When our niece invited us to her wedding in Italy, I had to ask her several times for the name of the city where she would be married. I knew it was in the Tuscan region, but it was not one of the expected destinations most Americans want to visit and I had a difficult time remembering it’s name. Her dates coordinated well with a river cruise in France we had to cancel in 2022, so we opted to combine the 2 trips – our anniversary cruise and her wedding. (our cruise is shared in this blog LINK)
When looking at ways to get from Arles, where our cruise ended, the wedding destination – Montepulciano, it was not as simple as I had hoped. Our options were to fly with connections; take a train with multiple changes; or drive along the French and Italian riviera coast over to Montepulciano. When faced with the options, we decided to drive as it was an area of France and Italy we had never seen and we were comfortable driving in Europe having lived and travelled there for 7 years. Driving in Italy is not for the faint of heart, and I do not recommend it. I’m also very thankful my husband is not faint of heart and did ALL the driving.
We chose Rapallo as our midpoint stop and spent 2 nights there. Rapallo is on the Ligurian Sea Coast between Portofino and Chiavari, southeast of Genoa. It was a surprising mix of urban activity and seaside town charm. Traffic was quite heavy in town with multitudes of people going about their business. Even in the inclement weather, the promenade was a delightful place to walk along or sit on a bench and people watch with its views of the water, the boats and the castle. There was no shortage of cafes and restaurants for indulging in delicious Italian fare, and there was ample shopping and some pedestrian zones to stroll.
Our LODGINGS:
We stayed at the Best Western Plus Tigullio Royal Hotel which was perfectly located on the corner across the street from the Promenade. We booked a Sea View Balcony room which put us in one of the updated rooms. We did have a sea view – to the left – and a city view to the right. The balcony was small and had no seating, I would have liked to see a little bistro table and chairs out there, but with the cold temperatures during our visit we would not have been able to enjoy it anyway.
Best Western Plus Tigullio Royal Hotel
The FOOD:
We thoroughly enjoyed the food while there. The breakfast spread at the hotel was amazing with a wonderful selection of baked goods (including gluten free), meats, yogurts, eggs, fruits and nuts and great coffee options. An Italian cappuccino is always wonderful day to start the day.
Breakfast spread of baked goods
Proteins and fruits portion of the breakfast spread
We asked at the front desk of the hotel for the best restaurants where the locals liked to eat. We were not disappointed. On the first night, we shared pizza and a salad. We ordered a pizza with a local flare – walnut smoked scamorza cheese. Delicious!
Marco Pizza – Ristorante Pizzeria Vesuvio
For our second dinner we went to a finer dining establishment, Hostaria Vecchia Rappallo, which was less than a 2 minute walk from our hotel. I have to say, I think it was the best meal we had in Italy. Again we looked for local specialties. We shared the pear ravioli with cheese and a balsamic glaze,
Pear Ravioli
the pansoti with walnut sauce,
Pansotti
and some grilled vegetables.
Grilled Vegetables
We finished the meal with the best tiramisu of the trip (and we had several!)
Tiramisu
The ACTIVITIES
The weather was unseasonably cold and windy while we were there so we abandoned our plans to ferry to Portofino for the day and just strolled the streets, shopped, ate and enjoyed the promenade. A castle tour was available in the late afternoon but we did not go in. Just enjoyed it in our view along The Promenade.
Castello sul Mare
We also took the Funivia (cable car) up the mountain to see the views
View from Cable Car coming back down
and the Santuario Basilica. 
It was an overcast day, but even so the view was spectacular up there.
View from the top
We also enjoyed some pastries and espresso on a terrace.
Others were more adventurous and brought the bikes to ride back down the mountain.
I was glad I overcame my fear of cable cars and made the journey!
Our last evening was spent at the rooftop bar on our hotel – Royal 8ight Sky Bar. We had exceptional service and spectacular views. The bar has a $15 minimum for patrons who are not guests at the hotel. This is the price for most cocktails, which also come with some snacks so its a good value. As hotel guests, we had no minimum.
Royal 8ight sky bar
Royal 8eight Sky bar view
Getting There
As mentioned above, we drove. Once there we valet parked our car and never took it out again until it was time to head to Montepulciano and meet up with my family. However, for those not wanting to drive, Rapallo has a train station near the promenade where all the action is. We saw many guests, rolling their suitcases along the cobblestones en route to their hotels.
Rapallo is not a place that I would have known I wanted to see, as its not as well known as other Italian destinations, but I’m really glad we found it!