Where to stay in Portoferraio: the gateway to Elba

For most visitors, Portoferraio is the first contact with Elba Island: this is where ferries from Piombino dock, and where Cosimo I de' Medici refounded a fortified city in 1548 that he symbolically named Cosmopoli. The walls and forts built to defend it — Forte Stella, Forte Falcone and the Linguella — withstood Franco-Turkish assaults in 1553 and 1555, and remain the old town's defining feature today, along with its pink stone streets laid down in the 1700s.

Anyone looking for a place to stay in Portoferraio has essentially two options: stay within the fortified old town, convenient for walking among the alleys and the harbour but livelier at night, or head for the coastal hamlets stretching along the shore — Biodola, San Giovanni, Magazzini and Bagnaia to the east, Viticcio and Scaglieri to the west — better suited to those who want the beach on their doorstep and don't mind having a car to get around.

From Portoferraio it's easy to visit the Napoleonic residences, the Palazzina dei Mulini and Villa San Martino, both now museums, as well as the remains of Roman villas and Etruscan settlements scattered nearby.

Being the island's main port, Portoferraio is also its busiest spot on ferry arrival/departure days: anyone wanting to avoid the crowds can plan their arrival outside peak hours or choose to spend the first night right here before moving on to quieter parts of Elba.

Getting there

Portoferraio is reached by ferry from Piombino (about an hour's crossing); once on the island, it's the main road hub from which every route to the rest of Elba branches off.