We spent a lovely weekend here in early March 2010 to celebrate my mother’s birthday.
The town has several parts:
There were many old belle époque houses – big, grand, ornate villas, many of which had been turned into small hotels. Charles Garnier (the architect who designed the opera house in Paris and the casino in Monaco) had a villa here, and the author George MacDonald lived here.
The modern coastal strip filled with apartment blocks, hotels and boutiques and elderly people strolling around. Apparently this is more evident in the summer.
We walked up and down the main street, looking at the dress shops, and cafés but not really a vast amount of exciting shops – largely older fashions and apparently none in my size – did I feel good?
We did find the market located in a building dating from the 1930s. Lots of cheeses, fruit and vegetables and so very different to a French market a mere hour away. Love the expression of regional variety!
Part of this modern town included the beach and coastal strip as well as a small marina.
One reason for this areas popularity was the very reason we had chosen it for an early March birthday – the mildness of the weather. Although it was a cool weekend – we still needed coats, the Mimosa was in t full bloom and there were oranges and lemons on the trees.
This area used to be the hot house providing flowers for the social circuit of northern Europe. Bordighera traditionally supplies Vienna with its flowers for its annual New Year’s Eve/Day concerts and the palm branches for the Pope at Easter (although spreading palm disease may threaten this last tradition).
The other part of the town is the old walled hilltop top town. This was completely different. No cars, and, because hilly, few elderly people strolled round the quaint alley ways. This was a part for locals and younger tourists.
However, the town was very quiet and relatively empty – maybe because out of season?
Having been told that the two restaurants my mother had eyed up for her birthday lunch had since closed up and moved to Russia (?!) we decided to explore the old town while my parents rested after our mornings walk, and found a restaurant in the old town which had been recommended.
This was our first exposure to Ligurian food and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of dishes with fish and vegetables.
We stayed at:
Hotel Villa Elisa Via Romana, 70 18012 Bordighera Tel: 0184 26 13 13/4 email: info@villaelisa.com www.villaelisa.com
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