Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on your terrace; rooms 5, 6, and 9 share the same stupendous views but with win-
dows at waist height).
€€
Running to the east along the ridge are also a few B&Bs worth looking
into:
Ca'del Michelè
(
%
0187-760552; www.cadelmichele.com; four rooms, two
with sea view)
and
Il Vigneto
(
%
0187-762173, ask for Patrizia; www.ilvigneto5
terre.com; 6 rooms, 2 with sea views; lovely roof terrace).
Rooms at both prop-
erties run about
70.
Hotels & Rooms in Corniglia
€€
Corniglia has only one hotel, and it's among the most authentic and
inexpensive options in the region: The
Cecio
€
60 to
€
(Via Serra, 58;
%
0187-
812043; simopank@libero.it)
is small (only eight rooms), family-owned, and very
laid-back—when you book, ask to speak to manager (and self-proclaimed
tiramisu maestro) Giacinto, the only one with a reasonable command of English
(you can also call him on his cellphone:
%
3343-506637). For the best views,
book room 3 (a great corner room), 2, 4, or 5; these will run you a mere
€
60 for
two people. There is a restaurant downstairs and you can picnic on the rooftop.
55
(Via Fieschi, 110;
%
3498-459684; www.eterasse.it)
is the
classiest of the
affittacamere
(rooms for rent), not least because the two en suite
rooms (double
€
90) open onto the most charming terraced garden (shared with
an upstairs two-bedroom apartment), shaded with lemon and olive trees bedecked
in candles and colored baubles.
5
La Terrazze
€€
€€
-
€€€
The best restaurant in the village is
Mananan
(Via Fieschi, 117;
%
0187-821166).
Owned by Agostino Galletti (who makes a most sublime
ricotta and herb ravioli, topped with a walnut sauce), this authentic trattoria is
housed in a charming 18th-century wine cellar. It's best to call ahead because
Agostino only opens when he's feeling up to it (if you're stuck, the Cecio, just out-
side the historical heart, serves a rather good pesto). Prices vary greatly, but you
can get a
primo
here for about
€
15.
Be Aware of the Seasons
Peak season runs from mid-June to August, when the villages are packed
with Italian families taking their annual holiday, and continues full steam
into September, when hikers arrive in droves, and the harvesting of grapes
begins. Crowds are particularly evident on weekends, when day-trippers
arrive from the landlocked hinterland. Easter and May are also busy times,
but you're more likely to negotiate a discount then—at the very least,
hoteliers are refreshed and ready to face the season with a friendlier face
than at the tail end of an exhausting September. Many businesses close
from November to March; others offer up to 50% discount on lodgings and
the like.