Sestri Levante - Baia del Silenzio

The Baia del Silenzio, the Bay of Silence, is a sheltered crescent of fine sand on the eastern side of the narrow isthmus at Sestri Levante, on the Riviera di Levante. A tight curve of pastel houses and old fishermen's homes rises directly from the sand around the bay, their reflections doubling in the calm shallow water, to make one of the most photographed beach scenes in Liguria. Sestri Levante is nicknamed the 'city of two seas' because the isthmus has a bay on each side: the intimate Baia del Silenzio to the east and the larger, livelier Baia delle Favole, the Bay of Fables, named by Hans Christian Andersen who stayed here, to the west. Visitors come to swim in the protected, shallow water, sunbathe on the sand, and stroll the old town and seafront that link the two bays. A visit takes two to three hours, longer for a full beach day. The bay lies about a kilometre from the railway station, reached on foot through the old town. Free public stretches of sand sit between the private beach clubs that hire loungers in summer. The classic photograph looks across the bay to the line of pastel houses, especially in soft morning light; climbing towards the Hotel dei Castelli headland gives an overview of both bays. The bay is busiest on summer afternoons and weekends; June and September, and the quiet of early morning, are the most pleasant. Sestri Levante sits at the gateway to the Riviera di Levante in eastern Liguria, an easy train stop between Genoa and the Cinque Terre.