Travel Guide: Sanremo, Italy
Last week M and I took a quick summer trip to Italy, we were away for just 6 nights (one was the flight over) but had an amazing few days.
Day 1:
We flew on Wednesday evening from New York to Milan, rented a car and made our way about 3 hours northwest to the town of
Italy. Before hopping in our rental car, we popped into the Sheraton at the Milan airport for a quick shower. Most airport hotels will offer day rooms, which are usually fairly inexpensive, especially if you only stay a few hours, and are a great way to clean up after an overnight flight. Plus breakfast from room service is the most amazing thing when you are tired and hungry!
The rental car situation at the Milan airport left a lot to be desired, (bring you patience!) but we finally got the keys and located our
semi
-automatic car. Neither of us drive manual (I know, we totally should, but since I haven't driven in 5 years, {I kid you not}, and M drives maybe 4x per year, its not a high priority) so we reserved an automatic car, one of two models that Hertz rents. However, it was a semi-automatic and defintiely took a few tried to get out of the parking garage!
We encountered fairly heavy traffic and some of the most unbelievable roads ever on the drive to Sanremo. We joked that we should have started counting tunnels and viaducts when we left the airport because the entire road seemed to be made of them! The tougher than expected drive coupled with
our
my lack of sleep on the overnight flight left us fairly wiped by the time we got to the hotel. We stayed 3 nights at the
which was lovely. It has been recently renovated an had beautiful rooms, and a new spa, but still has plenty of old-world charm. We were lucky to be able to coordinate a part of our trip with my parents, who were there to meet us at the hotel when we finally arrived.
After a bit of relaxing, we went out for a walk and in search for an early dinner. This part of the Italian coast definitely embraces the laid-back atmosphere of much of the Mediterranean, and we found it nearly impossible to find a restaruant that opened before 7 or 8pm. However, the delightful, mainly northern-Italian custom of aperitivo, (a pre-dinner drink, paired with 'free' snacks) enjoyed at a cafe along the main pedestrian street, helped us rally a bit and last until dinner time. For dinner we went to
, which I also highly recommend, fantastic fresh seafood and reasonable prices. Ask them what's best that day and they won't steer you wrong.
Sanremo is an incredibly charming sea-side town that has been a major summer resort for Europeans for decades. It has a lovely, slightly faded glamour and is well worth a few days if you are planning a trip. It is located just a few miles from France, making it easy to include in a trip to Nice, Monaco and other destinations on the French or Italian Riviera. Much of the town has been converted to pedestrian only thoroughfares and entire town is very compact and walkable. It is also very easy to reach the beach by foot, though the beach is very rocky and not the sandy expanse that you find in many other beach destinations.
