The Italian Riviera: A Non-touristy Summer Destination

OK so I’ve been walking all day today that my feet actually hurt and I have small wounds from my sandals. But I’m happy.

First, I’ll share that I’m spending two weeks in the Northern part of Italy. I’m staying in a coastal town in the west side of Liguria. Liguria is a region in Italy which is shaped like a boomerang and is so unique. You have the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other – and they are only a few kilometers apart.

An online travel article inspired this particular trip. I read an article about the non-touristy Italian Riviera and I decided to plan a trip. Of course the trip kept being postponed since the pandemic started and here I am – finally here!

You might have heard of Cinque Terre and Portofino. These are towns in the east side of Liguria. I’m staying in the west side of the same region. I might plan a day trip to explore towns in the east side for sometime next week. They are actually quite far from where I am and will take a couple of hours by car.

How to reach Alassio in the Italian Riviera

The nearest airport to Alassio is surprisingly Nice airport in France. Only an hour and a half away by car. Since I applied for my visit visa through the Italian embassy (and I had no idea that Nice airport is the nearest), I arrived to Milan airport. The car journey from Malpensa airport to my hotel in Alassio took three hours. So it’s quite far and not recommended. If you plan a trip to Alassio, try to land in Nice airport for a shorter journey.

The Town Layout

Alassio is the perfect summer season destination because it has private beach clubs all along the coast. I spent all of today exploring them and booking for the weekend. Since we have a couple of days of pure sunshine, I want to make the most of the good weather and spend time at the beach.

There’s also a lovely promenade where you can walk or ride a bicycle. There are beach clubs where you can rent sun loungers all along the coast. Of course there are restaurants and bars as well. Then you have small kiosks that sell food, drinks and beach stuff all along the promenade.

The town itself is so much fun to explore. I spent yesterday evening and all of today walking and I still feel like I didn’t see everything!

There’s a street full of authentic boutiques and small cafes. This street is called: Via xx Settembre and the Italians call this type of street ‘Budello’ which means a narrow street.

What I loved the most about today is how I manifested my favorite corner cafe in town! The owner and staff were so friendly and kind. I actually chose to sit there because I felt like it had a local vibe to it. Plus, I needed to use the washroom so badly so I chose a nearby spot.

I’m so grateful that I found this spot because I now plan to hang out there whenever I want to have a shakerato with Bailey’s, a light lunch or something else to drink. The cafe is not located in the main shopping street and this is exactly why it’s so charming and authentic.

My hotel is located at the top of a hill. I’ll share pictures from the hotel in a future post. I get to walk ten minutes to reach town. Then, coming up, I climb up a hill so I’m glad that I’m being active these days. It feels so good to be out and about in good weather.

Messages from the Universe

At the end of the day, I decided to have a slice of pizza for dinner. I wanted to eat something quick to be able to walk back to my hotel before it gets dark.

Guess what happened? First, I manifested the best pizza place in Alassio and I managed to get there right before they close. Then, while eating my pizza at a bench, I see a store sign in front of me that read ‘Move’!

If you’ve been following my posts, I shared that I keep seeing moving trucks everywhere I go. Well, today’s sign was so loud and clear! The store’s sign had one word only and it read ‘Move’.

I had mixed feelings of gratitude to see the sign but also sadness because I really can’t pack up and move until next year. I actually don’t want to move until next summer.

This is it for today’s first post from Alassio. I’ll be writing more posts next week. I’ll go and check the map now to see how far I walked today. Plus, make plans for the things that I want to do in the next couple of days.

Have you visited this part of Italy? Have you been to Liguria? If so, which towns did you visit? Did you visit Alassio?

P.S. I’m active on Twitter and I post regular updates from my trip. If you want to get live updates and travel tips, follow along on Twitter! You can find the link on the home page.

 

The Italian Riviera

Almond cappuccino and gluten-free cake

 

The Italian Riviera

The Italian Riviera: Alassio

 

Wagyu Bresola for lunch

 

The Italian Riviera

Shakerato at a corner cafe in Alassio, The Italian Riviera

 

Italian coastal town vibes

 

Apperitivo o’clock

 

Pizza and an Italian coastal town

 

Messages from the Universe in Alassio

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