Camogli and Boccadasse: two fishing harbours where Genoa slows down
Camogli and Boccadasse: two fishing harbours near Genoa, with pastel houses and beached boats, to experience authentic Liguria without the crush.
Hayden Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There are corners of Liguria that the crowds have learned to skip, drawn elsewhere by the deafening fame of the Cinque Terre. Camogli and Boccadasse are two of them. The first is a village in its own right, a few kilometres east of Genoa; the second is almost a secret hidden inside the city, a scrap of fishermen's houses swallowed up by the urban fabric. Both preserve the same soul: boats hauled up onto the gravel, façades painted pink, ochre and terracotta, nets spread out to dry.
Camogli stretches along a seafront promenade dominated by tall, narrow houses, built that way to leave room for the boats. The name, they say, evokes the "houses of the wives" who stayed behind to wait for their seafaring husbands. It's worth getting lost in the caruggi that climb steeply behind the little harbour, where the noise of traffic disappears and all that remains is hanging washing and the scent of focaccia. From here the trails set off towards San Fruttuoso and the Portofino promontory, also reachable by sea.
Boccadasse, on the other hand, is discovered almost by chance coming down from Corso Italia, at Genoa's eastern edge. A tiny pebble beach, a few boats, historic gelaterie and little stairways that thread between the houses. At sunset the light sets the façades aglow and the village fills with Genoese rather than tourists: it's still a lived-in place, not a postcard.
The best way to visit them is on foot and at a leisurely pace, reaching them by train or bus rather than by car, where parking is a struggle. Choose a weekday morning out of season, order a focaccia with cheese, sit down on the quay and let the sea and its slow rhythm tell you the story of Liguria.
Related guides: Instead of the Cinque Terre: colourful Ligurian villages without the crush · Little-known seaside and lakeside villages of Italy.
Getting there
Camogli has its own railway station on the coastal line, well served by regional trains from Genoa (Brignole and Piazza Principe): it's the most practical way to get there. By car, take the Recco exit on the A12, a few kilometres from the village. Boccadasse, on the other hand, lies within Genoa, in the Albaro district, and is reached by bus or on foot along the coast. The nearest airport is Genoa's Cristoforo Colombo.
Practical guides
Practical info
When is the best time to visit Camogli and Boccadasse?
The recommended time is March, April, May, October and November, when it is less crowded.
Is Camogli and Boccadasse crowded?
Camogli and Boccadasse is a not very crowded destination compared with the more touristy ones.
Where is Camogli and Boccadasse?
Camogli and Boccadasse is located in Genoa, Italy.
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How to get there
- 🚆 Nearest station: Camogli ~0 km as the crow flies
- ✈️ Nearest airport: Aeroporto Internazionale di Genova - Cristoforo Colombo GOA ~26 km as the crow flies
Nearest points as the crow flies (source OpenStreetMap): actual times depend on the roads, often mountain ones.
