputation as a glitzy, glamorous and expensive holiday town for the rich and famous. But there’s more to this town as well, and it can be the perfect day trip for any holiday to Italy. Here’s how to visit Portofino, Italy as a day trip.

Where is Portofino and how do I get to Portofino?

Portofino is on the North West coast of Italy. The nearest major city, and airport, is Genoa. From Genoa, you can get a train to Santa Margerita Ligure (which takes around 40 minutes) and then take a bus to Portofino (which takes around 10 minutes). Italy has a great train network across the whole country, so you can easily get the train to Portofino from almost any town or city in Italy. Visiting Portofino by train is my top tip for how to visit Portofino, Italy as a day trip.

You can easily combine a day in Portofino with a day visiting the nearby Cinque Terre. Check out my blog on visiting the Cinque Terre here.

Portofino is in the Liguria region of Italy. Each region of Italy has different food specialities. And this region of Italy is famous for its pesto and focaccia (a type of bread made with olive oil). So this is a great part of Italy to visit for this food!

Is Portofino worth visiting?

Yes! I think Portofino is definitely worth visiting. I had a really lovely day here and I think it’s a great place for anyone to visit.

Before going to Portofino, I’d read quite a lot of reviews of the town that didn’t portray it well. Portofino seemed to have a reputation for being solely a place for the rich and famous to visit on their big yachts, or for cruise ship tourists to flock to. Reviews implied that the town was overly expensive and had little to offer travellers.

However, after visiting, I don’t agree with those reviews at all. I loved my visit to Portofino and thought it was a lovely town. I visited as a day trip, so I didn’t stay overnight – and I admit that, from what I saw, hotels were very expensive. Food and drink were slightly more expensive than other towns in this region, but still not ridiculous. And I thought there was a lot to do in Portofino to fill a day, with some stunning viewpoints.

I visited Portofino in late October. It was slightly after the peak summer season, so maybe in the summer the town is a lot busier with rich people on their big yachts and cruise ship visitors. But even if the town does get busy, I still think it would be worth visiting. Keep reading to find out how I spent my day in Portofino.

The best way to enjoy a day trip to Portofino, Italy

The harbour

Portofino is centred around a small harbour, and it’s here that the main life of the town is. There are cafes with outdoor seating in the square and all around the harbour. The coloured buildings and blue sea make this a really colourful, beautiful area. It’s a great place to start your day in Portofino.

Views over the harbour

After exploring the harbour at sea level, head up the steps towards the castle and the church. Near the church, you’ll get an amazing view down over Portofino. This is the classic photo of Portofino that’s on the postcards and holiday brochures. I just loved this view.

Chiesa di San Giorgio and cemetery

As well as enjoying the view from up here near the Church, it’s also worth visiting the church as well. The church is a colourful yellow on the outside. Inside, it’s fairly simple but still pleasant.

Behind the church is a large cemetery. I ended up spending quite a long time in the cemetery because I found it really beautiful and peaceful. I wasn’t expecting to come to Portofino and find a place like this, so it was a really nice surprise.

As is typical of Italian cemeteries, the graves are white and stacked high, with photos of the deceased person. The cemetery was on several levels, with stairs leading up higher. Each time you thought you were at the end, you’d discover a bit more. The views across the sea were lovely, and you could hear the sea as well. It was just a peaceful and nice place.

Castello Brown

Further on up the steps is Castello Brown. This castle dates back to the 16th century. The interior is fairly simple but fairly interesting. There are some gardens as well.

My favourite part of this castle was the views. From this high vantage point, you could get another amazing view down to Portofino and the surrounding coastline.

There’s a cafe at the entrance to the castle, which is a lovely place to relax with a drink after the uphill climb. Again, the views here are just amazing. I loved sitting with a drink and looking out to sea.

Shopping

Back at sea level, Portofino also has some nice shops. Most of these can be found just behind the harbour, on the road that leads back towards the bus stop and taxi rank. As well as souvenir shops, there are also quite a lot of designer shops. I didn’t do any shopping, but I still enjoyed the atmosphere of the cute shopping streets.

Pasta, focaccia and wine

No trip in Italy is complete without eating and drinking! This region of Italy is famous for pesto, so one of the classic local dishes is Trofie al Pesto, which is pasta and pesto. Focaccia is also famous here, and you can get plain focaccia and also focaccia sandwiches. Focaccia sandwich with mozzarella, tomato and pesto was my favourite. And Italy is also famous for its wines, with several local wines produced in this area. Eating and drinking is the perfect end to how to visit Portofino, Italy as a day trip.

Hope you enjoyed my guide to how to visit Portofino, Italy as a day trip. Remember to check out my blog on visiting the nearby Cinque Terre as well. Or head to Sicily for more Italian adventures. You can also visit some of the beautiful parts of the nearby French Riviera on you trip – check out my guide to visiting the French Riviera from Nice here.