ITALY BLOG SEPTEMBER 7th, 2025 - SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE

 

9/7/25– A week into our trip and we can’t be happier with how it’s turned out so far. Everything is flowing smoothly and pretty much like clockwork, with even the problems that come about resolved very quickly.

We sit down for our breakfast at 8am before packing the rental car to return to Pisa airport. You heard right, we have to drive fifty minutes to drop it off as it’s the only rental car place open on Sunday. We arrive by 9:30am, get the okay from the attendant that all is good with the car and then look for a way to get to the train station. Unfortunately, it appears we need to take the shuttle to the airport first for that (at least it’s free).

From the airport, we walk a short ways to have an Uber take us to Pisa Centrale, which cost 28 Euros for only an eight minute drive. It beats lugging everything on a bus that’s for sure. From here we wait almost two hours for our train to Santa Marguerita Ligure.

On the train, we both have window seats facing each other and have it to ourselves for the first few stops before a man sits down next to me in the aisle seat. Almost immediately he starts coughing and I can smell the cigar breath on him. With no other seats to take, I keep my head toward the window that luckily has AC blowing right at my face, and a view.

It takes a total of ten stops (two hours) and we are in SML. Upon exiting the station we don’t see a taxi area (only a bus stop) and Uber apparently doesn’t go in this area. With our AirBnb being about ten minutes away we decide to just walk it with our luggage. Yes it is hot, but it’s mostly flat or slightly downhill so nothing too grueling. Sharece also handles herself very well and I’m thoroughly impressed.

We arrive at our place, get the key from the lock box and instantly we are very happy with our choice. There's stairs to maneuver, which sucks with luggage, but it’s a full apartment with kitchen, two bedrooms, a loft and a great view. Best of all, the AC works perfectly. Score!

Spending an hour getting situated, we gather our bearings and head back out to see the town. Villa Durazzo is first on our list with about a ten minute walk that takes us up some stairs and a hillside. Interesting enough, our legs handle it pretty well.

Upon entering the grounds, we see the church first and walk in to find it decorated for a wedding. Then we continue through the statue-lined garden (that has an excellent view of the water) and into the villa house. 

The cost is only 5.50 Euros per person and quite interesting as it transports you back in time. Built in 1678, the villa was the summer residence of the Durazzo family, and it seems much of the original artwork and furniture remain.

After exiting, we follow the path down the hill to Castello di Santa Margherita Ligure. Dating to the 16^th century, this fortress was meant to defend against raids on the town. It’s very small (literally just a tiny tower overlooking the water) but the views of the entire town are well worth it.

Now that we have a feel for the town, we continue our walk near the main strip outlining the sea to find food and a souvenir. Unfortunately many places seem to be closed for a few more hours, but we are able to find a pizza place open and order a large margherita with garlic. I mean when in Santa Margherita you have to get a margherita pizza, right?

We close the day off with a stopover at a local grocery store so we can cook our own food for the next few days (you know because we have a kitchen) and plan out our time for tomorrow. Suppose to be cloudy in the morning with rain coming in the days after so hoping that all doesn’t damper our itinerary. We’ll see how it goes and may have to adjust on the fly.