Around 100 years ago Sanremo attracted Europe's aristocracy as well as the likes of Tchaikovsky, who wrote his Fourth Symphony here in the late 1870s and the inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, who breathed his last in the city in 1896.

In the 1950s and 60s it was to Portofino, further down the coast, to which movie stars Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot and Liz Taylor flocked. Nowadays the faces are those of Cruise, Clooney and Washington.

The coast of Liguria in Italy has always glittered with the type of star quality that still attracts over 4.5 million visitors per year, making it one of Italy’s most popular regions and a favourite for property in Italy buyers. For good reason. For a start, Liguria boasts a breathtaking 280km coastline also called the Italian (or Ligurian) Riviera, stretching from the French border at its western extremity to the picturesque villages that make up the well-known Cinque Terre, honoured as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Stefania Russo, founder of Italian real estate company The Property Organiser, points out: "It is surpassed only by Tuscany when it comes to parts of the country most in demand among our househunters. In addition to the Cinque Terre coast, its sandy beaches and beautiful countryside, the French Riviera is just across the border, there are ski slopes in Piedmont, just 40 minutes away, while getting here is easy thanks to airports in Nice and Genoa."

The costliest locations on the seafront are probably the Cinque Terre, Bordighera and Alassio. Bear in mind you pay a premium if you are set on being on the sea front. The market is kept high by demand from well-off Swiss, French, Germans and Italians. In general expect to be asked for in the region of Euro 420,000 for a flat within strolling distance of the coast and up to Euro 975,000 for a house with sea view in a similar location.

As always, there are bargains by shopping around. In Alassio, one-bedroom flats facing the sea can be purchased from Euro 225,000. And in Bordighera, Euro 345,000 can pay for a 95sq m apartment also with a sea vista, although you will have to be content with being somewhat farther away from the sea.

However, overlooking the coastal resorts is the hilly countryside chock-a-block with enchanting villages and hamlets. But if you are prepared to sacrifice proximity to the coast, troop just less than half an hour inland, to hamlets such as Apricale, which is what swathes of buyers from the US, Canada and Britain have done in recent times. Here, expect a 70sq m apartment to cost around Euro 145,000.

Don't mind getting to grips with a property requiring a fair bit of renovation? Then you can get away with Euro 100,000, possibly with a half-acre garden to boot. Given the region's enduring popularity, rental potential remains buoyant, in particular if you have bought close to a coastal resort. Typically, a two-bedroom flat can go for as much as Euro 1,200 a week between May and October and a deluxe villa with swimming pool Euro 2,500-plus.

Some of the most gorgeous locations on the coast are undoubtedly Alassio, Sanremo and Portofino. Alassio has more than 3km of sandy beaches and has pulled in UK visitors from the early 20th century while names such as American writer Ernest Hemingway started coming here in the 1930s. Sanremo reeks of timeless glitz and is nowadays best known for its pop fete.

Meanwhile among Portofino's most striking features is an array of fishermen’s houses that line its marina. In high season its plush clothes shops bursting designer labels and the sleek boats moored in its waters speak volumes about the type of rich visitor that vacations here.

But in terms of natural beauty little beats the five clifftop hamlets that constitute the Cinque Terre. Then again, some things in life are priceless.