Visit Lerici
Lerici is a very attractive town to the south-east of La Spezia, on the Liguria coast - across the gulf from the Portovenere peninsula.
The town runs up the hill, facing out over the attractive boat-filled harbour below. The town has lots of the tall, pastel coloured houses so popular (and attractive) along this part of the Italian coast, and the town is also dominated by the castle that stands forebodingly to one end of the bay.
The main reason for entering the castle is for the great views across to Portovenere from the top, although there are also some interesting features in the dinosaur museum (sorry, museum of geopaleontology)
There are several small rocky beaches around the harbour if you need to cool down (or more importantly cool the children down).
The town also has its fair share of newer villas and apartments, fish restaurants and tourist shops, and is an upmarket holiday resort for wealthy Italians.
Leaving Lerici you dont need to venture too far (on foot) to the south to find quieter bays set among the cliffs and a little solitude.