Europe Travel Diary: Genoa and Portofino

Our Europe Travel Diary is an informal rundown of our day-to-day activities while backpacking Europe, starting with Madrid. This diary entry is based on our three nights in Genoa which included a day trip to Portofino. If you are after recommendations for Genoa instead, we have a Genoa Travel Guide coming soon!

Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, is the best products possible whilst travelling.

Day 14: Marseille to Genoa

_17/10/2021

We eventually arrived in Genoa having gone past some of the most amazing views we’d have ever seen. Unfortunately, the coach made quite a few stops along the way which prolonged the journey a bit. However, we were quite excited to stop at a petrol station that overlooked Monaco. The Italian countryside really was unlike anything we’d ever seen before and we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful drive.

Thankfully our hostel was only a 10-minute walk away from where we were dropped off. We checked in and were given a room overlooking the street and adjacent square. Despite having chosen a six-bed dorm (three per bunk), the Italians were taking Covid very seriously so only four people were allocated per room. Despite the middle bunk being off-limits, Alex decided to stay on one anyway so that if (more likely when) he fell out during the night, it would be less of a drop. We then dumped our bags and went in search of food.

We wandered for roughly 10 minutes (it felt like 30 minutes) and eventually found a side street restaurant that served gluten-free pasta. Alex also got to eat his first, of many, real Italian pizzas.

Once we had finished our food we walked back towards the harbour in search of Genoa’s aquarium. I had seen many positive reviews online so we were excited to experience it. Unfortunately, the tickets were really expensive and the experience didn’t quite live up to expectations. Whilst wandering around and seeing all the fishy’s, we couldn’t help but notice how small each tank was; some screens were angled to make each tank look bigger. This was most notable for the loggerhead turtle, manatee and four dolphins the aquarium housed. As a result, we definitely did not enjoy our trip as much as we could have.

After finishing at the aquarium (rather quickly) we walked in the direction of our hostel to freshen up before dinner. Luckily I had done my research before our food hunt and so I had already planned which pizza restaurant we were going to. We each had a cocktail and shared a starter of burrata (we’d never tried it before) and I had the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever had.

We finished off our evening by sitting in outdoor restaurant drinking cocktails and rich people watching. Genoa has a lot of huge yachts so we enjoyed walking around and proceeded to reminisce about Below Deck.

Day 15: Genoa

_18/10/2021

We ended up having a proper lie-in to start the day; I think two weeks of non-stop sightseeing was finally taking its toll. After having some dreadful coffee, we decided to go full tourist mode and see the sights of Genoa.

Whilst the port city of Genoa stretches along the Italian coastline, we focussed our efforts on the harbour; where the majority of the sights and monuments were. Having taken in the University and Museum nearby, Alex decided it would be a great idea to trek up to Belvedere Castello; a viewpoint overlooking most of the city. Whilst the distance wasn’t bad, the incline definitely was; I didn’t enjoy it one bit. That said, the view was stunning and I would definitely recommend visiting. We walked back down the mountainside, taking in a few more sights, before finding a restaurant in the main square for some food. As we were some way away from any GF restaurant, I had to settle for some grilled meat, salad and fries. On the other hand, Alex had some really yummy looking salmon pasta. The service was pretty horrendous here so we wouldn’t recommend it.

We then took the rest of the afternoon to take in more of the city’s sights which included residents’ dirty laundry hanging from their balconies. Once back at the hostel, Alex was tasked with cleaning our own dirty laundry in the hostel whilst I napped

Post siesta we again ventured out for dinner at a gluten-free pasta restaurant on the harbour front; we both really enjoyed this restaurant and Alex even had a Nutella pizza for pudding. It was then back to the hostel for a couple of Aperol Spritz’s and to help Alex apply for a graduate scheme (for the 3rd year running). We also took the time to catch up on some Netflix as we’d been missing out.

Day 16: Portofino

_19/10/2021

Being a big gin fan, I have always wanted to visit Portofino! Unfortunately, it was slightly out of budget for us to stay here so we settled on a day trip. Thankfully it is pretty easy to get from Genoa to Portofino; we took one train to Santa Margherita and one bus which took us to Portofino itself.

On the change over at Santa Margherita, we had a slight mare; turns out you can’t just buy a ticket from the bus driver as you can in England. We ended up (stupidly) standing outside the bus for 15 minutes until it was time to go, only to find out we had to buy the bus ticket inside the bus station! Alex then had to sprint back to the train station to get our ticket before the bus left… in two minutes. It was a bit rude of the bus driver not to let us know but hey we made it so no complaints!

As was the case with the rest of the Italian coastline, this 15-minute journey was incredibly beautiful. What was quite amusing (and scary) was how small the roads were and how close to the edge we came. This constantly led to stand-offs between the bus and oncoming cars, which the bus won 8/10 times. The bus horn was also one of the funniest noises I’ve ever heard so that was pretty entertaining.

We went past a few really beautiful coves, with crystal clear waters, which we would definitely have explored if we had more time. There weren’t any signs on the bus so we were pretty worried we were going to miss our stop. Everyone else on the bus decided to disembark at one stop so we blindly joined; thankfully it ended up being the right place, phew!

We walked down the cobbled street, past Louis V, YSL etc to the main square which was, again, very beautiful. What was very interesting was that despite how pretty the different coloured buildings looked, the colouring was actually wallpaper which we found quite entertaining. However, Portofino is extremely picturesque and looks exactly like the front of the gin bottle so I was very impressed.

Again it was food time so we wandered around the harbour looking for GF food. We were quite surprised there weren’t any gluten-free options considering Portofino is a celebrity hangout. The first restaurant we checked out originally said they had nothing GF. It was therefore quite a surprise when they chased us down to say they had found something GF. The food was (obviously) amazing and Alex really enjoyed his 4 cheese pizza. As you can imagine, it was extremely expensive but we expected this; at least we can now say we’ve been.

Our train wasn’t arriving for another few hours yet so we enjoyed an Aperol and soda or Aperol and Sprite if your names Alex; the waiter and I both cringed when Alex asked! We then went on a walk around the harbour and sat and read our books at the most scenic location ever!

It was then time to get the mountain bus back to the train station and the train back to Genoa for a siesta (of course).

We were then up and out for dinner and a cocktail at the same restaurant we went to on our first night here as I loved the pizza so much. The hostel had given us some free drinks vouchers when we initially arrived so after stuffing ourselves full of pizza, we enjoyed these before packing to leave the following day.

Day 17: Genoa to Florence

_20/10/2021

We woke up early to finish packing and headed around the corner to our departure location. Having thought that we were getting a bus out of the city, we headed to the bus station. We got there 20 minutes ahead of departure so we knew we’d catch it in good time. After asking a few people where to go and showing them our tickets, we realised we were actually catching a train. Thankfully both stations are situated next to each other and there was a shortcut to the station.

We found our platform and proceeded to get another rubbish coffee before going to our platform and jumping on the train. It was a lot more stressful than I make it out to be. With this not being enough stress for the day, our train decided to stay stationary for an eternity. Turns out there was a broken down train on the line at the next station which caused the 20-minute delay. This was not so good as we had a 15-minute change over time in Pisa before hopping on another train to Florence. Stress.

Genoa & Portofino Summary

Genoa itself was very pretty, especially at night. There is not much to do so the three nights we stayed were just about right, maybe even too long. The food was, on the whole, really really good, especially the GF pizza/pasta we ended up finding. Our hostel’s location was really good as it was close to the train station and was only a five/ten-minute walk to the harbour front. The hostel itself was okay; the beds weren’t the comfiest but the terrace was beautiful and so peaceful to relax on.

Portofino was incredibly beautiful and an absolute must if in the area. Even though it was expensive to drink and eat there, it is a very nice place to chill, people watch, read or laugh at Brits abroad.