Portoferraio -- Founded in 1548 by Medici grand duke Cosimo I, Portoferraio is Elba's capital and largest city. Ferries dock in the city's newer half to the west, but its core is still an old fishing village, a U-shaped amphitheater of streets terracing up the rocky promontory. It was guarded in Medici days by two massive fortresses, the Forte Falcone and the Forte Stella. You can explore the rambling battlements of both for free; the Forte Falcone to the west is open daily from 9am to 8pm (until midnight July-Aug); the Forte Stella is open daily from 9am to 8pm.
The old entrance to the city is through Porta al Mare at the base of Portoferraio's "U." In the town's upper reaches is the house where Napoleon lived in exile for 9 months: The Villa dei Mulini (tel. 0565-915-846) doesn't excite much, but you do get to wander through the emperor's apartments and see the books he kept in his study. March through October, it's open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 7pm and Sunday from 9am to 1pm (it sometimes keeps longer hours in summer). Admission is 3€ ($3.90), though the 5€ ($6.50) cumulative ticket also gets you into Napoleon's summer villa just outside Portoferraio ; you have 3 days to use the other half of the ticket. There's a rocky little beach, Le Viste, signposted down the backside of the sheer cliff behind the villa. On your way back down toward the docks, stop off at the Chiesa della Misericordia (tel. 0565-914-009) or Santissimo Sacramento (no phone) -- both have copies of Napoleon's death mask.
Near Portoferraio -- Cut through the edge of Portoferraio's new town to the north shore, past Le Ghiaie, Portoferraio's only real (but not great) beach. Farther beyond are better beaches at Acquaviva, Sanzone, and Viticcio. Barely connected to the rest of the island out here is the large green hump of Capo d'Enfola, closed to cars and a lovely place to take an easy hike.
South of Portoferraio, the road divides at Bivio Boni to head east and west. A short trip west (right) then off the main road, following the signs, will lead you to the entrance to the Villa San Martino (tel. 0565-914-688), the more interesting of the two villas Napoleon left on the island. The pretentious neoclassical facade wasn't the ex-emperor's idea -- his step-nephew had it constructed years after his death to honor him with its giant N's all over. Head to the left to be escorted up a path to Napoleon's more modest cottage -- for the former ruler of half the known world, he had surprisingly simple tastes. The only extravagance is the Egyptian Room, celebrating his most successful campaign with trompe l'oeil desert scenes glimpsed between hieroglyphic-painted walls and columns. For hours and admission, see the Villa dei Mulini under Portoferraio, above.
A left (east) at Bivio Boni will take you past the Terme San Giovanni (tel. 0565-914-680; www.termelbane.com), offering spa treatments such as sulfurous mud baths, massages, and seaweed body wraps for 8€ to 50€ ($10-$65). Just beyond are the ruins of a Roman villa overlooking Portoferraio's bay. Little remains of Le Grotte, but the crumbling walls of the now-buried rooms and patches of mosaic with their stunning bay view are rather romantic. It's open summer only daily from 9am to 6:30pm; admission is free.
You'll find a small beach at Magazzini, and a bit farther along is the turnoff for a dirt road detour to the 14th-century Santo Stefano, a pretty little Pisan Romanesque church perched on a small olive-planted hilltop. The main road leads north to the fine beaches at Ottone and Bagnaia.
Eastern & Western Elba
On eastern Elba, visit the old Spanish capital of Porto Azzurro, with a 1603 fortress built so well they're still using it as a prison. Today, the fortified Spanish port is one of the island's major resort cities, but you can catch a whiff of the past in the shop fronts and bustle of the old quarter around Via d'Alarcon. From Porto Azzurro, you can see the fortified Capo Focardo across the bay, with the nice resort beach of Narengo leading up to it.
South of Porto Azzurro lies eastern Elba's most picturesque town, the ancient mountainside village of Capoliveri. It's full of twisty old streets, a large terracelike main Piazza Matteotti, and cavernlike bars like the Enoteca Elba, on the piazza's edge (tel. 0565-968-707), where you can quaff Elba's wines by the glass until 2 or 3am. In fact, the town is known for its nightlife, as well as for its traditional Thursday market.
On western Elba, Marciana, the island's oldest settlement, is the most attractive and the central base for exploring western Elba. It's a picturesque and very steep little town made of minuscule tree-shaded piazze and winding stepped-stone streets stacked atop one another. Aside from relaxing with a view, you can get in some light culture by popping into the small prehistoric and Roman collections of the Museo Archeologico (tel. 0565-901-215; 2€/$2.60 admission; open Apr-Sept daily 9:30am-12:30pm and 3:30-7:30pm).
