Italian Riviera

by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls (Joint Author)

The Italian Riviera means Liguria, which like a vial of essential oil conserves a concentrated dose of Mediterranean sensuality: mountains plunging into the sea, painted fishing ports and fleshpot resorts decked in flowers; at table, the birthplace of pesto offers a fresh, zesty cuisine. Yet just beyond the Riviera's sleekest cliches - Portofino and Portovenere, sassy San Remo, and the fabled Cinque Terre - there awaits a secret world of deep forests, hilltowns teetering on impossible brinks, olive groves and vineyards. In Genoa the scene changes again: piled high over the sea, Italy's great port is also its most under-rated art city, boasting one of the largest medieval centers in Europe, Baroque extravaganzas and the sparkling rebuilt Porto Antico.

This guide contains: practical travel advice; 200 hand-picked places to stay; 180 restaurants, bars & cafes; 18 maps & site plans; color touring-map section; stunning color photography; shopping in local markets. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 268 pages, color photos, maps)

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Dana Facaros wrote her first guide book the Greek Islands at age 20 in 1977, and husband Michael Pauls joined her a few years later in penning guides to Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Along with Turkey, these books became the genesis of the first Cadogan Guides in 1985. These were a little revolution at the time: guides ‘for the independent traveller’ as the old slogan put it, with a rich and thorough treatment of history and culture, a little irreverence and a sense of fun.

Over the next 30 plus years, 'the Dynamic Duo of Travel Writing' as they've been called have written over 40 guides to Greece, Turkey, Italy, France and Spain for both Cadogan and Footprint. They even wandered further afield to write travel guides to Mars and Hell, and condensed some of the curiosities they’ve learned along the way in a little ebook called Titmice, Turks and Marinated Mummies.

Currently based in Southwest France, they have contributed to the Independent, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Guardian, the Telegraph, National Geographic Traveler’s website and the travel magazine Wanderlust. They appeared on Radio 4’s Excess Baggage, among other shows, and in two episodes of the series Mediterranean Tales (Lion Television/BBCFour), did their best to explain the life and history of Naples and Athens.

At the moment, they are working hard at converting and expanding some of their guides into in depth travel apps: Barcelona Art & Culture and Venice Art & Culture are currently both out in the Apple App Store and on Google Play; the Ultimate Italian Menu Decoder and Bologna Art & Culture will follow shortly.