The Italian Riviera: Clear Turquoise Sea & Luxury Yachts
After Tuscany, the next stop on our trip was the Italian Riviera, close to the French border. We stayed in a small Airbnb apartment in the hills of Imperia, offering amazing views of the coast, the clear turquoise water and the busy highways.
Imperia is close to San Remo, one of the main towns on this part of the Italian coast and only an hour’s drive from Monaco and Nice. It was a great location to spend a week and do day trips from. Imperia also has a quaint town center and a beautiful yacht harbor which are worth a visit in themselves. Several luxury yachts were docked at the harbor – some of them with purchase prices well into the three-digit million euros😌. Imperia also has a pedestrian walk along the water, which takes you to the next small village and is perfect for an idyllic run.
An unexpected highlight of this week, turned out to be Simba – the dog living with the family renting out the Airbnb apartment we stayed in. Frederik, who was afraid of dogs in the past, was smitten with Simba, who became his best new friend after getting a few treats!
Nice, France: Promenades, Playgrounds and 94 Ice Cream Sorts
We drove to Nice on a rainy day and just spent few hours in the city, but we still got a good impression of what the capital of the French Riviera has to offer.
With the kids longing for outdoor activity and exercise (and us longing for them to burn off energy), we focused on seeing some of the bigger outdoor areas. The Promenade du Paillon, a large urban park in the city center, was an instant hit. With multiple playgrounds and lawns to run wild, the kids were well entertained and could have spent several hours exploring all parts of the park. Secondly, we visited another famous promenade – the Promenade des Anglais, which stretches for 7km along the coast from Nice to the airport. We had planned to bring beach clothes or rent bikes to explore the full length of the promenade, but this time around we just did a quick stop and agreed to revisit on a sunny day.
The last thing om our bucket list for Nice was Fenocchio, an ice cream shop famous for its tasty ice cream and many sorts of ice cream. We had read that Fenocchio has 94 different sorts of ice creams, including flavors like cactus, beer, tomato and much more. Niklas had spent a lot of time ahead of the trip considering how brave he would be in tasting some of the more unusual ice creams. At the end of the day, his braveness amounted to tasting Coca Cola ice cream whereas I went all in and tasted Cactus. And how was it? Well, let us just say that some things are good to have tried once but do not need to be repeated!
San Remo: City of Flowers, Sandy Beaches and Scenic Bike Paths
Imperia is half an hour from San Remo and we went to this charming town on two half-day visits. Once to get a feel for the town and a second time to drive a part of a 24km bike path which stretches along the coast from San Lorenzo al Mare to Ospedaletti.
San Remo is known as the city of flowers and famous for the Milan-San Remo cycling race as well as its casino, chic shopping streets, beautiful old buildings and town center. The town is set directly by the water, offering great sandy beaches and stunning views of the coast. A visit can only be recommended and it is definitely not the last time we have been here.
We bike a lot in Copenhagen and on our second visit to San Remo, we rented bikes to drive part of the 24km bike path, which has been established along a former railway line. Bikes can be rented on an hourly or daily basis in all small villages along the bike trail and come in all sizes needed.
We biked from San Remo to Ospedaletti, which is the last 4km part of the bike path and includes biking through a 1.7km long tunnel. The ride was super smooth and easy also for the kids. There were many great views and the 1.7km tunnel was an experience to drive through, especially for anyone interested in the history of the Milan-San Remo cycling race as the tunnel is decorated with posters telling the story of the famous race.
During our week in Imperia, we also did a full day-trip to Monaco. A separate blog with highlights from that trip will follow later this week – there is simply so much to tell and share that it deserves a blog of its own!
