A weekend in Portofino, packed in a single bag.

There is a particular pleasure in travelling light. Not the anxious minimalism of the frequent flyer counting grams, but the quiet confidence of knowing that everything in your bag will be worn, and worn well. Portofino — all pastel harbour houses and boats bobbing in impossibly clear water — is the perfect place to practise it.

The town is small, the pace is slower than you are, and nobody is impressed by a full suitcase. Which makes it the ideal weekend to prove a theory we hold dear: that you need far less than you think, provided what you bring is chosen with care.

The one-bag principle

A weekend needs less than you imagine. The trick is to pack pieces that shift between roles: a linen shirt that works open over swim shorts at noon and buttoned under a jacket at dinner; a knit that layers against the evening breeze off the water; a single pair of leather shoes that reads equally well on cobblestones and on a terrace at golden hour.

If a piece can only do one thing, it stays at home.

Dress for the light

The Ligurian sun is generous, and it flatters a warm, neutral palette — creams, soft tans, faded navy. Leave the statement pieces behind; here they only look like they are trying too hard. Elegance on this coast is in the ease: a rolled sleeve, an unstructured shoulder, a bag worn soft with use, sunglasses and not much else.

You will return with the same small bag you left with, a little sand in the seams, and the sense — rare, and worth chasing — that you needed nothing more.