Although the B&B is located very close to the train station, the directions provided on their website, asking us to look for the yellow building were somewhat useless, as I arrived after sunset and you couldn’t tell the colours of the building apart in the dark. When I arrived into La Spezia train station after 10:00pm, the station was dead and there was no one around for me to ask directions. Had it not been for a kind cab driver who eventually pulled up to the station, and pointed me in the right direction, I may still be searching for this B&B.
After you exit the station, you will see a red statue of a bunch of people holding hands (in front of McDonald’s). To the right of the statue is an elevator that you can take down to street level. Once you do that, you should now be on Via Torino. If you walk towards your right for about 20m, and cross the street, there’s a little patch of green area and a sign that says Piazza Caduti del Lavoro. The yellow building is pretty much diagonally across from the piazza. Thankfully, the owner must have seen me lugging my suitcase across Piazza Caduti del Lavoro, as he called out my name to show me where the entrance was.
The B&B turned out to be a regular residential building and the owner had just rented an apartment and turned it into a B&B. It consisted of 3 rooms, each with a private bath. The bathroom is of a good size, although the water pressure is not super strong. The bed is also on the older side, but still comfortable enough for a couple of nights’ stay. The rooms are on the tiny side but very typical of anywhere in Europe. The owner does not stay at the property, so make sure you tell them what time to expect you. Giulia was amazing and so detailed going over everything with me and making sure I understood how everything worked.
One complaint is that the walls are very thin. The room next door was very loud and if I could understood Italian, I’d have eavesdropped on their entire conversation.
Another thing to note is that I arrived on a Sunday night and everything around me was closed. I wanted to go and buy some water, but nothing was open. I realized the next day that there were some 24/7 vending machines around the corner, about 3 blocks away on the corner of Corso Cavour and Via Alfonso Lamarmora that I could have purchased some water at.
Breakfast is provided at two different bars. One is located in the building beside the B&B (I believe it was called Café Sara), and the other is located about 2 blocks away (Cafe Silvana). I would highly recommend visiting Cafe Silvana, as it is a proper bakery with many more choices. The bar that is next to the B&B looked a bit more run down and had a very limited selection of pastries, which actually tasted like they were a day old.
As I mentioned earlier, the location is very close to the train station and therefore, it’s an ideal place to stay if you are visiting Cinque Terre and wanted a more economical option. From La Spezia, it is only an 8 minute train ride to Riomaggiore, the first town. I found it quite advantageous to stay in La Spezia, as it meant a quicker getaway back to Florence as well.
La Branda Affittacamere
Address: Via Torino, 85, 19122 La Spezia SP, Italy
Phone:+39 347 461 4390
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