After Genoa, we spent almost a week in Ventimiglia. Haven’t heard of it? Neither had we! We were heading to Nice and this is where we would have to change trains and we were looking for a place to stay for a little downtime (plus I had some work to get done). It’s a cute town on the Ligurian coast of Italy about 4 miles from the French border.
We had an adventurous trip to Ventimiglia though. What should have been a 2-hour direct train ended up being a 5-hour trip with a train and 2 buses. We were on the train and getting close when Chris asked what time we were getting there. I opened the Trenitalia app to double check and realized our train was cancelled after the next stop (3 stops shy of our destination). Chris went and confirmed with the attendant – turns out there was an incident on the track so it was cancelled after our next stop. So he told us to wait out front of the next station and a bus would come.
Well, a bus eventually came 45 minutes later and it was a regular intercity bus (not meant to handle a train full of people and luggage!) – it only took us to what would have been the next train stop and that ride took 45 minutes. Then we waited about 90 minutes for the next bus to get us to Ventimiglia (also an intercity bus). The buses were packed between the regular riders and all the train passengers with their luggage. There was very nice man on the 2nd bus who made sure we got off on the correct stop. Then it was a short (<5 minute walk) from the stop to our AirBnb. Surprisingly, this was the only delay or issue we had on trains in our whole month in Italy.
We stayed in Ventimiglia Bassa – the lower, newer part of town that has the train station as well as shops and restaurants. Ventimiglia Alta (alta = high) is the historic old town up on the hill.
We eventually got to our AirBnb (https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1442592038202039496?guests=1&c=.pi129.pkpast_trip_share_virality&s=67&unique_share_id=cdd43823-9a9d-447b-8e2d-9e5db174afc2) and checked in … and wow what a view from the balcony!
After we dropped off our stuff, we headed back out to walk around before sunset. We walked over to the harbor area and came across this WWI / WW2 Memorial on the way. We’ve seen these in pretty much every European city we’ve visited.
Once we got to the marina, there were a ton of big yachts. It was actually built as an overflow marina for Monaco and is run by Monaco Ports. So needless to say, there were some impressive boats! Later in the week we also saw the marina from up above in the high town.
As we came back from the marina, we got a great view of the city with a really cool reflection of it in the water.
There are a handful of sights in Ventimiglia. One is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) up in Ventimiglia Alta. We walked up into Ventimiglia Alta one day and stopped in the church and were able to explore the nave, the crypt, and the baptistery. The church dates to the 11th-12th centuries and the baptistery from the 11th century.
Because it sits up on a hill, there are some great views. There’s also a fort – Forte dell’Annunziata – because of course you put forts up on the hill! The fort was built between the 16th and 17th centuries to defend the town. (https://ventimiglia.it/en/historic-sites-and-gardens/forte-dellannunziata-fort-and-museo-archeologico-gerolamo-rossi-archaeological-museum/)
Wandering around the old town, there were some really great old streets and alleys. Overlooking the port, there’s also this statue honoring The Black Corsair, or Il Corsaro Nero (honoring a fictional pirate from a 1898 book).
As we were walking up to Ventimiglia Alta, we caught glimpses of the Italian Alps (specifically the Ligurian Alps) out in the distance.
One day when we were coming back across the Roia River from Ventimiglia Alta, we saw a pretty large animal swimming across – at first I actually thought it was a person but it was a boar!
One of the great things about staying at AirBnb and VRBOs is having a kitchen. We have been making breakfast most mornings on this trip – but this balcony was definitely high on our list of best places for breakfast ….
… and for getting work done!
We went out for a run one day to see some Roman ruins and came back along the water. It’s such a beautiful place!
Toward the eastern part of town along the train tracks you can see a Roman theater as well as other ruins from the ancient city of Albintimilium (founded by the Romans in the 2nd century BC).
Another thing Ventimiglia is known for is the Friday Market – it’s large and extends through a good portion of Ventimiglia Bassa, along the water. We wandered through it – most of the stuff for sale was clothes and household items.
Right across from our AirBnb was a daily market – the Mercato Cuperto (covered market) – that had tons of local and regional food items, such as meats and cheeses, fruit and vegetables, and of course sweet treats!
In addition to enjoying breakfast out on our balcony, sunsets were absolutely gorgeous! Chris did a timelapse one night too – it came out pretty cool!
Our time in Ventimiglia capped out an amazing month in Italy and we felt like we still barely scratched the surface. Stay tuned for a post about a couple of day trips we took from Ventimiglia – to Monaco and Menton – and also for one on Italian food.
