24 September, 2018
While it might technically be considered part of the greater Genoa area, Bogliasco and its surrounding municipalities, together known as the Golfo Paradiso, stand on their own in our minds. A chocolate-box mishmash of coral, turquoise and sunflower-yellow homes curling around a pocket of the Mediterranean, it's the ultimate glamorous locale for squeezing in one final fun-in-the-sun holiday.
While blissing out in the sunshine (never too hot or cold) as you move from terrace to terrace is one of the more enjoyable ways in which you could spend a weekend in Bogliasco, the town's wealth of art museums is not to be ignored. The Frugone Collections, set in a papaya-pink villa surrounded by olive, lemon and palm trees, host Italian art and a renowned rose garden, while the Wolfsoniana houses over 18,000 artworks from the period between 1880 and 1945. The Galleria d'Arte Moderna is also a great visit for its Italian photography, pieces from the Tuscan Macchiaioli painting movement, and workshops.
When you've had your fair share of museum-hopping and Aperol spritzes, hike the San Fruttuoso coastal trail to catch sweeping sea views. The reward is making it to itsy-bitsy San Fruttuoso itself, a hamlet surrounding a miniature blue bay. With its abbey and handful of rustic restaurants, you'll feel like you've been transported to a practically deserted early 20th-century version of Italy.
A sybaritic companion with an appetite for pasta - trofie with pesto alla genovese comes al dente in its finest form.
Milanese families getting their fill of the seaside before ski season commences in the Dolomites.
This is a trip for channelling glam 1950s style. Pack your floppiest straw hat and biggest Jackie O sunnies - the more OTT the better.
Fly directly from London into Genoa on Ryanair for as little as £42.
