Liguria
The Italian Riviera, elegant seaside resorts, rugged mountainsides and villages nestling in rocky coves
The region of Liguria is a slender strip of land at the top of
Italy's boot, curving north-westwards around the Mediterranean,
stretching from Tuscany to the French border. This area is often known
as the 'Italian Riviera' and its seaside resorts and elegant promenades
have attracted sun-hungry northern Europeans for more than a century.
The generally rocky coastline rises up to inland mountains which are
increasingly steep and high towards the north-west where the Maritime
Alps (reaching up to over 2,600m in height) meet the sea. This
geography has created a famously mild climate benefiting both tourism
and the region's renowned gardens.
Even if you've never been there, you've probably
seen its northeastern border in all those movies where glamorous jet
setters hop into their sports cars and motor from Monte Carlo to Rome.
Like so much of Italy, Liguria is a land of contrasts, home
to belle époque seaside resort towns in the style of Cannes and
Monaco; dozens and dozens of sandy strands, rocky coves and pebbly
beaches;
some of its most secluded stretches of coast, where lush forests of
lemon trees, herbs, flowers, almonds and pines send forth heady
sweet-smelling breezes; terraced hillsides that produce an olive oil
considered more delicate than those grown in Tuscany.
