Tours in La Spezia

Walk along the Passeggiata Costantino Morin in the evening and you will see how La Spezia really lives. Locals stroll the waterfront, the palm trees sway over the promenade, and grey naval ships sit in the harbour a short way off. This is a working port town, not a postcard, and that is part of its charm. It does not perform for visitors, so you get to see an Italian city going about its day.

Most people pass through on the way to the Cinque Terre, and the train station makes that easy. Give the town a few hours first. The covered market is the place to start, with its produce, focaccia and the smell of fresh bread. Ask for farinata or a slice of torta di verdure and eat it standing up, as everyone does. Then wander the streets behind the centre, where the pace slows and the shops feel local.

The real reason to stay is the water. The Gulf of Poets curls around the coast with Portovenere at its western edge, a tall row of coloured houses facing the sea, and a dark church sitting out on the rocks. Across a narrow channel lie Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, three islands that are wild, rocky and very quiet. From a boat you see cliffs, sea caves and clear green water that you simply cannot reach on foot. Lerici sits on the opposite shore, a softer, more relaxed village with a castle over the bay.

Come for a day on the gulf and you will understand why writers and painters kept returning here. If you want to see something we do not yet cover, such as the Cinque Terre villages or the walk along the coast, ask. A local guide can build it for you.