Page 108 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

7 ventimiglia
DETOUR:
L’ENTROTERRA Despite its enviable posi-
tion between the glitter
Start: 7 Ventimiglia of San Remo and the
The designation ‘Riviera’ omits the pleated, Côte d’Azur, Ventimiglia
mountainous interior – l’entroterra – that makes is a soulful but disorderly
up nine-tenths of Liguria. Harried by invasions, border town, its Roman
coast-dwellers took to these vertical landscapes past still evident in its
over a thousand years ago, hewing their perched bridges, amphitheatre
villages from the rock face of the Maritime Alps. You’ll and ruined baths. Now
want to set aside two extra days to drive the coiling it’s the huge Friday mar-
roads that rise up from Ventimiglia to Dolceacqua, ket (h8am-3pm Fri) that
Apricale and Pigna. If you do make the effort, book draws the crowds.
into gorgeous boutique hotel Apricus Locanda If you can’t find a sou-
(%339 6008622; www.apricuslocanda.com; Via IV Novembre venir here then consider
5, Apricale; s/d €95/105; ps); it’s worth it for the one of the prized artisa-
breakfast and see-forever panoramas. nal honeys produced by
ITALY 7 ITALIAN RIvIERA
Marco Ballestra (%0184
35 16 72; www.ilmieledel
belle-époque casino (www. Beyond the waterfront, brichetto.it; Via Girolamo Rossi
casinosanremo.it; Corso de- San Remo hides a little- 5), which has hives in
gli Inglesi) and lashings of visited old town, a laby- the hills above the Valle
Riviera-style grandeur. rinth of twisting lanes Roya. There are over a
During the mid- that cascade down the dozen different types.
19th century the city Ligurian hillside. Curling To end the tour head
became a magnet for around the base is the over to the pretty west-
European exiles such as Italian Cycling Riviera, a ern suburb of Ponte San
Czar Nicolas of Russia, path that tracks the coast Ludovico to the Giardini
who favoured the town’s as far as Imperia. For Botanici Hanbury (www.
balmy winters. They bike hire, enquire at the giardinihanbury.com; Corso
built an onion-domed tourist office (www.visit Montecarlo 43; adult/reduced
Russian Orthodox rivieradeifiori.it; Largo Nuvoloni €9/7.50; h9.30am-6pm),
church (Via Nuvoloni 2; €1; 1; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 9am- the 18-hectare estate of
h9.30am-noon & 3-6pm) 1pm Sun; c). English businessman
reminiscent of Moscow’s Sir Thomas Hanbury;
St Basil’s Cathedral, 54 p107 he planted it with an
which still turns heads The Drive » For the final 17km extravagant 5800 bo-
down by the seafront. stretch to Ventimiglia take the tanical species from five
Swedish inventor Alfred SS1 coastal road, which hugs continents.
Nobel also maintained the base of the mountains 5 p107
a villa here, the Villa and offers uninterrupted sea
Nobel (Corso Felice Cavallotti views. In summer and at Easter,
however, when traffic is heavy,
112; adult/reduced €5.50/4; your best bet is the A10.
h10am-12.30pm Tue-Thu,
10am-12.30pm & 5-8pm
Fri-Sun Jun-Sep), which
now houses a museum
dedicated to him.

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