Mala Vaishnav follows the curving coastline of Liguria in north-west Italy to discover that the magnetic Mediterranean continues to lure Hollywood icons, international designers and lovers of romance, to its idyllic village resorts

I have just stepped into a picture postcard. Around me, the turquoise-hued Mediterranean emits a cool spray on the brightly painted boats bobbing near the shore while the deep ochre and burnished red facades of tall, closely built houses - a characteristic feature of Camogli - embrace each other, as if in keeping with the romantic ambience of this ancient fishing village.

Among the seafaring traditions and tales that reach our ears is the one that explains the multicoloured structures and their soaring heights. In bygone days, when fishermen went far into the sea and their visibility was sometimes impaired by unseasonal mist and rain, the familiar, warm colours on shore showed them the way back to home and hearth.

Over dinner with the affable, American-born, Angela Scipioni, director of Cenobio dei Dogi, our dwelling for the next two nights, she speaks of the last time the hotel vibrated with celebrity presence - when the cast and crew of the cult American soap (and still popular on Star World) The Bold And The Beautiful, set up residence some months ago.

Early morning and we find ourselves in celebrity territory again. Portofino, on the tip of the peninsula is where Hollywood idols, Tom Cruise and George Clooney, among others, go for summer camp, where they rent old-world villas shrouded by foliage and fern.

Skirting the 'Mountain of Portofino', the attractions of another classic tourist haven - Santa Margherita - lure us to the wind-swept promenade where we take in the 14th century refurbished monastery, one of the most important in Liguria.

And then, we are off to Rapallo, a sprawling town that flaunts its many charms along the emerald coastline; among them, a special museum that documents the history of lace-making and the perfect 18-hole golf course, overlooked by the imposing ruins of the Abbey of Valle Christi.