Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Train -- There are trains almost hourly to and from Genoa (regional: 2 1/2 hr.; high-speed: 1 3/4 hr.). Two to three trains per hour connect with Bordighera (13 min.). Trains from Genoa continue west for another 20 minutes to Ventimiglia on the French border. From Ventimiglia you can continue across the border on one of the hourly trains to Nice, 40 minutes west.

By Bus -- Riviera Trasporti buses (tel. 0184-592-706; www.rivieratrasporti.it) run every 15 minutes between San Remo and Bordighera (20 min.). Almost as many buses continue on to Ventimiglia (40 min. from San Remo).

By Car -- The fastest driving route in and out of San Remo is Autostrada A10, which follows the coast from the French border (20 min. away) to Genoa (about 45 min. away). The slower coast road, S1, cuts right through the center of town.

Visitor Information

The APT tourist board is at Largo Nuvoloni 1 (tel. 0184-571-571; fax 0184-567-649; www.apt.rivieradeifiori.it or www.sanremonet.com), at the corner with Corso Imperatrice/Corso Matteotti (cross the street from the old train station, and go to the left a few hundred feet). It's open Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm and Sunday 9am to 1pm. In addition to a wealth of information on San Remo, the office also dispenses information on towns up and down the nearby coast, known as the Riviera dei Fiori.

Festivals

August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, is celebrated with special flair in San Remo, with the festival of Nostra Signora della Costa (Our Lady of the Coast). The Virgin Mary allegedly saved a local sailor from drowning, and she is honored with fireworks and a procession in medieval garb to her shrine on a hillside high above the town.

Since the 1950s, the Sanremo Festival (in late Feb or early Mar) has been Italy's -- and one of Europe's -- premier music fests. It's sort of an Italian version of the Grammy Awards, only spread out over several days with far more live performances -- by Italian pop stars, international headliners, and plenty of up-and-coming singers, songwriters, and bands. "Volare" was Sanremo's first-ever Best Recording, and today if you peruse the CD collections of most Italian households you'll find at least a few of the yearly compilation albums the festival puts out. The festival has spawned many other contestlike celebrations of film and music (international folk to musica lirica) throughout the year, but this is the big one, booking hotels up and down the coast months in advance. Call the tourist office if you want to try to score tickets.