Beaches of Liguria

Beaches of Liguria West area

The southern part of the Liguria region entirely overlooks the Ligurian Sea and the coasts of the region, with its beaches, its maritime culture and its ports are proverbial. The west Ligurian coasts are included in the provinces of Imperia and Savona, the east ones in those of Genoa and La Spezia.

Imperia

In the province of Imperia lies the town of Ventimiglia and about two kilometers from its center is located the Calandre beach, not far from the border with France. The Calandre beach is composed of golden and compact sand surrounded by rocky cliffs. The sea here is very clean but a very strong wind often blows, a feature that attracts in this place especially windsurfers. When the wind doesn’t blow strongly, the blue and clean sea and the shallow waters make this destination an ideal place for swimming and relaxing.

Also close to the French border, the Balzi Rossi beach is made of pebbles and situated among cliffs, at the foot of a crag. The public beach is made of large flat rocks on which you can sunbathe, but for those who want to enjoy the little beach there is a small establishment which offers beach umbrellas and chairs. The water is clean and transparent and the seabed rich in flora and fauna attracts scuba divers.

Near the famous city of Sanremo there is the Costa di Capo Verde beach, a small size rocky beach not easy to access, so it is a quiet place frequented by naturists.

The nice beach of the Tre Ponti of Sanremo is located in a cove between Capo Verde and Capo Nero. It is a golden sandy beach, behind which extends a beautiful hilly landscape. It is a popular beach and one of the most exploited for tourism, with several beach resorts that offer different services and entertainment, bars and a restaurant. The sea is clean and sometimes the strong wind makes the sea suitable for windsurfing.

Savona

The Tower beach in Celle Ligure is near the municipality of Albisola Superiore, in the province of Savona.

It is a beautiful golden sand beach fringed by rocks, small and narrow, dominated behind by a vertical cliff overlooking the sea. Despite its size, there is a bathing establishment. The sea is beautiful, very clear.

Beaches of Liguria East area

Genoa

Moving east in the province of Genoa we find the municipality of Sestri Levante with its characteristic rocky promontory linked to the mainland by an isthmus that divides two bays, the Favole Bay and the Silenzio Bay.

The Favole Bay was so named by the writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1833. It is a long sandy strand about 1700 meters long on which there are beach clubs, entertainment for young people and many more, but there are also stretches of free beach. Behind the coast lies a thick fragrant vegetation of oleanders, olive and pine trees.

The Silenzio Bay, smaller than the Favole Bay, is a small and narrow beach bordered by the colorful houses of the village. The sea is very clean and the landscape, with boats of fishermen visible in the distance, is very evocative.

A suburb of the town of Santa Margherita Ligure named Paraggi houses the homonymous beach, the beach of Paraggi, located in a cove between Portofino and Rapallo. The beach is sandy, the sea is emerald green and rich in marine flora and fauna, which attracts scuba divers in the summer months. Some bathing establishments offer beach umbrellas, chairs and other services.

The beaches of Santa Margherita Ligure are instead many small beaches near the homonymous village and with wide variety of strands. Some of them are equipped with establishments, others are completely free. Several are the restaurants serving fresh seafood, very abundant in this area.

La Spezia

In the province of La Spezia lies the town of Portovenere, in front of which there is the small island of Palmaria, an island of La Spezia archipelago. Here we find the Secco beach, a gravel shoreline surrounded by pine trees that in summer shelter bathers from the sun with their shadow: a little corner of paradise overlooking a crystal sea.

In the vicinity of Tellaro, in the town of Ameglia, it is instead located the Punta Corvo beach, a strip of dark sand located in a cove, a few hundred meters long. Behind it there are cliffs and hills covered with vegetation and it is easier to access to Punta Corvo by sea, since the inland trail is particularly challenging.