Ventimiglia, the Liguria that speaks French, is only 8 kilometres from the French Riviera (30 minutes from The Mall Sanremo). Discover the carruggi or narrow alleys of the upper town, the noble palaces, gardens, fortified walls and the Roia River which separates Ventimiglia’s ancient heart from its more modern one.

CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA
Built between the 11th and 12th centuries, the simple and austere interior transmits the power of Romanesque architecture. Next to the cathedral is the octagonal baptistery, in the same square as the former Convent of the Lateran Canonesses, together with the baroque Church of St. Anthony the Abbot.

ROMANESQUE CHURCH OF SAN MICHELE
Romanesque, equally beautiful and even older, this church was once a monastery of the Benedictines of the Lérins Abbey in France.

ORATORY OF SAN SECONDO
Known as “dei Neri”, because of the colour of the cape of the Misericordia brethren who frequented it, the Oratory of San Secondo is a small Baroque gem, with frescoes, Rococo stuccoes, marble inlays and a fine statue of the “Dead Christ.”

THE FUNTANIN BELVEDERE
An elegant viewpoint over the harbour and the sea, near Porta Nizza.

GIROLAMO ROSSI CIVIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The fortress of the maritime republic of Genoa now houses the archaeological museum with artefacts mainly from the excavations of ancient Albintimilium, a pre-Roman and Roman site in Nervia, a hamlet of Ventimiglia, where there is also a must-see wildlife area for birdwatchers.

CALA DEL FORTE
Ventimiglia’s modern port, with its characteristic circular shape.

LE CALANDRE BEACH
Golden sandy beach with a gently sloping seabed, accessed by a path from the Annunziata Fort.

COVERED MARKET
Across the Roia River is the former Flower Market, which has become a covered market with food specialties from local producers.

GIARDINI BOTANICI HANBURY AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA OF THE BALZI ROSSI
Heading toward the French border you can visit one of the world’s most famous botanical parks, a paradise of cacti, citrus and rare plants overlooking the sea. In addition you can see one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites of its kind, “home” to our distant ancestor, the Cro-Magnon Man.