Barely half a square kilometre, a few hundred residents and planetary fame: Portofino's piazzetta has been the Mediterranean's most exclusive quay since the postwar years. Above the pastel houses, Castello Brown watches over the yachts; the Punta del Capo lighthouse closes Liguria's most photogenic walk.
The insiders' route: arrive by sea or on foot from Santa Margherita, then take the boat on to San Fruttuoso, the abbey reachable only from the water, in whose bay the Christ of the Abyss has rested since 1954. Out of season, Portofino goes back to being a fishing village — and gets even better.
Portofino Piazzetta · castello Brown · chiesa di San Giorgio and 6 more
Pesto alla Genovese
24 places to stay · top rated: Agriturismo Terre Rosse Portofino 9.9 · Splendido Mare, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino 9.5
Next up: Feast of Saint George, Sunday 4 April
Nearest airport: Genova, 31 km away
Portofino is part of 🏘️ Villages 🏖️ Seaside
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📅 Every year, on the first Sunday of April
On the first Sunday of April Portofino celebrates Saint George in the church dedicated to him, on the headland above the harbour. The village has 453 residents.
Portofino Piazzetta Its real name is piazza Martiri dell'Olivetta: painted houses, moored boats, Castello Brown above. 
castello Brown A Genoese fortress turned English villa, with two pines on the terrace and the Tigullio below. 
chiesa di San Giorgio Levelled in the war and rebuilt by the villagers in 1950, with the relics of Saint George. 
Villa Altachiara Built in 1874 for a Carnarvon, later the Agusta family, today a frozen asset: seen best from the sea. 
Villa Beatrice Coppedè designed it as a castle: tower, mullioned windows and coloured tiles above Punta Cajega. 
Faro di Portofino One white flash every five seconds since 1870, at the tip of the headland: reached on foot only. Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Portofino, but an easy day trip away.
