La Spezia

La Spezia is the yin to Cinque Terre's yang. A lived-in port city that still manages to flaunt the classy and culture-rich side of the Ligurian coast, it's a colorful place of ochre-hued mansions and red-painted facades, all of which seem to glow brightly against the sky-blue reflections of the Mediterranean Sea. With the rugged rises of the Apennine Mountains on the horizon, the hulking cruise ships and naval vessels that bob along the ports here can be made to look much smaller than they are, and they rarely overshadow the charm of the Centro Storico, with its rustic trattorias and fish-scented Ligurian grill houses. The crumbling keeps of Castello di San Girogio tower on the hilltops, reminding travelers that this town is much older than its mechanized harbors would suggest. All that said and done, the fact remains that trips to uber-romantic Cinque Terre remain the top drawcard here, and La Spezia tour guides offer customised excursions out to those must-see quintet of spots on the coast to the north.