ESCORTED HOLIDAYS COLLECTION 2020

Bordighera - the Italian Riviera
& Monte Carlo
8 days from £879 April, May, June & September
The sun-seeking British of the 19th century left their mark all along
the Riviera but perhaps nowhere more so than in the Italian town of
Bordighera – famous for its perfect climate, seafront promenade, and
palm trees. It was also a favourite resort of Claude Monet who stayed ten
weeks here and painted thirty-five landscapes in Bordighera and the
neighbouring hills. Just a few miles along the coast we find two more
popular British haunts – Monte Carlo and Nice.
• 7 nights hb in Bordighera • Excursion to Taggia and San Remo
• Excursion to Monte Carlo • Excursion to Dolceacqua • Walking tour of
Bordighera
Also available will be an optional
excursion to the Villa Rothschild, with
its superb gardens, and Nice, with its
famous ‘Promenade des Anglais’. You
travel along the spectacular lower
corniche passing Beaulieu to the Villa
Ephrussi de Rothschild located on Cap-
Ferrat. The Italianate, pink-coloured
property is luxuriously furnished, has
splendid sea views and is encircled by
no less than nine splendid gardens,
each following a different theme. After
your visit, you continue to Nice for lunch
and free time, returning to the hotel
via the even more spectacular middle
corniche in the late afternoon.
Other days: Free to enjoy the delights of
Bordighera as others have done in the
past. Your hotel is handily situated for
the station, with services to Ventimiglia,
and to San Remo and beyond. On
Thursday there is a market on the
seafront near the hotel. There are also
local bus services.
DAY EIGHT: Free time until you depart
for the airport. Dependent on traffic
conditions and flight timings, there may
be time for some last-minute shopping
in Nice en route.
PROGRAMME
DAY ONE: Flight to Nice and
transfer to your hotel (45-minutes) in
Bordighera for seven nights half board
accommodation.
Bordighera is a pleasant, typically
Ligurian seaside town with a superb
pedestrianized promenade. Walking
through the town you become aware
of its British connection with signs to
the Museo Biblioteca Bicknell or to the
Giardini Lowe. These are echoes of a
past when British visitors outnumbered
the locals by 3 to 2 and had their own
Anglican church, tennis club, theatre,
weekly newspaper, banks and shops. As
well as for its idyllic scenery and climate,
Bordighera is noted for the palm trees
along the Lungomare (Promenade)
from which the Vatican selects its palms
for Palm Sunday.
DAYS TWO TO SEVEN: On Day 2 there
is a late morning walking tour pointing
out the highlights of the town. Free in
resort with three included excursions.
The first included excursion will be to
Taggia, another example of a Ligurian
old town, and San Remo, the ‘Pearl
of the Riviera of Flowers’, with its old
centre, impressive villas and pleasant
market area.
The second included excursion will be
to Monte Carlo. No holiday to the Riviera
would be complete without a visit to
the Principality of Monaco. This little
country is divided into four areas, only
one of which is truly ‘Monte Carlo’, with
its plush hotels and fin-de-siecle Casino
(try and break the bank if you wish,
but we don’t recommend it!). Along
the harbour-side, where the Grand
Prix cars race each May, are yachts of
incredible opulence; and on the rock
above is the Palace where Grace Kelly
lived with Prince Rainier and where
they still ‘change the guard’ daily. There
is also the Jardin Exotique (entrance
not included) where the 2400 hours
of yearly sunshine allow exotic plants
and cacti to flourish, and also a fine
Oceanographic Museum.
The third included excursion is to
the Nervia Valley. You drive through
Camporosso, a pretty village, and stop
in medieval Dolceaqua, dominated by
the Dorias’ Castle. The bridge, over the
Nervia river, was painted by Monet in
1884. You will visit the ‘Visionarium’ –
it will surprise you, we promise! You
continue up the valley to Pigna, a pretty
mountain village.
YOUR HOTEL
HOTEL PARIGI HHHH,
Bordighera (seven nights)
This comfortable hotel is family-run
and stands right on the seafront
promenade, just a short stroll from the
town centre. Rooms have flatscreen
tv with satellite channels, airconditioning,
private bath or shower,
wc and hairdryer. Although the railway
line passes 20 metres behind the hotel,
there are very few trains overnight and
in any case rooms are double-glazed.
The holiday price is based on hill view
rooms. Side and full sea view rooms
are available at a supplement. (www.
hotelparigi.com). Free one-hour session
in the hotel wellness centre.
A WALKING HOLIDAY is also available
from this hotel. Please ask for a copy
of our Walking Holidays brochure or
visit preferredts.com.
Please refer to the enclosed ‘Dates and Flight Information’ for details of departure dates, prices and flights.
www.preferredts.com | 21