The Piazzetta and the harbour at golden hour

Portofino is smaller than its reputation: one square, one harbour, a few dozen tall narrow houses painted in ochre, apricot and rose. The Piazzetta sits at the head of the horseshoe with cafe tables across it, and the water is so sheltered that on a still evening the facades come back perfectly in the reflection.

The harbour mouth faces north-east, which is unusual and helpful: the low evening sun comes over the ridge behind the village and lands directly on the row of houses, so the colour is at its strongest just as the light goes soft. Shoot from the far side of the harbour, near the church of San Giorgio steps, to get the whole curve and the reflection; from inside the Piazzetta, the narrow gaps between the houses give tight vertical frames.

Everything here is on the level and within two hundred metres, which makes it the easiest location on this stretch of coast. The constraint is space and season: on summer afternoons the square is dense and the quay is full of tenders. Early morning is genuinely quiet, and out of season the whole village is calm all day. Parking above the village is limited and expensive; the ferry from Santa Margherita arrives directly in the harbour and is often the better plan.