Baia delle Favole in Sestri Levante: beach guide

What the beach is like

It is the longest beach in the municipality, between about one and one and a half kilometres depending on the source. The surface is fine, light-grey sand mixed with pebbles, and towards the west the sand gives way gradually to stones and then rocks. The seabed shelves gently, which makes it one of the easiest beaches in the area for children.

A promenade with olive trees, pines and oleanders runs along the bay, with bars and restaurants on the seafront. It feels more like a proper beach day than the Baia del Silenzio: wider, less cramped, with room to play and walk.

Beach clubs and free beach

The beach is mixed. Stretches with beach clubs, which rent umbrellas and sunbeds and offer showers, a bar or restaurant, alternate with free stretches, which are more common towards the ends. There are also free “equipped” beaches: entry costs nothing and you pay only if you rent something. Some clubs also offer canoes, sailing, windsurfing and beach volleyball.

The bay also has a free stretch equipped for people with disabilities, created with the association “Noi Handiamo al mare” and presented as Sestri’s first free accessible beach. We found no official confirmation of 2026 hours and services, so ask the tourist office or the town hall before you go.

Prices for umbrellas and sunbeds: there is no single public price list, and they differ by club and period. In July and August, especially at weekends, it is wise to book ahead. One section of the bay is set aside for dogs; its position and rules change, so ask on site.

Sea, water quality and Blue Flag

In the official 2026 Blue Flag list from FEE, Sestri Levante appears with four beaches: Baia delle Favole Nord, Baia Portobello, Spiaggia Renà and Riva Trigoso. The flag covers only the northern part of the Baia delle Favole, not the whole bay, and it is reassigned every year.

Water quality depends on tests by ARPAL, the regional environment agency, which publishes the results on its website. Before you go, check the class of the bathing point and any bans. After heavy rain a temporary ban is possible.

Baia delle Favole or Baia del Silenzio?

They are the two bays on either side of the isthmus, with different characters:

• Baia delle Favole (west): the bigger one, sand and pebbles, beach clubs and free beach, shallow water, a seafront promenade. No cap on numbers is known.
• Baia del Silenzio (east): small, mostly free, with fishermen’s boats on the sand and colourful houses. In 2026 it had a visitor cap from 1 July to 31 August, with at most 450 people: all the details are in our guide to the Baia del Silenzio.

When the Baia del Silenzio is full, the Baia delle Favole is the alternative the town itself points to. The two bays are a few minutes apart on foot through the old town, so you can see both in a day.

Why it is called the Bay of Fables

The name is recent, and it is not Andersen’s. According to the Comune di Sestri Levante, it was given by the journalist and TV host Enzo Tortora in the late 1950s, during an episode of “Campanile Sera” broadcast from Sestri, in homage to Hans Christian Andersen. The Danish writer stayed in town in 1833, aged 28 and not yet famous, and tradition says he found inspiration here for some of his tales. Some sources credit the name to Andersen himself: that is a common mistake. The “Baia del Silenzio”, by contrast, was named in 1919 by the poet Giovanni Descalzo.

A literary prize in Andersen’s name has existed since 1967, and the Andersen Festival takes place every June (4 to 7 June in 2026, free entry).

Getting there and parking

By train, get off at Sestri Levante on the Genoa–La Spezia line: the station is about 500 m from the bay, on foot through the centre. From Genoa Brignole it takes roughly 45 to 80 minutes depending on the train, from La Spezia 30 to 40 minutes (estimates from unofficial timetables; check Trenitalia). By car take the A12 and the Sestri Levante exit, about 1 km from the centre.

The handiest car park for the bay is the underground Sant’Anna car park at the end of the beach, with about 120 car spaces and many for motorbikes; many spaces are, however, reserved for residents or accommodation. In summer the blue-line spaces are paid until late evening (according to unofficial sources 9 am to 11 pm from 1 June to 30 September, €1.50 to €2 an hour): 2026 tariffs are not published, so read the signs. The old town is a restricted traffic zone.

The headland, the peninsula and the Grand Hotel dei Castelli

Between the two bays rises the headland known as the “isola” (island): from the Baia delle Favole you see it close the beach to the east. On the peninsula are the Romanesque San Nicolò dell’Isola (1151), the former Annunziata convent and the Grand Hotel dei Castelli. The Gualino “castles” were built between 1925 and 1929 for the industrialist Riccardo Gualino and have been a hotel since 1950. They are private property: the interiors and park are not open as a monument, and the nearby Marconi Tower opens only on special occasions (for example during the FAI days).

Before or after your swim you can walk up to the tip to see both bays from above. To stay by the sea, see our guide on where to stay in Sestri Levante.

Near the Baia delle Favole

• Lavagna and Chiavari, west along the Gulf of Tigullio
• Moneglia and Levanto, to the east (the Riva Trigoso–Moneglia tunnel road has been closed since 2025)
• Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure by Tigullio boat