After the Portofino Marathon: Camogli

The Route: Santa Margherita Ligure → Camogli → (Recco) → Santa Margherita Ligure Logistics: On the coast line towards Genoa, a short ride from the finish town. Check Sunday and Monday regional train times on the Trenitalia site, because the frequency drops outside the working week. Marathon Month: January Duration: Day trip

Santa Margherita ──(train, about 15-20 mins)──> Camogli station
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                       downhill on steps or the road to the seafront
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                              Castel Dragone and the Basilica
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                      optional: one stop on to Recco for focaccia

Camogli looks like a theatre set that someone has left out in the weather. The houses along the front rise six and seven storeys, painted in ochre and rust and faded pink, with shutters and cornices drawn on in paint where there is no plaster. The usual local explanation is that the painted detail made a modest house look richer. The beach below is pebble, steep and loud when the swell comes in.

The town is small and the front is flat, which suits the Monday after a marathon. The one difficulty is the approach. The railway station sits above the town, and the way down is a flight of steps or a longer road. Going down is the stage where quads complain most, so take the road, hold the rail on the steps if you must, and save the climb back for the end of the day when you have eaten.

January in Camogli: the season is closed. Beach clubs are shuttered, a few restaurants take a winter break, and the sea can be grey and rough. On a clear day the light is low and sharp, and the painted fronts glow when the sun is on them. Pack a windproof layer for the breakwater.

Getting there

Trains run along the coast between Genoa and La Spezia, and Camogli is a stop on the line, the next stop on from Santa Margherita towards Genoa, a few minutes by train. Journey time is short. Buy a regional ticket at the station or on the Trenitalia app, and validate a paper ticket before boarding if the machine asks for it. Check the current timetable and the last train back before you leave.

The seafront and the castle

Walk the front from the harbour to the Castel Dragone, a stubby fortress on a rock beside the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta. The distance is short and almost entirely flat. The basilica faces the water, and its interior is painted in the same extravagant style as the houses outside. Opening hours for the basilica change, so check before you plan around it.

At the end of the front a covered passage leads onto the harbour mole, where fishing boats sit with their nets heaped on the quay. The old fleet has shrunk, but Camogli is still known as a fishing port, and there are fish on the stalls most mornings.

Boat to San Fruttuoso

In summer boats run from Camogli to the abbey of San Fruttuoso, a small medieval abbey on a cove that cannot be reached by road. Winter services are limited, and sea conditions cancel sailings. Ask at the ticket kiosk on the front, or check the operator's website the day before. If the boat is not running, do not walk it: the path over the Portofino promontory is long and steep, and legs after a marathon will not like it.

Lunch and focaccia

Recco, the next station towards Genoa, is the home of focaccia di Recco, two sheets of paper-thin dough sealed around fresh cheese and baked until the edges blister. It is not the thick, oily focaccia you will find in bakeries elsewhere. If you want it, take the train one stop and eat at a place that makes it to order. Check opening days before you go, because some close on Mondays or Tuesdays in winter.

In Camogli itself, look for a trattoria on the harbour side street that serves fried anchovies, trofie with pesto and a fish stew when the boats have been out. Ask what came in that morning.

Getting back