This tour crosses into Italy, visiting coastal San Remo and the medieval village of Dolceacqua inland. In a single day you can feel the contrast between the French Riviera and Liguria – in architecture, streets and daily life - only a short drive from Nice.
The aim of this tour is to cross the border and spend a relaxed day in two places with very different characters: San Remo and Dolceacqua.
In the morning, we drive along the coast to San Remo — a city of flowers, Italian music and easy seaside life. Known for the Italian Song Festival, an elegant promenade, gardens and the finish of the Milan–San Remo cycling race, the city blends historic buildings, refined villas and everyday Italian rhythm: cafés, espresso, focaccia, gelato and tiramisu.
In the afternoon, we move into a completely different landscape — Dolceacqua, a small town set inland. A single-arch stone bridge, houses climbing the hillside and castle ruins above the valley create the atmosphere of a medieval Ligurian town. This is a place where the history of sea salt trade, narrow streets and local Rossese wine meet in one frame.
The tour is available year-round.
From 1 June to 31 August
– approximate hours: 08:00 – 19:00
From 1 September to 31 May
– departure and return times may be slightly adjusted depending on season, weather and group pace.
Groups are small — up to 6 people.
Start and return are always in Nice.
This is a car-based tour with several relaxed walks through towns. It is recommended to prepare:
- comfortable shoes for cobbled streets and gentle elevation changes,
- clothing suited to the weather (the coast is usually milder than inland areas),
- sun protection in summer,
- an identity document (ID card or passport — we cross into Italy),
- some cash or a card for coffee, gelato, lunch and local products.
Transport is provided by a Mercedes V-Class, comfortable and well suited to narrow Italian streets and limited parking areas.
Minimum participant age: 4 years.
Approximately 08:00 to 19:00 — a full day on both sides of the border.
The distance from Nice to the Italian border is about 35 km.
The drive to San Remo takes just over an hour, while the route to Dolceacqua follows a calm, scenic road inland.
There are several walks, but the pace is adjusted to the group — this tour is not about rushing between points, but about moving calmly in the rhythm of the Italian Riviera.
Price per person from 75€ *
The price depends on the number of participants. I use a simple and transparent model:
– the total daily cost (450€) is divided by the number of participants,
– with a full group of 6 people, the price per person is the lowest,
– with fewer participants, the price per person is higher, but the entire day remains exclusive to the group.
Meals are at the participants’ expense.
Unlimited water and small snacks are provided during the day.
Map
San Remo
Lac de Sainte-Croix
Nice
Granica
Schedule
08:00 – 09:30 – Departure from Nice towards the Italian border. Possible short stop for coffee and breakfast along the way.
09:30 – 13:00 – Time in San Remo — promenade, gardens, seaside areas, walk through the old town, possibility to stop at a café and try local sweets.
13:00 – 14:00 – Drive from San Remo to Dolceacqua along a scenic inland road.
14:00 – 17:00 – Time in Dolceacqua — walk through medieval streets, the famous stone bridge, the castle overlooking the town, time for lunch and the possibility to taste local Rossese di Dolceacqua wine.
17:00 – 19:00 – Return to Nice, with short photographic stops where conditions and the pace of the day allow.
This schedule applies roughly from April to October.
In winter, the plan may change depending on conditions and daylight.
Flow of the day
A stay on the French Riviera is easy to combine with a visit just beyond the border — Italy is close, and the difference in climate and lifestyle becomes noticeable after only a short drive.
San Remo is often associated with the song festival, but on site it reveals many layers: gardens, an elegant promenade, fragments of the old town with narrow streets and typical Italian cafés where life revolves around espresso and brief conversations at small tables. It is also the finish line of the classic Milan–San Remo cycling race, something you can sense in the presence of cyclists in the area.
In the afternoon, the landscape changes completely. Dolceacqua lies away from the coast, by a river, with its characteristic stone bridge and buildings climbing toward castle ruins. In the past, the town played an important role in the transport of sea salt from France — used not only to preserve food, but also for cleaning leather products. Today, it is a calm place of tunnels, stairs, stone passages and local Rossese wine, well worth tasting on site.
This is a day that naturally shows how close three worlds are to each other: the French Riviera, the Italian coast and a small medieval hill town inland.
