This UNESCO World Heritage Site was a favourite of Byron, Shelley and D.H. Lawrence. (In fact, if you don’t mind a few rocks, you can swim at one of Byron’s favourite spots, now dubbed Byron’s Cove.) Portovenere’s San Pietro Church was built on the remains of a 6th-century church, which was itself built atop an ancient Roman temple to Venus. Relax and enjoy the boats bobbing in lines on the pretty bay, or daytrip to the Cinqueterre.