Cannes and Portofino - what to do?

[AndyB]

We will be on the Oct 10 Century sailing out of Barcelona, stopping at Cannes and Portofino in addition to Livorno, Rome and Naples. We have a good idea what we're doing in the last 3 ports, but no plans yet for Cannes and Portofino. With the heavy touring in the last 3 ports ($$$), I was thinking these 2 would be "walk-around-and-people-watch" ports. Can anyone give me some advice on these 2 ports? It'll be me, DH and DS, who will turn 8 on the Portofino day.

 

Anyone have a particular cafe or spot to recommend? I would appreciate any ideas!! Thanks in advance!

[cberge]

We will be on the Oct 10 Century sailing out of Barcelona, stopping at Cannes and Portofino in addition to Livorno, Rome and Naples. We have a good idea what we're doing in the last 3 ports, but no plans yet for Cannes and Portofino. With the heavy touring in the last 3 ports ($$$), I was thinking these 2 would be "walk-around-and-people-watch" ports. Can anyone give me some advice on these 2 ports? It'll be me, DH and DS, who will turn 8 on the Portofino day.

 

Anyone have a particular cafe or spot to recommend? I would appreciate any ideas!! Thanks in advance!

Just make them "day off""chill out" days from the port intensive touring would be my idea.Make Cannes a beach day and strolling around,having a nice luncheon etc.....there is a lot of info on this board re Cannes.Do be advised that there is topless sunbathing just so you now.Portofino is so small you can walk around in a short amount of time and there is a 5 star hotel where you could have luncheon..pricey.Or you can take the local ferry to Santa Margherita (weather permitting) and walk around the beach town area and again have a nice(cheaper) luncheon.A lot of shops etc. do close for a few hours in the early afternoon.I am sure you will get some posts re other idea's.However, you really answered your own question.

[CintiPam]

We had a lovely relaxed few hours in Portofino on June 16; we hiked up toward the lighthouse, stopping at Chiesa San Giorgio and the Castello Brown. The views from the Castello were very lovely, although the Castello itself no longer exhibited the photographs of the "rich and famous" that we had read about. We then zigzagged very slowly down the totally shaded path (without any steps, just gentle switchbacks) through the Castello's gardens all the way back down to the dock, stopping often for the lovely views.

[nparmelee]

Portofino is not very cheap, but you can spend your time there without going broke. We took the bus over to Santa Margarita Ligure for 1 euro each and wandered there for a while. Then we did the hike back to Portofino and then wandered there and found a nice lunch that wasn't too bad in pricing. A very nice day overall.