LA SPEZIA

From the Guest House in just a 5-minute walk you can reach the pedestrian historic center with its bars , restaurants , shops, theaters , supermarkets and museums such as :Museo Amedeo Lia, Museo Diocesano, Museo Etnografico, Museo d’Arte Moderna, Museo Navale e Museo del Sigillo.The city lies at the center of the wide gulf that stretches from Lerici to Portovenere , it was given the name The Gulf of Poets , due to the fact that artists such as Byron , Shelley and DH Lawrence lived in the area for many years. The city  experienced its largest urban expansion during the period of construction of the Naval Arsenal .The city with its waterfront is the boarding point for boats that go to the Cinque Terre, LERICI Portovenere and the Islands.The waterfront of the city of La Spezia (il Molo Italia) is an extensive pedestrian area bordered by plants and flowers, where citizens usually walk or read sitting on  benches overlooking the sea. The promenade runs parallel to the long avenue called "Viale Italia", flanked by pines, palms, oleander trees and rose hedges,Within the city, in a dominant position, stands the castle of San Giorgio, the seat of congresses, exhibitions and initiatives that are organized on the panoramic terrace.On the water in front of Molo Italia, on the first Sunday of August the ‘’Palio del Golfo’ takes place’, a traditional and colorful Festival of the sea, a race that involves 13 seaside villages engaging in a thrilling rowing competition.

5 TERRE

Visiting the Cinque Terre (joined since 1998 sites identified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site) is to immerse yourself in one of the most intact of the history and nature of the coast, not only LigurianAs the "sciacchetrà", the delicious sweet wine that is produced here, villages give the result of an ancient and difficult work.The village  of the Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso) can also be reached by car, but the use of such means is strongly discouraged, both for environmental reasons and for practical reasons, since during the summer it is impossible to find parking, and the road runs winding and high on the ridge of the mountain and is characterized by numerous twists and turns.For these reasons, the best way to visit the Cinque Terre, and to move from one village to another, is by train. The railway line La Spezia - Genoa stops in all the villages that make up Cinque Terre. From the city of La Spezia train connects, for the entire day, with a very frequent (runs about every 15/20 minutes) all locations of the 5 Terre.Starting from La Spezia, the train takes about 7 minutes to reach the first village Riomaggiore. Always starting from the city of La Spezia another charming and romantic way to reach the Cinque Terre is by sea, the boats run regularly, starting from the promenade of La Spezia (Morin walk) by connecting the five villages.Another way to see and better appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the Cinque Terre is to get the train  La Spezia station and, with a stroke of about 7 minutes to reach Riomaggiore (the first village of the 5 Lands), and then go from there to the foot-equipped network of trails linking the five countries (from Riomaggiore starts the famous Way of Love), paths that can give breathtaking views, fantastic views, smells, breezes and unforgettable emotions.Also the dishes that the kitchen serves reflect the characteristics of this land, lemon anchovies, stuffed, fried or pickled, fried whitebait, fresh fish, pies, cake, porridge, stuffed mussels (stuffed mussels), the mesciua, etc ... These are the dishes that await you, served in the restaurants overlooking a spectacular sea.

PORTOVENERE

To the west of the Gulf of La Spezia there is the picturesque fishing village of Portovenere, which has various architectural jewels, such as the Genoese fort on the hill and the ancient church of St. Peter, towards the sea.
Portovenere is a charming village that has fascinated and enthralled over the years, famous writers and poets.
Its tall multicolored houses overlooking the small harbor, all lined up on the sea, they had a time ago the function of tower-fortress to defend themselves from pirate attacks that scourged the coast.
Can not miss  the discovery of the three islands that stretch in front of Portovenere Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. Separated from the promontory of Portovenere by an arm of sea called Le Bocche, Palmaria is the largest of the three small islands in the archipelago, the only one of Liguria: a big rock and corrugated triangular, recently became the Regional Natural Park. The southwest coast of the island is characterized by rocks twisted and shaped by the wind, which rise in vertiginous cliffs carved by deep rocks.This is the most rugged and wild part, the most loved by divers. Here we have the Blue Grotta, accessible only by sea and the cave of the Doves, already inhabited in prehistoric times.Portovenere is also appreciated for the presence of historical monuments.One of them deserve the attention of tourists the Church of San Lorenzo, consecrated in 1130 by Pope Innocent II, it still retains a certain elegance in the façadeIn the upper part of the village stands the castle, a fortress built in the seventeenth century, used as a prison for political prisoners in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.It is also to admire the church of San Pietro in Genoese gothic style (XIII century) on the promontory, where once stood the temple of Venus.Very beautiful is also the bell tower that used to sight the enemies coming from the sea.

LERICI

On the opposite side of the Gulf of La Spezia is located in Lerici, a village by the mild climate and rich artistic heritage which the great Genoese castle that dominates the town. Lerici are scattered around a myriad of small villages surrounded by green pines and broom, overlooking the sea of the Gulf of Poets Fiascherino (where he stayed the English writer DH Lawrence), Tellaro, La Serra, Monte Marcello.