Things to do
6-
Faro di Portofino
The lighthouse at the tip of the promontory, twenty minutes on a paved path beyond the castle. It is the furthest point the path reaches, and the water on three sides is the reason to make the walk. A bar beside it opens through the season.
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Abbazia di San Fruttuoso
A tenth-century abbey in a cove reachable only by boat or on foot over the headland, with no road to it at all. The bronze Christ of the Abyss stands submerged offshore and is visited by divers and glass-bottomed boat.
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Belmond Hotel Splendido
A sixteenth-century monastery turned hotel in 1901, on the hillside above the harbour with the bay framed through umbrella pines. The walk down to the piazzetta takes ten minutes and a shuttle runs back up. Its sister hotel sits on the harbour below with the same kitchen.
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Castello Brown
A fortress above the harbour, rebuilt as a private house by a British consul in the nineteenth century and now open with its garden. The terrace gives the standard view down onto the painted houses and the yachts. The garden above the walls is open with the house.
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Chiesa di San Giorgio
A small church on the rise between the harbour and the castle, rebuilt after wartime damage. It is a short stop on the walk up and the terrace beside it looks back over the bay. The village patron is celebrated here each April with a procession down to the harbour.
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Parco naturale regionale
The protected headland behind the village, laced with marked paths through holm oak and pine between Camogli, San Fruttuoso and Portofino. Walking in is the way to arrive without fighting the road. The path in from Camogli over Portofino Vetta takes about three hours and is signed throughout.
