Bookends of Cinque Terre offer depth beyond picture book villages

Portovenere and Levanto are the towns on either side of the string of five picture postcard fishing villages known as the Cinque Terre. And while the five may draw tourists from around the world, it's the bookends I'd recommend as the anchors for any extended exploration.

Portovenere is an exquisite little town on a tip of land at the entry into the bay of La Spezia. The views from the tip of the peninsula are extraordinary. To the north spreads the steep terraces, bays, mountains and crashing surf of the Cinque Terre coast. To the west stretches the open Mediterranean. South lies series of islands encircled by the boats of sailors who love to test their skills by circumnavigating them, while back east the view takes in the town, the remarkably lovely bay and the Tuscan coast. All can be viewed from the porch of an ancient Romanesque church gripping the cliff's edge.

It's no wonder that the Romans called this place the "port of Venus", its heart-stopping beauty is a natural inspiration for love. (Sadly, the man I wanted to be seeing it with was back in London, sharing via Facebook photo postings. There's modern relationships for you.) The Romantic trio of Byron, Keats and Shelley loved the area and their legacy has given the local water its alternative name of the Bay of Poets. At the same place from which I described the panoramic view you'll find a place called Byron's grotto, a dark and brooding hook of black slate cascading down into the boiling surf, from which the mad, bad and dangerous to know celebrity used to take his regular swims.

Portovenere is a small place, easily covered on foot as long as you don't mind a climb. It ascends steeply, with three parallel streets stretching its length. The buildings are classic Italian riviera: tall, gracious and painted in festive colours. The lowest street runs along the harbour, lined with restaurants and a few shops. The middle lane, perhaps two stories higher, is lined with shops and charming restaurants, and terminates at the promontory with the church and Byron's grotto. Higher still is an even narrower path, this one mostly residential, that leads to a hilltop church and, even higher, a late medieval castle. It is a marvelous place for a wander and, when exhausted from all the climbing, you can retire to the port for a fine meal. We followed an Italian colleague's recommendation and settled in to Elettra, with a glass-walled dining room hanging over the harbour. Terrible service, but fantastic food. If I were anywhere within 90 minutes of Portovenere I would make the trip if only for their trofie in creamy clam sauce, without doubt the finest single dish I had on this trip.

On the northern end of the Cinque Terre is Levanto. Probably only 30 minutes by speedboat (if we'd had one), it's more than an hour from Portovenere by car because you either need to navigate the hairpin-rich, hair-raising coastal roads or go through the industrial port town of La Spezia ... home of the Italian navy and its museum ... and up the motorway.

We chose to base ourselves in Levanto this trip and were delighted with our choice. As with everything on this coast it's a pretty place, in this case filled with fanciful 19th architecture of the wealthy holiday retreat variety. There's a wide, curving beach of striking greenish-black sand, a colour derived from the local stone that features as the black banding in all the striped medieval churches around here.

We stayed at the Villa Margherita, a delightful place I will definitely book again should I return to this area. The family-run B&B (descendants of the people who built the place in 1906) is set in lovely gardens, has sweeping views over the valley in which Levanto sits and is just a five-minute walk from town centre and beach. The rooms are high, airy, comfortable and spotlessly clean, though not particularly luxurious. We were within the main house; should I ever return with The Man I'd opt for the apartments that open onto the garden, which are a bit more expensive but clearly newer and more picturesque. A continental breakfast is served in a pretty dining room that doubles as the guest lounge, and the place has both parking and free wireless. It's a real find along this coast, where other options seemed to be either extremely basic, or hugely expensive.

Levanto itself proved a wonderful base for exploration. Unlike the Cinque Terre towns, it has an abundance of restaurants, most of which are very reasonable and all of which dish up local specials like pesto and seafood. There are also a handful of lovely gift shops and galleries that appeal to the shopping tastes of the tourists, and some lovely winding lanes to explore. Turns out Levanto was actually quite a big port in the Middle Ages, though the river that once enabled this has long since silted up. However, it does mean there are a couple of good churches from that time period, a striking (and still privately owned) castle and a big market loggia. The most interesting artifact from this era is a recently-uncovered wall painting that experts believe was a form of advertising, immortalising on the outside walls the faces of the people who drank at the establishment within. The faces are clear, individual and remarkably human, building a tangible bridge across the centuries.

Like the rest of the Cinque Terre, Levanto was exceptionally quiet outside of tourist season, with many shops and restaurants closed. I suspect that all of these places would be a completely different experience in the summer; perhaps uncomfortably so. The owners of the Villa Margherita suggest a return in either May or October. It's certainly on my wish list.