The coast at Porto Lena

Porto Lena is a working harbour that happens to have a beach. The boats go out at five and come back by nine; the fish is on the quay by ten and on the plates by one. There are five restaurants along the front and none of them is bad, though everyone has an opinion on which is best.

The beach is long and pebbled, with a sandy cove at the western end that locals keep to themselves and children discover immediately. In July and August the first row of chairs is rented by the day. Outside those months you can take a towel and a book and sit anywhere.

For Villa Rosmarino and Torre Colombaia it is under twenty minutes away. For the hill houses, allow longer and make a day of it. We keep two spare umbrellas and a cool box in each villa for exactly this purpose.