Liguria is is a region of Northwest Italy, on the Ligurian Sea. There are wonderful cities that start from the border with France (Ventimiglia) to the border with the Tuscany region (La Spezia). There are small and rocky beaches, like those in the Cinque Terre, and long sandy beaches like those in Alassio. Furthermore, the entire hinterland, thanks to the medieval villages like Triora, represents a hidden treasure where at every bend in the road there is a new surprise.

Map of Liguria

• 44.4071868.9339831 Genoa – one of the most populous cities in Italy, and its most important port
• 43.8805337.6604832 Apricale – a beautiful town tucked into the hinterland behind the resort town of San Remo
• 44.0491148.2130173 Albenga – an ancient town with a well-preserved historical centre and a seaside resort
• 44.1690728.3435364 Finale Ligure – has a cosy old town with small streets still surrounded by the original town wall
• 44.2086619.5544225 Framura – a group pf tive hamlets that cater to holiday and food and wine
• 43.8864678.0296536 Imperia – well known for the cultivation of flowers and olives, and is a popular summer destination for visitors
• 44.1080449.8288817 La Spezia – a port city with a 19th-century maritime arsenal and naval technical museum, a castle that houses an archaeological museum with finds from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, and a civic museum with paintings, bronze sculptures and illuminated miniatures in a former convent
• 44.2386199.4902758 Moneglia – a tourist resort on the Riviera di Levante, and one of "The most beautiful villages of Italy"
• 44.3042429.2071619 Portofino – clustered around its small harbour, it is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore; it is a resort for yacht people and the world's jet set
• 44.359.23333310 Rapallo – the largest seaside resort on the Riviera di Levante
• 43.81757.77511 Sanremo – a well-known tourist resort renowned centre for floriculture and festivals
• 44.3349339.21012212 Santa Margherita Ligure – has a tourist port and a 16th-century Genoese castle
• 44.3080568.48111113 Savona – best known for its harbour, a picturesque old town, a fortress, and beaches
• 43.8260447.69383914 Seborga – a self-declared principality
• 44.2733339.39323915 Sestri Levante – a tourist hotspot with a collection of paintings from the Genoese school
• 43.7902787.60833316 Ventimiglia – an awesome medieval old town and a great stone
• 44.1351619.68385317 Vernazza – perhaps most picturesque of the five towns of Cinque Terre

• 43.95498.17311 La Riviera di Ponente   - the coast that stretches from France to Genoa, and La Riviera di Levante, the coast on the Italian peninsula - these are the main reasons people visit Liguria
• 44.1269449.7094442 The Cinque Terre - (literally "five lands"), five tiny, picturesque fishing villages, Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore and Vernazza - perched precariously on the rugged, rocky hills that tumble into the Mediterranean. Together with four other sites it forms the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)".
• 44.0638899.8833333 Gulf of the Poets   - The gulf of La Spezia is known also as the “Gulf of the Poets”, because through the centuries, many famous poets, writers and artists spent their holidays or part of their life in the villages and small towns of this gulf, enchanted by the superb and peaceful beauty of this earthly paradise.

2,000 years ago the whole northwestern part of Italy, including what are now Piedmont and Lombardy, were inhabited by the Liguris, the people from whom this region gets its name.

Liguria is home to seaside resort towns in the style of Cannes and Monaco, dozens of sandy, rocky and pebbly beaches, in Genoa the country's largest commercial and naval port, some of its most desolate stretches of coast, and terraced hillsides that produce olive oil considered to be more delicate even than that grown in Tuscany.

Liguria is made up of two coasts (Riviera di Ponente and Riviera di Levante) with the capital Genoa at the centre. Both rivieras are made up of a narrow coastal strip backed by the mountains and short valleys of the Maritime Alps to the west, and the Ligurian Apennines in the rest of the region.

Roads and railways run the length of the coast, linking the Riviere with France and the rest of Italy.

Whether travelling by train or by car, the spectacular journey along the Ligurian coast takes you through tunnel after tunnel, bursting out from darkness into sunlight, the sea sparkling at your side.

• Portofino and the Gulf of Tigullio: the reserved beauty of Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, Sestri Levante, and Chiavari immersed in the embrace between land and sea. It is a small paradise that has become synonymous with elegance over the years.

• Cinque Terre and Gulf of the Poets: Reveals the charm of the Cinque Terre with panoramas suspended between sky and sea, hiking trails, vineyards and strips of olive trees, in a corner of Liguria which contains a unique landscape. The unmistakable Art Nouveau style of the gardens and of La Spezia museums, or the charm of the villages of Lerici, Portovenere, Tellaro, famous for poets and writers such as Byron and Shelley and the local beauty in which they found inspiration for their works.
• Bussana Vecchia: an old village near San Remo (Province of Imperia) destroyed in the 19th century by a strong earthquake and now inhabited by artists.
• Genoa has a treasure chest of ancient art hidden inside historic buildings, and noble villas. It ancient port has been renewed with museum spaces, prestigious theaters, and the largest aquarium in Europe.

Those who are fond of a good walk will love the Via Del Amore, a long and winding path along the coast which connects the five villages of the Cinque Terre. Stunning views of the sea make for a memorable trek, but it's not for those of a nervous disposition - the path can be quite high above the sea in certain stretches, so if you don't like heights perhaps this won't be for you.

Traditional Ligurian food is some of the most refined in all of Italy. Tagliatelle is served in various forms here, and torta di verdura is a local speciality, a vegetable pie made with borage and other wild late-winter herbs. Seafood is very popular, as the sea around Liguria is abundant with life. Some typical dishes are:

• Mushroom pie
• Mussels stuffed with cheese and herbs
• Orata (a local fish) cooked with olives and potatoes
• Gattafin (pasta stuffed with beetroot, onion and Parmesan)
• Soviore rice pie

Liguria is also the birthplace of pesto sauce.

In all Liguria provinces there's a speciality called ‘Farinata’, which consists of a thin, salty pie made with chick-pea flour which is cooked in a wood oven, similar to those used for pizza. It’s eaten as antipasto or as a nutritious snack and can be topped with Gorgonzola, onion or Salsiccia.

White and passito grapes are given to the Cooperativa del Gruppo Di Riomaggiore, a modern organization that has streamlined the winemaking process.

Sciacchetrà is a prestigious sweet, white passito wine (not too sweet, however), produced in the Cinque Terre.

Other white wines are Pigato and Vermentino (of which you can also find a variation of in Sardinia) which suffer from a bit from the salty sea climate in which the grapes grow, giving the wine a particular if not unique taste. Red wines are not so common and the only one worth mentioning is Rossese di Dolceacqua.

Liguria is generally a safe region, but beware of pickpockets in some streets of Genoa (Via del Campo and the harbour).

Liguria stretches east in a narrow ribbon along the coast from France. Mountains separate it from Piedmont to the north, Emilia-Romagna to the east and Tuscany to the south.