San Remo & Bordighera
This excursion will make you discover the two pearls of the Riviera of the Flowers, Bordighera and Sanremo.
You will meet your knowledgeable guide and your bus and you will drive you to Bordighera.
Bordighera developed as a town of fishermen and farmers and in 1471 the area extended to Bordighera Alta.
Today, Bordighera represents a destination for elite tourists. It is a city of humor that holds a great international manifestation of cartoon artists and satire comedy during July. Bordighera is divided into two distinct parts: the historical center or Bordighera Alta and the modern areas along the coast.
The guide will introduce you to the little town.
Piazza De Amicis unites the two parts of the city and here you can admire the Municipality of Charles Garnier and a marble fountain adorned by the statue by Magiargè.
The old picturesque area has charming homes, the Porta Sottana, the 1617 Church of Maria Maddalena that has rococo stuccos, and the Oratory of St. Bartolomeo degli Armeni (end of the 15th century).
You will then reach Sanremo where you will first visit Villa Nobel, a Moorish-style building which hosted the famous Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel from 1890 to 1896. It was here that he decided to establish the famous “Nobel prizes”. Nowadays the villa thrives with prestigious cultural initiatives and it houses permanent museum of Nobel relics together with a gallery of Italian Nobel Prizes. Its park is full of age-old and precious plants.
In Sanremo you will also visit the characteristic historical centre, called La Pigna.
Once la Pigna was the pulse of a no longer existing Sanremo. It was the actual old town and now it is both the “humblest” and the most spontaneous area of the town. It is full of covered alleys, little squares, and terraced houses together with dull colours and long silences which in turn create emotions and sensations unknown to mass tourism.
You will reach piazza dell’Oratorio dei Dolori (its names comes from the brotherhood of Mercy or of Pain).
The inside of the oratory is decorated with 18th century frescoes.
You can admire the palace of the counts Sapia Rossi which gave hospitality to Napoleon in 1794.
On the top of the hillock, you will find the Madonna della Costa (Our Lady of the Coast), as the sanctuary is called here in Sanremo. This 17th century building was once a safe landmark for sailors approaching Sanremo. The inside of the sanctuary is richly decorated with marbles and stuccoes.
You will then walk to Sanremo modern city centre, where the guide will introduce you to its main highlights and where you will have some free time before meeting your bus and reach your ship again.
Dolceacqua & Apricale
You will depart towards Dolceacqua escorted by a licensed guide.
Dolceacqua, a village with 2,000 inhabitants, has a lot to offer, the lovely medieval bridge painted by the French painter Monet, the main Dorian castle dating back to 12th century and some nice shops, cafés and restaurants.
Of the castle, built in 1151 and definitively destroyed in 1887, only the ruins remain, perched on a rocky spur dominating the medieval village at the foot of the Rebuffao mountain. The houses, sometimes six floors high, lead down to the river called “la Nervia”. A single-arched bridge with a span of 33 m joins “la Terra” to “Borgo”, the new part of town built in the 15th century.
Around six in the evening people congregate in the little bars and cafes which put out snacks to encourage drinkers to hang about. A farmers market takes place on Thursdays and local produce festivals on the last Sunday each month throughout the year.
Dolceacqua has obtained the “Paesi Bandiera Arancione” seal of approval awarded by the Italian Touring Club to hinterland towns for the quality of their tourism and their environment.
After the guided tour and some free time, you will continue towards Apricale.
Apricale is the oldest of all the hilltop villages of the valley Nervia. It was partly destroyed but rebuilt in 16th century during a period of falling out between the Grimaldi family of Monaco and the Dorians. The castle and its gardens are all worthy of exploration. You will begin your tour at the bottom of the principal street, Via Angeli and walk up to the square. Whichever approach you take the lanes, tunnels, arches and stairways transport you back to another age. If you start at the bottom, the Santa Maria degli Angeli church at the foot of the village is covered in frescos from 15th century. You will note the old wells nearby which provided water for the lower part of the village and were used as baptismal fonts in the Middle Ages. They were reputed to have curative properties.
It will then be time to come to the port.
Taggia & Bussana Vecchia
Dolceacqua & Pigna
Monaco & Monte Carlo
Hanbury Garden & San Remo
San Remo City Tour
