EXCLUSIVE It's the Instagram-friendly Mediterranean gem beloved of the A-listers... but are hordes of half naked, badly behaved tourists now ruining the picture-perfect port?

Daily Mail​

20-07-2025

It's just gone 9.30am and the first of dozens of ferries carrying hundreds of tourists has arrived in the picturesque port of Portofino.
The tiny fishing village, described as one of Italy 's 'natural jewels', has a population in the winter of just 350 but in the summer, it can increase twenty-fold as day trippers, and influencers hit the tiny streets.
It's a magnet for VIPs as well with NBA legend magic Johnson visiting earlier his month and rock legends Elton John and Rod Stewart being regulars.
But it emerged this week that the town - famed for its pastel houses and pretty waterside square lined with cafes, restaurants and designer boutiques - is now such a must do stop off point for tourists that it's becoming overrun.
And indeed when MailOnline visited this week, we found the tiny Instagram-famous town was heaving with visitors with its narrow streets frequently so crowded they were impassible.
Now the huge daily influx of visitors has led to many complaining visitors don't know how to behave decently.
So of earlier this week mayor Matteo Viacava has introduced a bylaw until September 30 warning travellers to behave respectfully and with a degree of decorum that befits a fashionable and wealthy town with the one of the highest prop capita salaries in Italy (£90,000).
Wandering around bare chested or in a swimsuit is strictly forbidden, as is strolling barefoot, through the town.
And if you are thinking of stretching out on one of the benches to catch a few rays or have a snooze don't even think about it as that's banned too, along with drinking alcohol in public and having a picnic.
When MailOnline visited this week, we found the tiny Instagram-famous town was heaving with visitors with its narrow streets frequently so crowded they were impassible
Sitting or lying on paths and in the park is also against the rules and mayor Viacava has said anyone who breaches the edict will face a fine of up to 500 Euro. (£433)
The order, number 17 of the year, is on the council's website and in a lofty word heavy title called:' Measures to protect public safety and security and the tranquillity and rest of residents and guards and safeguard the territory and environment'.
Totalling eight pages, the bylaw explains the motive for the rules as being the 'heavy influx of tourists into the area during the summer months' which has 'impacted on civility and decorum'.
But the news doesn't appear to have reached everyone as when MailOnline visited Portofino several tourists were wandering around shirtless and in swimwear and oblivious of the law.
Landscape architect Elias Halling, 35, from Gothenburg, Sweden, was strolling around the famous piazza topless, enjoying the scenery and was stunned when told by MailOnline he was breaking the law.
'Really ?!,' he gasped before adding:' To be honest I was wondering why people were looking at me in a weird way. I had no idea at all it was against the law.
'The place is beautiful, and so are a lot of the people, but I don't see what harm I'm doing by walking around bare chested.
'I suppose the mayor wants to keep standards high, you can tell this is quite an upmarket place by looking at all the designer shops and expensive restaurants.
'The fine seems a lot of money for something which is pretty trivial but if they want to have that kind of strange law then I suppose I had a better follow it even though its 35c and so hot.'
A little further on and past the multimillion superyachts bobbing in the water and the jetty where yet more ferries are docking from nearby Genoa, Rapallo and Santa Margherita Ligure, MailOnline spotted another pair of transgressors.
Standing by the water edge was bare chested Pieter Van Dooren, 31, and his shoeless girlfriend Lieke Schins, 25, first time visitors to Portofino and both overwhelmed by its beauty but unaware of its bylaw.
Recruitment entrepreneur Pieter, from Tilburg, Holland, said:'Oh my goodness, I don't want to get into trouble. Five hundred Euro is a lot of money to pay for just not wearing a shirt.'
If you are thinking of stretching out on one of the benches to catch a few rays or have a snooze don't even think about it as that's banned too, along with drinking alcohol in public and having a picnic
As we spoke worried student Lieke, hurriedly slipped into her sandals in case she was spotted by local police and said:' I don't want a fine either.'
Pieter added: 'This place is like a fantasy world, it is so beautiful, a paradise and so elegant and romantic, so maybe that explains why the mayor has introduced this law.
'But you've got me worried as technically standing talking to you now I am illegal, although we had no idea of this law, I just wasn't aware until you told me so I'm lucky to have met you.
'You can tell it is a high-class elegant place, so maybe that's why the law was brought in, there seems to be a lot of people here and he doesn't want people walking round drunk and half naked. Having said that, I had better put my shirt on now.'
Lieke added: 'It is so pretty here but at the same time so expensive, we were charged 100 Euro for four Prosecco and a few pieces of melon and ham.
'We knew it wasn't cheap here but still 100 Euro is a lot of money, but the prices don't seem to put people off, it's so busy but I had no idea of this crazy law so I will put my sandals on.'
Portofino is certainly not the place for those on a budget – glance at one menu revealed a breakfast of bacon, eggs and cappuccino was an eyewatering 25 Euro (£21), with service not included.
Requests for an interview with the mayor and had of local police for MailOnline were politely declined, as were requests over how many fines have been issued since the law was introduced.
Intriguingly at one-point MailOnline spotted another bare chested man and approached an officer to tell them of the infringement but was given a curt brush off:' I'm doing my job, I'm here on parking duty, you stick with your job.'
Meanwhile in a further bid to control the crowds police have also set up a checkpoint a mile from Portofino, once the 160 official car park spaces in the multi storey are full no vehicles are allowed in.
Instead, travellers have to use shuttle buses to get in and out of Portofino and it was only thanks to flashing a press card that MailOnline was allowed in, with the officer on duty saying:' It is rammed in there, so good luck finding a space and don't park illegally.'
Portofino's beauty is quite clear to see but it's also evident many visitors are there on a tick boxing exercise merely to post on social media as one bizarre scene unfolded in front of MailOnline.
Setting up a tripod, by the water's edge, one woman dressed all in white began doing a series of 'lives' to her followers, pointing out the sights and occasionally pulling the edge of her skirt back to reveal her thigh.
One local waiter said: 'It's crazy, it just gets busier and busier every year and yes ok it's good for business, but the numbers are just too much and the class of visitor is also not what it used to be.
'People come and take selfies, and they walk around in swim wear or bare chested, some covered in tattoos and it's not very pleasant to look at, the locals are all in favour of this new law.
'On busy days we can get 5,000 people a day and then when a cruise ship turns up that can bring in another 2,000 so imagine all those people in a tiny place like this.'
Cruise ships are the thorn in Portofino's side and anchor just off the coast as they are far too big to come any closer, ferrying travellers to and from in tenders that criss cross the crystal clear Ligurian Sea.
A glance at cruise timetables reveals that between now and the end of the month six giant ships are due in – one every 48 hours carrying almost 8,000 travellers in total.
A worker at one of the upmarket boutiques told MailOnline:' It's some of these people on cruise ships that have no idea how to behave.
'They come here dressed in hardly anything, lowering the tone of Portofino and just rush about taking selfies, we have a reputation for class and elegance and just want people to follow the rules.'
Speaking to local media as the order was revealed, mayor Viacavo also revealed next year an app would be introduced 'controlling the number of visitors' to Portofino by locking onto the number of mobiles active in the area.
Mr Viacavo declined to go into details of how exactly the app would work but added:' Portofino is a jewel, whatever time of day it is and wherever you are, there are always people here and we are working to improve visitor experience.
'I'm not talking about putting a limit on numbers, but what I am saying is we must be able to control these numbers to allow the quality of life of locals to continue and make the visitor experience comfortable, if not even better.
'What we hope to do with the app is show the best time to visit, when it is quieter, we are not going to close Portofino off, it is for everybody, and I can't say to someone 'You can't come in but you can'.
But as yet another shirtless tourist strolled across the square unchallenged, you had to wonder whether the bylaw was a meaningful act of law or just a simple publicity stunt.