Liguria - Within walking distance of the breathtaking Cinque Terre, this seaside hotel offers holiday accommodation and a restaurant a short distance from La Spezia.

Between mountain and sea on Italy's Ligurian coast, the Paradiso Hotel's position on the Gulf of Portovenere gives views of Palmaria Island, while the Apuan Alps frame the picturesque scene. [ local map | map of region ]

All the rooms have views of the sea, all are furnished in a distinctive Mediterranean style, and all have shower and WC. The rooms have direct-dial phones to anywhere in the world, and there is satellite television.

The hotel restaurant will delight your palate with Ligurian specialities. The menu changes from day to day according to the local catch. Fish, squid and shellfish feature strongly, with stuffed anchovies and mussels, soups and homemade pastas with rich seafood sauces, sun-ripened tomatoes, garlic, parsley and extra virgin olive oils all typical fare. Taking your breakfast on the terrace overlooking the sea is the ideal way to start your day.

There are numerous excursions to nearby areas of beauty. You can walk or take a boat to the Cinque Terre, five small fishing villages that nestle, unspoiled and almost untouched, amidst the craggy coastline of Liguria. You can head up into the Alpi Apuane, the source of the famous Carrara marble. You can travel south into neighbouring Tuscany and its many historical and natural sites and cities.

Florence, with its plethora of churches, galleries and museums could take weeks to explore, but a day here is a superb introduction to Renaissance Italy. There is Pisa of course, with its leaning tower at the centre of the city's Campo dei Miracoli, where the Duomo, Baptistery and Camposanto combine to form a marvellous quarter of mediaeval architecture. San Gimignano meanwhile evokes the atmosphere of mediaeval Tuscany like no other, with its towers soaring into the sky. And Volterra retains its mediaeval character, with Etruscan remains, Roman baths, the amphitheatre and Acropolis, museums and galleries, churches and the Duomo, and the mediaeval wall and gates.

All this and more awaits, and each day you will return to a lovely little hotel that offers the hospitality and atmosphere of a warm Italian home. The hotel is easily accessible from the motorway, and trains to all destinations can be taken from La Spezia. Nearby airports include Pisa (90km) and Genoa (100km). Once here, you'll find good buses around this part of Italy, taking you to Viareggio, Lucca, Pistoia and Florence. To find out more just click below.