Travel

One of My Favorite Corners of Sardinia

La Pelosa Beach

The island of Sardinia, Italy has so many lovely beaches it’s difficult to narrow down the list of “best beaches” but one that would have to be near the top is La Pelosa, near Stintino on the north west coast of Sardinia. This beach is so popular that you need to make reservations to visit it during the busy season (May – October). The reservations are not expensive nor difficult. To my knowledge, this is the only beach in Sardinia that requires a reservation. When you see it, you will understand why it is so popular.

*Other views of La Pelosa Beach, Sardinia.*

*The water is calm and very shallow at La Pelosa, you can walk out a long way and the water may still not be up to your waist, making this a perfect beach for young children.*

*One of the boardwalks leading down to La Pelosa Beach.*

There is paid parking along the street facing the beach – be sure to pay – you don’t want to get back to your parking spot after a lovely day at the beach and find your vehicle has been towed away! I recommend getting here early in the morning or later in the afternoon, not only will the beach be a little less busy, but convenient parking will be more plentiful too. We visited in early October, after an overnight stop in Castelsardo. The water was still warm and the beach was fairly busy, but it did not feel overcrowded at all. To check in at the beach, there is a kiosk where you get a wristband after showing your reservations on your phone or a hardcopy. Be sure to bring towel mats as well, to avoid taking home the precious sand – Sardinia is focused on keeping their beautiful sand where it belongs – on the beach.

Alghero

Less than an hour south of La Pelosa Beach is Alghero. Alghero was probably my favorite town in Sardinia. The combination of its magnificent setting and harbor, a beautiful old town with medieval towers and walls, and lively evening scene made this a perfect spot to stay for a few nights. We rented a lovely apartment that was just a ten minute walk from the old town.

*Views of Alghero’s Harbor from the city walls.*

*A great view of Alghero’s Old Town walls and towers.*

*Alghero’s city walls are a perfect place to watch the sunset after another glorious day on this wonderful island.*

Castelsardo, Sardinia – A Great Stop along Sardinia’s North Coast between Costa Esmeralda and Alghero

Castelsardo is a very picturesque little town on the north coast of Sardinia and worth an overnight stop if convenient in your travels, or a least a short visit on your way to other destinations. For us, we stopped here overnight on our way to the magnificent beach at La Pelosa (near Stintino, on the very northwest tip of Sardinia) and then on to Alghero.

Castello dei Doria

The 13th century castle at the top of the hill in Castelsardo is named after the Genoese family who was entrusted with its care. It is open to visitors and there are a few rooms you can visit with various displays, including the Museum of Mediterranean Interweaving.

*A view from the top of Castello dei Doria.*

Street Wandering

As with any small European town, it is fun to just wander the narrow, steep streets. Our hotel was on one of these little streets. There was plenty of car parking outside the old town on the sea side of Castelsardo.

Left – restaurants offering tables in the narrow alleys of Castelsardo. Right – Robyn pointing out our accommodation for the night in the heart of the old town. The rooftop of our little hotel offered a wonderful view of the sea and is where we had breakfast.

*View of Castelsardo’s 16th century Cathedral, with a magnificent view of the Mediterranean Sea and Sardinian coast line in the distance.*

*I loved this image of an old 1st story floor/ceiling, in a visitor’s center near the Castle. I can’t imagine trying to build anything that would be square and level in those days!*

*Some of the other 16th buildings near the Cathedral in Castelsardo’s old town.*

Elephant Rock

Just off a road leading into Castelsardo from the east is this interesting volcanic rock formation, aptly named “Elephant Rock”. What is even more interesting is that within this rock there are two pre-nuragic tombs, dating to a time before Sardinia’s Nuraghe were built, likely 5,000 or more years ago. We just pulled off the side of the road to take a look.

Views of ancient tombs carved into Elephant Rock. In the right and left images you can see the horns of a bull carved into the stone. It was a little difficult to get these photos, Elephant Rock is taller than it appears.

*Don’t miss beautiful Castelsardo if you have the chance!*

A Magical Three-Day Visit to the La Maddalena Archipelago of Sardinia

From our start in Olbia and Sardinia’s Costa Esmeralda, we traveled north a short distance and took (with our rental car) the 15-minute ferry ride from Palau over to La Maddalena Island and town, which is part of the La Maddalena Archipelago, located at the very north east edge of Sardinia, Italy. We spent 3 nights on La Maddalena, which gave us enough time to see La Maddalena Island, Caprera Island (reached by bridge from La Maddalena) and then a day-trip boat tour of some of the other islands in the Archipelago. I’ll share a bit about each day below.

La Maddalena

We caught a morning ferry to La Maddalena from Palau, no reservations were needed in October and the ferries run continuously all day. A round trip ticket for car and passengers was about 40 Euro.

Upon arrival. we immediately headed for Cala Francese beach, not far from the main town and then explored a few other beaches around the island before checking into our hotel later in the afternoon. La Maddalena is not big, you could probably drive around the island in 30 minutes or less.

Above – Cala Francese, on the southwest coast of La Maddalena. You have to take a very short drive on a dirt road to get to the parking area and then walk on a trail for 5 minutes to get to the beach.

*Left – Spiaggia Bassa Trinita, Right – Spiaggia del Cardellino, both beaches are on the northwest coast of La Maddalena.*

*Cala Lunga, at the northern tip of La Maddalena.*

*Left – Spiaggia di Cala Spalmatore, on the eastern side of La Maddalena. Right – a view of La Maddalena town as we drove back after our tour of the island.*

The town was fun to explore, and many boat tours are offered from the harbor.

Caprera Island

After a wonderful day on La Maddalena, we decided to spend our second day on Caprera, an island connected to La Maddalena via a bridge. Caprera is far less populated, and largely National Park land. There are numerous beaches and hiking trails and to start our day we decided to do a hike on the north end of the island, to the Batteria de Candeo, a really interesting site.

*There are numerous trails criss-crossing the northern end of Caprera, and they are well signposted. There were very few people on the trails, we pretty much had them to ourselves.*

At the north end of Caprera is the military site of Batteria de Candeo, an anti-aircraft and ship emplacement built between World War I and World Ward II. It was built from the natural rock in the area and was well camouflaged – even today it looks like part of the natural landscape except for the doorways.

*Other views of Candeo. Candeo can be accessed via the Caprera trail system.*

*Other views and beaches accessed from the trail system in Caprera – left to right: Cala Crucitta, Cala Nepoletana, Cala Caprarese.*

There are some beaches on the south end of the island also, such as Spiaggia Due Mari, for example. We visited the south end and spent a while lounging on Spiaggia Due Mari beach after our hike, but unfortunately I did not capture a photo!

Note: I had wanted to visit Cala Coticcio beach on Caprera, one of the most famous beaches in Sardinia. The only way to visit is with a guide (they limit access to this beach to preserve its natural state). I reserved a date with the guide, but I also needed a Park pass, and for some reason this was difficult to do online, so I gave up and cancelled our visit to this particular beach. It is a fairly long hike to Cala Coticcio and if we had done that hike, we would not have had time to do the hiking discussed above. I think it’s just a trade off on how you want to spend your time. As shown above, there are other stunning beaches and sights that don’t have the limitations of Cala Coticcio.

Day Trip Boat Tour

On our final day in La Maddalena, we decided to do a 6-hour boat tour of some other islands in the La Maddalena Archipelago and we’re glad we did. Below are photos from our various stops during the boat tour. It was a perfect day.

Buddelli Island and Pools – Buddelli Island is known for its pink sand beach (above left – small photo), but you cannot access the beach directly, they are trying to preserve and rehabilitate the pink sand. However, we did jump off the boat and swim in what they call the “Buddelli Pools” nearby – beautiful protected water.

*Santa Maria Island (above), we stopped at this island and beach for about 90 minutes.*

Spargi Island (above and below), the beaches here were stunning. We were able to swim and lounge for about two hours.

Two more views of Spargi Island – with the wild boar terrorizing visitors on the left – we were warned to not bring food on the beach – the boar wandered around the beach area and were pretty aggressive in rummaging through beach bags! Another view of Spargi’s coves on the right – what a setting!

As with every other region of Sardinia, it would be easy to spend a week or more in these islands. The water was super clear, and the beaches were beautiful. If you go to Sardinia, don’t miss La Maddalena!

Costa Smeralda – One of Many Beautiful Regions of Sardinia

We started our Sardinia vacation by flying (from Frankfurt) into Olbia on the northeast coast of Sardinia. This was a great place to begin (and end) our Sardinian adventures. Olbia is ideally situated near the famous Costa Smeralda and the La Maddalena Archipelago, as well as other costal towns, archeological sites and beaches. (See here for an overview of regions we visited in Sardinia, we toured the island in a counter-clockwise route).

Olbia

While not a major tourist destination itself, Olbia has a lovely old town and is situated on a beautiful harbor. We spent our first night here, enjoying dinner in one of the many restaurants on the main pedestrian street and browsing the vendor booths lining the harbor promenade – a very festive atmosphere.

The next morning we drove north toward Porto Cervo, the heart of Costa Smeralda, stopping at beaches along the way. Our first day started out cool, windy and slightly rainy, but by the afternoon it was warm and sunny. The weather didn’t stop us from enjoying the sights along the coast and wasn’t a factor for the rest of our trip.

Costa Smeralda

Costa Smeralda got its name and started becoming fashionable in the early 1960’s, due to development efforts led by Prince Karim Aga Khan. It’s maintained that status ever since. Our stay here was brief, given the many areas of Sardinia we wanted to visit. Below are a few images of the beautiful coastline of this region.

*Spiaggia Principe, considered Sardinia’s most famous beach (although it’s only one of hundreds as beautiful), on Costa Esmarelda.*

*Porto Cervo, the center of Costa Smeralda, was pretty quiet in early October. We enjoyed walking around the harbor and the town, with many expensive shops.*

*The calm, clear waters of La Celvia Beach, south of Porto Cervo.*

*La Celvia beach (left and above), was just a short distance from our hotel in the Costa Smeralda resort area of Cala di Volpe (above right), and near a golf course as well as Capriccioli and Spiaggia* *Principe beaches. What more could you ask for!*

Although not directly part of Costa Smerelda, Spiaggia Cala Brandinchi, near San Teodoro, not far south of Olbia, is another great beach and park, with some lawn area just behind the beach for games or picnics. We were flying out of Sardinia shortly after our visit here and so we didn’t get to enjoy this beach for long!

*Real pink flamingoes near San Teodoro!*

As with any region of Sardinia, it would be easy to spend your whole vacation right in (or around) Costa Esmeralda. If you want to live here, be ready to open your checkbook. It’s one of the most expensive regions in Europe and given its allure, it’s easy to see why.

10 Surprising Things about Sardinia

As I have mentioned is previous posts, we LOVE the islands of the Mediterranean. They are some of my favorite destinations in world. After visiting Mallorca and Menorca (which belong to Spain), the next island on our list was Sardinia (part of Italy). We had been to Sardinia’s northern island neighbor, Corsica (part of France) years ago and from the beautiful southern coastal town of Bonafacio we could see Sardinia in the distance, only about 12 km (7.5 miles) away. We visited Sardinia in October, which is a great time to go – the water was still warm and the crowds were limited.

*This map of Sardinia shows the five main regions we visited in Sardinia.*

I will be sharing more posts on our Sardinian adventures soon, but first here are some things you may not know about about this beautiful island.

1. Sardinia is part of Italy

Although an autonomous region, Sardinia is definitely Italian. Some Americans have never heard of Sardinia and really have no idea that it’s part of Italy. The Sards have their own language but of course speak Italian, English, and other European languages quite fluently. It was easy for us to get by on English and a few Italian phrases. The food and gelato are wonderful, as in other regions of Italy.

2. Sardinia is big, and a relatively sparsely populated island

This is important to keep in mind when planning a trip – allow two or three weeks to see the whole island or if you have less time, perhaps concentrate your time in one region. Sardinia is the 2nd largest island in the Mediterranean (just slightly smaller than Sicily) but has just 1/3 of Sicily’s population. It is about 170 miles long and 90 miles wide. We covered a lot of ground in two weeks, but still did not see everything (see map above), including the southwest coast.

3. Sardinia boasts some of the most stunningly beautiful coastline (and water) in the world

*Cala Goloritze, Gulf of Orosei, accessible only by boat or a 3.5 km hike. The color of the water was the most incredible turquoise hue I’ve ever seen.*

Sardinia has an embarrassment of beaches – no matter where you are on the island, you’re close to some of the best beaches in the world. The Gulf of Orosei on the eastern side of the island has a breathtaking coast although it’s not easily accessible, except by boat or via some steep hiking trails.

4. There are hundreds of incredible beaches, many of which are undeveloped and uncrowded

*La Pelosa Beach, near Stintino, Sardinia. You must make a reservation for this beach if visiting during high season. It is worth the hassle (which is not a big deal nor expensive).*

Some beaches might have a refreshment stand, a few might be close to some resorts, but often there are no hotels or condos anywhere to be seen. Admittedly, there are (just a few) beaches that are so popular you must have reservations during the high season or can only be accessed with a guide, and there a few beaches that are not accessible at all – due to preservation efforts, speaking of which…

5. Sardinians take their beach sand seriously

From pink sand beaches to shiny quartz sand beaches to powdery white sand, the sand is beautiful everywhere. However, don’t even think about taking a sample home with you. You will be fined. You are also required to have mats underneath your beach towels so as to not inadvertently trap sand and take it home in your towels.

Spiaggia Rosa, on Budelli Island (near La Maddalena). You cannot set foot on this pink sand beach, they are protecting it for future generations. However you get a view of it from a boat tour, as in this photo.

*Example of the fine quartz sand and pebbles found in Sardinia.*

6. A car rental is essential

Unless you plan to go straight from the airport to a resort and straight back to the airport or plan on a tour by a group bus, a car is the only way to really see the island and reach some of the beaches and tourist sites. Some sights or hiking trails are remote. Since the island’s population is sparse, driving was not a problem – I did not feel rushed or on edge with crazy drivers pushing me to speed up or forcing me to get out of the way.

7. Sardinia offers something for everyone

Friendly, welcoming locals – check. Beautiful beaches – check. Warm, clear water – check and check. Charming medieval towns – check. Fascinating ancient historical sights – check. Remote mountains, rock climbing, forests and hiking trails – check, check, check and check. Diving – check. Excellent food – check. What more could a person want?

*A view of Alghero, on the northwest coast of Sardinia, a beautiful medieval town, one of our favorites on Sardinia.*

*Nurhage La Prisigona Historical Site (14th century BC), near Arzachena, Sardinia.*

8. Sardinia has its own island get-aways

As funny as it may sound, Sardinia can be considered a ‘mainland’ and just off its coast (such as the northeast coast) lie an archipelago of islands (the main island is La Maddalena – see map above) accessible by only ferry and smaller boat, some of which are part of a national park. These islands are home to some of the best beaches and best hikes anywhere in Sardinia.

*The island of Spargi, part of the La Maddalena Archipelago. We could have stayed here our whole trip!*

9. Sardinia is not just for the jet-setting crowd

In the 1960’s Coasta Esmeralda was popularized and has since become a jet-setting hotspot. This part of the northeast coast (near Olbia) certainly has some beautiful beaches and coastline. While you will find big yachts, high-end real estate, retail and eating establishments here, this is just one small enclave of the island. The rest of the island seems unfazed (and untouched) by the movie star and billionaire crowd.

*View of Porto Cervo, the center of Coasta Esmeralda.*

10. Go Now

Sardinia isn’t quite on the main tourist map yet, although posts like this don’t help! The majority of visitors are Italian (this is their backyard!), followed by French and Germans. On one of our boat tours, we were with some Swiss and Belgian tourists. We ran into a few tourists from the U.S., but not many. Very few tourists seem to explore the whole island, there are lots of “untouched” little mountain villages and quiet beaches to find solitude if that’s your thing.

*The cute little village of Gavoi in north central Sardinia.*

Word is getting out, so go now! Here’s one of my recommended websites for great information on Sardinia tourism. I read almost every post Claudia has written, very helpful. Of course, I will be publishing information on each region of Sardinia we visited over the course of the coming weeks.

Note: Featured image – Cala Marilou, Gulf of Orosei

Visiting Yosemite National Park – Some Images and Tips

As much as I’ve traveled within the U.S., once place I’d never visited until this year was Yosemite National Park in California. When we bought a camper van last year we put Yosemite on our list as one of the places we definitely wanted to visit. Yosemite is certainly one of the most stunningly beautiful places I have ever been, and the world knows it. You will find many Californians here (of course), plus people from around the world – we heard a lot of different languages being spoken on the trails and around the sights.

*Views of Yosemite National Park, entering the Valley from the west.*

Left-Bridalveil Fall. Right – El Capitan – it’s difficult to capture in an image the sheer size of this granite monolith! We thought of Alex Honnold and his unbelievable free solo climb here in 2017. You can hike to the top via a tough 16+ mile trail.

Yosemite Falls

*You can hike to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls if you don’t mind scrambling over big granite boulders – it was fun!*

*At the pool below Lower Yosemite Falls.*

*We hiked up to Columbia Rock, on the trail that leads to the top of Yosemite Falls. It was steep, so be prepared! A view of Half Dome in the distance.*

Merced River

Glacier Point Road

This 30 mile (or so) drive from Yosemite Valley is so worth it! The views from Glacier Point are awe-inspiring. If you plan ahead, you can get a tour shuttle up to the Point and take a steep one-way hike down to the Valley (about 4 miles). If I had been smart, we would have done this – the shuttle was already full when I called just a day or two in advance. There’s lots of parking at Glacier Point, but it does fill up – the good news is that people are coming and going all day long. There’s also a small gift shop and restrooms at the Point.

Views from Glacier Point – a great shot of Half Dome from here. If you really plan ahead and have the stamina, you can hike (about 8 miles) up to Half Dome and take the incredibly steep ladder/cable ascent to the top, we saw people at the top of Half Dome from Glacier Point. Permits are required. My nephew and his family did this just shortly after our visit.

From the Glacier Point road, you can take a hike (less than 2 miles) to Taft Point (highly recommended!) with another great view of western Yosemite Valley. Right image – that’s me out on the rock looking straight down 3,500 ft. to the Valley floor at Taft Point!

*This was the view (called Tunnel View) coming down from Glacier Point- every spot is a “Kodak Moment!”*

Mirror Lake

Tips for Camping In Yosemite

If you want to camp within Yosemite and especially within Yosemite Valley, you need to plan (way) ahead. We started looking at campgrounds in February for a July trip and learned there is a four month rolling reservation window, meaning we had to book our campsite in March for July dates. We wanted to be in the Yosemite Village area, right in the heart of Yosemite Valley for my first visit (my wife had visited Yosemite as a child with her parents on several occasions). We spent 3 nights/2 full days in the Park. This was long enough to give us a good introduction to Yosemite. If you wanted to hike a lot of trails and explore the far reaches of the Park, then you might want to spend a week here.

Camping in Yosemite Valley has its pluses and minuses. The main plus is that you are very close to the well-known Yosemite attractions, the main minus is the lack of solitude. Even if you book (on recreation.gov) at the right time and date (at 7 am Pacific exactly 4 months from the date of your planned visit) there is no guarantee you will get a camping spot, they fill up within seconds of being released. We were lucky and were able to get a spot in Upper Pines Campground, right next to the Merced River, almost directly below Half Dome and within minutes of many Valley attractions. I wish I had taken photos of the campground. Don’t expect privacy – the campgrounds are always full, the spots are close together with a few pine trees scattered about. Bear lockers are provided and essential. While the campgrounds have the standard restrooms and water spigots, I don’t believe any of the campgrounds have RV hookups (e.g., water, electricity, sewer), but they do have dump stations where you can take care of your RV’s needs. There are several small stores in the Valley where you can get supplies and snacks, and several restaurants as well.

In addition to typical tent/RV campgrounds, you will find other accommodation options in the Park – from luxurious lodges to cabins, established tent communities and prison-like bunks in semi-open cinder block structures that have a table and not much else (the least appealing option in my mind, these are located in Housekeeping Village).

*Some of the canvas tent accommodations available at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park.*

Since we were on an extended camping trip (having also visited Lake Tahoe and Sequoia National Park as part of the same trip), access to laundry and shower facilities was helpful, these can be found at Curry Village and Housekeeping Village.

Getting Around

Given the volume of traffic and day trippers into Yosemite, car parking can be a challenge. If you can, bring your bicycle and leave your car or truck at the campsite, bikes are a great way to get around Yosemite Valley, the Village and adjacent hiking trails. I was glad we brought our bikes. You can also rent bicycles there.

Other Tips

The roads in Yosemite National Park are narrow, steep and windy, so driving is slow–it’s a big Park, so plan your time accordingly. During the summer months, if you do not have a camping (or other accommodation) reservations inside the Park you will need a timed reservation just to enter the Park, even for a day visit. The lines to enter the Park on a summer morning can be long (miles long). We came in via the Big Oak Flat entrance on the western side of the Park in the afternoon and had no wait. We left via the southwest entrance (Wawona, near Fish Camp) and saw a very long line of cars waiting to enter the Park at around 9 am. There are public buses that come to Yosemite as well from neighboring towns, and this might be an option depending on how long you want to stay.

I know my comments above may scare you away from visiting Yosemite, but in spite of the crowds, it is definitely worth the effort, just plan ahead and figure out your best options.

Exploring Menorca’s Unique and Fun Coastal Towns

In addition to beautiful beaches, Menorca, Spain has some interesting and scenic towns to explore. During our short visit, we mixed in visits to the island’s towns, historic sites and beaches. The island is small and it only takes about 45 minutes by car to get from one end of the island to the other. Since the island is not large, any of these towns would be a good “home base” during your stay in Menorca. We decided to say in Cala Galdana, more of a resort area for our first time in Menorca which was also a good choice.

*Map showing the relative locations of the major towns in Mencorca.*

Ciutadella de Menorca

Ciutadella is located on the western end of Menorca and was a busier town than Mahón (discussed below), although that may have been due to the time of day we visited (early evening). Ciutadella is home to the main ferry route connecting Menorca to Mallorca. The town is ancient, dating back to the Carthaginians (~300 BC), and has a long (and at times sad) history, particularly in the 1500’s when the town came under siege by the Turks, who took the survivors and sold them into slavery in Constantinople (Istanbul).

*This windmill stands out as a primary landmark as you enter Ciutadella.*

*Street scenes in Ciutadella. There are some lovely pedestrian arcaded streets and shops and interesting architecture to be admired in Ciutadella.*

*We enjoyed a great tapas meal in Ciutadella!*

Mahón (or Maó)

Mahón is the largest town in Menorca and the island’s capital, located on the eastern edge of the island. It’s also the location of the island’s airport if you fly here. The town is quite pretty, with a lovely setting and harbor. There are some rumors that the word mayonnaise originated here! We found the town to be pretty quiet, with few tourists wandering about. Numerous boat tours are available from Mahón and perhaps most tourists were out for the day.

We had fun wandering the streets along the harbor and admiring the yachts at berth and enjoying some great gelato! Nearby are a number of prehistoric sites that may be visited.

Binibeca (or Binibeca Vell)

Binibeca is a white town on Menorca’s southeast shore that is relatively new but looks like an old fishing village! It reminded me a bit of the Greek islands. It certainly makes for a postcard view. The town was built in 1968, and is in a great location – close to Mahón and yet it feels somewhat remote. The area near Binibeca is a growing tourist spot, with many small hotels/resorts and homes popping up nearby in the years since the village was built. In addition, there are numerous beaches and coves within a short distance if you want to enjoy the warm clear water.

*View of Binebeca and its small harbor.*

*Views of Binibeca. It would be hard to find a more uniform-looking town anywhere in Europe!*

*A short walk from Binibeca will take you to some amazing coves and clear water – inviting you to stay and take a dip! We came back on another day and took advantage of these clear, warm waters.*

Fornells

Fornells is the only major town on Menorca’s north shore and would make a great home base for visiting Menorca, if you want to enjoy a quieter experience and slower pace. Unlike Binibeca, this is an authentic fishing village and it’s known for its great seafood restaurants.

*Residences and vacation homes near Fornells on Menorca’s north shore – this area had a “California coast” feel.*

*One doesn’t have to go far from Fornells to find a great beach – Cala Tirant is just a couple kilometers as the crow files from Fornells, or an 8 km (4.5 mile) drive.*

Aosta Valley – The Mighty Bard Fortress

One of the great attractions in the Aosta Valley, Italy (see my overview of Aosta Valley here) is Bard Fortress. Named for the lords of Bard, it is a massive, stern-looking fortress complex sitting atop of a rocky outcropping in the narrow Aosta Valley along side the Dora Baltea river. It demands attention as you drive by.

The Bard Fortress complex. You take a series of trams to the top, known as Opera Carlo Alberto Headquarters, which in its military capacity housed a church, hospital, barracks and storage rooms.

Taking a tram up to the fortress – it’s worth the ride just for the views.

The fortress is built right on top of the rock – it must have taken some effort to get the foundation secured!

This strategic spot has been a defensive outpost since the 5th century CE and Bard Fortress sits atop ruins of past castles. It was a perfect place to control traffic passing through the Valley from Switzerland or France into Italy. There have been numerous conflicts here over the centuries ranging from the Goths and Burgunds, to the Lombards and Franks trying to seize control of this route and territory.

The fortress commands an impressive view of the Aosta Valley, this view is looking north.

Control of the passes through the Alps was critical to protecting pilgrims working their way south to Rome and the passage of goods flowing from southern to northern Europe as well as marking geographic boundaries for numerous kingdoms.

Napoleon, who became Emperor of France and conqueror of most of Europe, laid siege to the Fort on the 19th of May, 1800. Four hundred soldiers at the fort held back his army of 40,000 for nearly two weeks.

Covered passageway in the fortress to move soldiers and goods from one level to the next.

It wasn’t until Napoleon was able to get a 12 inch cannon blasting away on the 29th of May that the fort finally was destroyed and the small defending force surrendered on June 1st, a few days later. The fortress was rebuilt in 1830.

Some of the prison cells located in Bard Fortress.

Thousands were imprisoned here at Bard Fortress in World War I. More recently it was used as a movie set in Marvel’s Avengers – Age of Ultron and the buildings now house exhibits, museums and music performances throughout the year.

A sign commemorating Bard Fortress as a movie set location.

Bard Medieval Village

As interesting as the Fortress is, the little medieval village (Bard village) nestled below it is fun to explore too – many of the buildings date back to the 14th century and have signs providing historical information.

A street in Bard Village.

An old stairway in Bard Village.

Pockmarks remain from past battles in the streets of Bard Village.

Remnants of 14th century decorative paintings on a building in Bard Village.

One more street scene in Bard Village.

Bard Fortress and the medieval village should be on your list if you visit the Aosta Valley!

Portovenere – An Unexpected Bonus near the Cinque Terre

After a sunny picture-perfect first day, the weather turned a bit stormy during our 2nd day in the Cinque Terre. Since it wasn’t a good beach day, we decided we would visit the other Cinque Terre towns. Luckily, the weather was not so bad that the boat couldn’t run its route. As I mentioned in my previous post on the Cinque Terre, the small ferry boat is a great way to see four of the five Cinque Terre towns, and it includes a wonderful ‘bonus’ stop at the southern end of the route.

We purchased our tickets, got a copy of the schedule for timing our stops and hopped on the boat in Monterosso. We decided to go all the way to the end of the route first and work our way back, stopping in the towns we hadn’t visited yet on the return trip. The woman who sold us the tickets explained the ferry’s route and told us that Portovenere (the last stop) was quite a beautiful town, even though it’s not officially part of the Cinque Terre. She wasn’t joking. Portovenere (also spelled Porto Venere) became one of my favorite spots in this part of Italy. (You can also hike to Portovenere from Riomaggiore, the nearest Cinque Terre town, in about 2 hours).

The travel writer Rick Steves calls Portovenere “enchanting” and I would say that’s an accurate description. I was stunned with our first view of Porto Venere, an old medieval church perched on a rocky outcropping guarding the harbor entrance.

Church of Saint Peter, Porto Venere, Italy

Arriving by sea from the Cinque Terre, the 13th century Church of Saint Peter (La Chiesa di San Pietro) is your first sight.

As we cruised further into the harbor, I could also see remnants of a castle fortress on the hill behind the town and an old wall with towers extending down the hill to the harbor. We hopped off the boat and wandered the town for a couple hours, which gave us time to visit the Church of Saint Peter, Castle Doria and explore a few of the old town streets.

A view of Portovenere from the inner harbor.

Portovenere was purchased by the city-state of Genoa in 1116, which ruled this part of the Italian peninsula and was a rival of Pisa [which is about 92 km (57 miles) further south with its famous Leaning Tower], and other Italian states at the time.

Walking up the rocking outcropping to the Church of Saint Peter.

Interior of the Church of Saint Peter, which is actually two churches – the older part dates from the 9th century and the “newer” church (above) is 13th century, from the Genoese era.

A view of the rugged coastline, cliffs and Castle Doria, taken near the Church of Saint Peter.

Taking the stairs up into Castle Doria. There is not too much of the castle itself remaining, but the views of the surrounding area from the grounds are remarkable.

A view of the castle grounds with the Church of Saint Peter in the distance. The castle was rebuilt in the 16th century as a coastal fortress.

I love this view of the Church of Saint Peter with an old castle window in the foreground.

Looking down on Portovenere’s harbor and the walls extending from the Castle, with the old town directly below.

After enjoying the great views from the castle grounds, we meandered through the old town on our way back down to the harbor. The Genoese left their mark on the town, including two churches from the 13th and 12th centuries, San Pietro (Saint Peter) and San Lorenzo.

Church of San Lorenzo, Porto Venere, Italy

The 12th century Church of San Lorenzo, another Genoese contribution to Portovenere. Over the main doorway (a little hard to see) is a sculpture of the martyrdom of San Lorenzo who was roasted alive on a grill. Yikes.

A view of a residential area near the Church of San Lorenzo.

A focacceria with some yummy pastries and pizza and a window covering made out pasta! I wonder how the pasta holds up in a heavy rain?

A light rain doesn’t deter tourists and shoppers in the old streets of Portovenere.

A typical street scene in old town Portovenere, looking toward the medieval gate.

Just outside the walled portion of Portovenere.

I always love exploring new places and Portovenere didn’t disappoint. If you get to Cinque Terre, be sure to visit this great town too!

Some Tips for Visiting Cinque Terre

Let’s state the obvious…the word on Cinque Terre is out. Many years ago this little corner of Italy would have been a unique find – five colorful quaint villages hugging the coast overlooking the clear turquoise waters of the Ligurian Sea, all connected by hiking trails. While all of the above still holds true, just be prepared to share this “secret” with thousands of your closest friends. We were there in May and it was pretty busy. I cannot imagine what it would be like in July and August, when many Europeans take their holidays. Since the towns are small, there are not many hotel or B&B rooms available (and there’s really no place to build more) and hence why the rates are rising and more people are visiting Cinque Terre as a day trip from either the north (Levanto) or the south (La Spezia). We’ll share a few tips for your visit in this post.

What to Do

Because the towns are small, the main attraction are the towns themselves. Things to do in each are similar: exploring the little streets and alleyways, the town squares and shops, people watching (you will find tourists from all over the world), taking a peek in a few old churches or other buildings, sunbathing, eating wonderful food and gelato, and of course enjoying the local (white) wines. This area has been a wine producing region since Roman times.

All kinds of interesting pastas were available at a shop in Manarola.

Here is a little bit about each of the five towns, from north to south.

Monterosso al Mare

This is where we stayed and it was a good choice for us. It is the largest of the five towns and has the most hotel rooms, the best and biggest sandy beaches with easy access, including parking. We were able to drive our rental car down into the town since we had a confirmed hotel reservation and the hotel had a tiny car park garage a short walk away (see more info below on transportation).

The beaches of Monterosso. The newer part of town is just in the distance.

There is a newer part of Monterosso (the north section, where our hotel was) and the older part (southern section) with more typical old world European ambience, separated from each other by a rocky point with a pedestrian tunnel (or you can hike up and around the point). Since we were only staying a couple nights the new section was fine for us and the hotel was very comfortable.

A view of the rocky point that separates old Monterosso (show here) from the newer town (behind the point). An old convent sits above the town.

Street scene in old town Monterosso.

A view along the trail between Monterosso and Vernazza. The hike took about 1.5 hours with lots of stops for photos (and to catch my breath). This is probably the most popular section of the trail between the towns. The trail had a lot of up and down sections, so be prepared to burn some calories. Please note that a Parco Nationale della Cinque Terre pass is required to hike the trail. Better to pay the €7 fee than to pay a fine if caught without the Pass. There is a little booth right by the trail a short distance south of Monterosso to get your ticket and there are probably other locations on the trail or in the towns too.

Vernazza

Perhaps the most scenic village (a very difficult call), with a little castle and tower overlooking the bay and the town center. Vernazza is probably the second most popular location for staying in the Cinque Terre.

A view of Vernazza from the trail leading north to Monterosso.

A view of the little beach in Vernazza.

A view of Vernazza from Castle Doria.

Inside the church in Vernazza, which dates from 1318.

An alleyway in Vernazza, with a cat checking things out!

Corniglia

We did not visit this town since it is more difficult to access (there is no boat connection) and my guess is for that reason it is the quietest of the five towns.

A view of Corniglia.

With more time, we would have hiked to the Corniglia from Vernazza. You can also hike to other locations from Corniglia via a higher trail that connects town above the Cinque Terre. Because it is a bit more remote, Corniglia attracts more backpacker tourists.

Manarola

The best views of Manarola are from the northern side of the tiny bay, from a little park that overlooks the town and bay (Punta Bonfiglio).

A view of Manarola from Punta Bonfiglio.

A view of Manarola from the upper town looking towards the harbor.

Boats are parked like cars in Manarola.

I believe that the trail along the coast between Manarola and Corniglia is closed, as is the section between Manarola and Riomaggiore. This is a real bummer since the hike in both directions from Manarola would be pretty easy. The closures are due to slides and unsafe trail conditions. It is not clear when or if these trails will reopen.

Riomaggiore

Probably the third prettiest town after Vernazza, once again a very tough call. I thought the little harbor was so unique and scenic.

Another view of Riomaggiore from an upper street.

Stairway in Riomaggiore.

Some Practical Advice about Transportation
There are three ways to get from town to town: 1) a “hop on, hop off” type of boat service, which I heartily recommend; 2) train service, which is fast, crowded, somewhat pricey and less scenic; 3) taking a hike between the towns (note the trail closures mentioned above). Hiking a least one section of the trail should be on your list of “to-do’s”.

A view of the passenger unloading process at Manarola.

Cars are worthless here. The roads are extremely narrow, steep and curvy down into the towns. There is almost no place to park, and you will probably be stopped on the road above each town, with the police telling you not to attempt the drive down. Check with your hotel or B&B beforehand on what to do if you are traveling by car. The boat service allowed us to “hop on and hop off” all day long, and provides great views of the coastline along the way. Keep in mind that the boat service will not be operational in the winter. Also, the boat does not stop at Corniglia since there is no dock access. Keep your boat ticket in a safe place! We used the train once from Vernazza back to Monterosso. It is busy and is the main transportation method between the five towns and into and out of the Cinque Terre. In some cases you’ll have to hike a bit from the train stations into the towns – there is only so much room. It must have been a huge job to build the train tracks through these rugged hills and coastline.

The boat service did provide a ‘bonus’ stop (probably my favorite place in this region) that I will discuss in my next Italy post!