Elevation
Balcony towns: high villages above the Ligurian sea
Ten villages: what each is best for, what a home costs, and the catch. A square meter runs from €475 in Sassello to €2,400 in Seborga.
Ligurian comuni that sit at 250 meters or more, a coastline looked at from above. 10 towns shown, highest first.
Table no. 21 · Ranked by m · 10 towns
Liguria is famous horizontally, for the five towns at sea level that absorb the region's entire tourist load. Vertically it is a different country: villages at two hundred and fifty meters and up, hung above the coast in the terraced hills.
From these towns the sea is a view rather than a beach, which is why nobody queues for them. Highest first.
- 1.Santo Stefano d'Aveto1,012 mGenova · LiguriaBest for a ski week. There is a mapped ski area in the comune.1 h 21 min from Genoa · homes €920 to €1,350 a m² in the center · 983 peopleLiguria's highest commune, set in the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines with a Malaspina-Doria castle and the region's only ski resort.The catch: The nearest hospital is 27 km away, in Rapallo.
- 2.Triora776 mImperia · LiguriaBest for a ski week. There is a mapped ski area in the comune.2 h 28 min from Genoa · homes €670 to €900 a m² in the center · 389 people
- 3.Perinaldo572 mImperia · LiguriaBest for olive oil. It belongs to the national association of olive oil towns.2 h 12 min from Genoa · homes €1,050 to €1,550 a m² in the center · 789 people
- 4.Seborga517 mImperia · LiguriaBest for a small town. 284 people live here.2 h from Genoa · homes €1,650 to €2,400 a m² in the center · 284 people
- 5.Millesimo429 mSavona · LiguriaBest for truffle season. It belongs to the national association of truffle towns.1 h 13 min from Genoa · homes €670 to €1,000 a m² in the center · 3,335 people
- 6.Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena420 mSavona · LiguriaBest for a small town. 126 people live here.1 h 33 min from Genoa · homes €710 to €1,050 a m² · 126 peopleThe catch: It has lost 20% of its people since 2015.
- 7.Sassello381 mSavona · LiguriaBest for a slow weekend. The Touring Club gives it its orange flag for small inland towns.1 h 12 min from Genoa · homes €475 to €850 a m² · 1,688 people
- 8.Ceriana369 mImperia · LiguriaBest for olive oil. It belongs to the national association of olive oil towns.2 h 1 min from Genoa · homes €900 to €1,350 a m² in the center · 1,090 people
- 9.Varese Ligure358 mLa Spezia · LiguriaBest for a walk through the old town. It is on the list of Italy's most beautiful villages.1 h 10 min from Genoa · homes €950 to €1,400 a m² in the center · 1,746 people
- 10.Campo Ligure342 mGenova · LiguriaBest for a trip without a car. The train stops in the commune.41 min from Genoa · homes €680 to €1,000 a m² in the center · 2,796 people
TEN OF THE TOP TEN ARE IN LIGURIA
We write letters from the Italian towns we visit: the town, what is worth eating there, and when to turn up. It is free, and you can leave whenever you like.
