Portofino is a delightful fishing village on the “Riviera Ligure” meaning Italian Riviera, south-east of Genoa. Castello Brown is a 16th century house museum and fortress that overlooks the shimmering Ligurian Sea, with a structure that was purchased in 1867 for 7,000 Italian lire by Montague Yeats-Brown.

The charming village is a colourful mix of up-market boutiques, souvenir shops, pastel coloured houses, and seafood restaurants and cafes in which to relax and watch the world go by.It circles the Piazzetta that overlooks the harbour. The area is a popular yachting destination and welcomes many yachts of all shapes and sizes, from modest to super, into its marina. All in all, a relaxing air of tranquillity pervades. Its busiest street, the Via Roma, leads down to the harbour with plenty of cobblestone footpaths to explore along the way. Along the path is a series of steps that lead to the Church of St. George, spectacularly situated on the narrow neck of the Portofino headland. A wonderful lookout point, there are benches to rest on in addition to a small terrace for snacks and photo opportunities. The locale around Portofino is a protected park with many events and guided walks organised there during the summer months.

The most popular way to arrive in Portofino is by boat. If sailing in independently is not part of the plan, ferries run from many nearby resorts. By train, Santa Margherita Ligure is the nearest seaside town, with railway station of the same name, and buses run to and from the station to Portofino along the headland.

In 1922, British novelist Elizabeth von Arnim wrote her book “The Enchanted April” here, which was also the location of the 1992 movie. Von Arnim wrote and set the book in the 15th-century Castello Brown. Critic Terence de Vere White credited her book for making Portofino a fashionable tourist destination.