Liguria · La Spezia
Levanto
The sixth Cinque Terre, a beach town and Cittaslow at the gateway of the national park, with a surf break and a striped Gothic church.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Levanto is on our list
It holds Cittaslow, Bandiera Blu and Bandiera Lilla.
The nearest town with a letter is Monterosso al Mare, No. 54, 12 min by car.
Subscribe and you get Levanto's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 12 min from Genoa
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 5,050
- J12°
- F13°
- M15°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Levanto sits at sea level on the Ligurian coast, twenty kilometers northwest of La Spezia, on the western edge of the Cinque Terre National Park, which takes in part of its territory. The Cinque Terre Express train stops here every half hour on its way to the five villages, but Levanto has the things they do not: a long sand-and-gravel beach with Bandiera Blu status, a flat centro storico, and a surf break that local guides classify as one of the few big-wave spots in Italy. The Chiesa di Sant'Andrea, built in 1222, fronts the old town with horizontal bands of white marble and dark green serpentine and a large rose window.
Casa Restani, on Via Grillo, is a surviving medieval merchant house with the ground floor where goods from the harbor were stored. Levanto holds Cittaslow, Bandiera Blu, Parco Nazionale, and Città dell'Olio at once.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 21 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 1 h 35 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 1 h 26 min or Parma 1 h 56 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Genoa, Pisa or Florence?
Coming by train into Genova Piazza Principe? Levanto is about 1 h 18 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Genoa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Parish church built in 1222 in Ligurian Gothic style, with horizontal bands of white marble and green serpentine and a large rose window over the main door.
Castello di Levanto
Thirteenth-century defensive castle on the hillside, still intact but privately owned and closed to the public.
Loggia Comunale
Thirteenth-century arcaded loggia on the main piazza, awarded a UNESCO title in 2007 as a monument of culture and peace.
Casa Restani
Medieval merchant house on Via Grillo with the ground floor still showing the warehouse layout where goods unloaded at the harbor were stored.
Spiaggia di Levanto
Long sand-and-gravel beach with Bandiera Blu status, one of the only big-wave surf spots on the Italian coast.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
La Sosta di Ottone IIIRistorante
La Sosta di Ottone III carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Levanto meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 5,050 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- La Spezia, a city of 92,706, is 43 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 5,050, down 8.5% since 2015
- Nearest city La Spezia, 43 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital La Spezia, 18 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €3,100 to €4,400 per m² to buy, €8.00 to €11.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 65% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Genoa airport (GOA), 1 h 21 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 12 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Egypt and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 37 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany and the Netherlands. There are 334 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 53% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. La Spezia province ranks 42nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in La Spezia, 18 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Genoa, 65 km away. The nearest IB school is The International School in Genoa, 55 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Liguria spends about €2,230 a month, €490 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €552 a year for water, on the Liguria average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 5% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 35% in a high or medium one. 9% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
SURF BREAK
Gulf of Levanto classified as a big-wave spot with conditions that can exceed three meters, one of the only such breaks in Italy.
STRIPED CHURCH
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea, 1222, the Ligurian Gothic façade of white marble and green serpentine bands that defines the centro storico.
GATEWAY TO CINQUE TERRE
Westernmost stop on the Cinque Terre Express, the half-hourly train that connects to Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore.
Common questions
- What is Levanto known for?
- Levanto is the sixth Cinque Terre, a beach town and Cittaslow at the gateway of the national park, with a surf break and a striped Gothic church.
- Where is Levanto?
- Levanto is a comune in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria, at 5 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Levanto?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Genoa (GOA), about 1 h 21 min by car.
- Can you get to Levanto without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Levanto?
- About 1 h 26 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Levanto?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Levanto?
- Bogliasco, Celle Ligure and Camogli.
- How many people live in Levanto?
- 5,050 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Levanto a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Levanto is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, La Spezia, is 43 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in La Spezia, 18 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 65% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 5 m
- Population: 5,050
- Surface area: 36.81 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Levanto appears in
- The 6 best olive oil towns within 90 minutes of GenoaNear Genoaolive oilwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 1,067 residents · closest 32 min away
- The best hidden coastal towns in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provincecoastalhidden6 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The 7 best towns you can reach by train in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provinceby train7 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The best olive oil towns you can reach by train in LiguriaLiguriaolive oilby train7 towns · smallest 5,050 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provinceserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The best olive oil towns that eat well in LiguriaLiguriaolive oileats well8 towns · smallest 1,087 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 54.
Monterosso al Mare
Province: La Spezia
The westernmost and largest of the five villages, where Eugenio Montale spent the childhood summers that became Ossi di seppia in 1925.
12 min by car
- Written about. No. 55.
Riomaggiore
Province: La Spezia
The easternmost of the five villages, 1,287 people stacked above a fishing inlet, terraced vineyards climbing 250 meters straight off the sea.
13 km away
- Written about. No. 57.
Brugnato
Province: La Spezia
The medieval ecclesiastical capital of an inland Ligurian valley, seat of a diocese from 1133 to 1820, with a co-cathedral built over a Columban monastery.
26 min by car
Our guide
Levanto is in our Riviera di Levante guide
Riviera di Levante: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Riviera di Levante guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: The coast in the shadow of five villages. 19 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.