Sanremo and Bordighera are the pearls of the Western Riviera: they are rich in marvellous villas and gardens and can offer two exceptional botanical gardens.

Sanremo is the Town of Flowers par excellence. Its splendid botanical garden is Villa Ormond which was built by the Rambaldi family - of Sanremo stock - and then sold to the Ormond family - from Paris - in 1887. Its recently rearranged park was modelled following the French style of the second half of the nineteenth century. The plants come from every part of the world: from the Canary Islands to Japan, from Tasmania to China, from California to Brazil.

In the afternoon visit to Bordighera. Right before the tunnel of Punta Migliarese, you will be able to see a steep rocky slope jutting out to the sea with terraced gardens. This is the Pallanca exotic garden - a spectacular natural monument created by the descendants of Bartolomeo Pallanca. There are 3,200 species of marvellous plants among which you can find a precious collection of cactuses - indeed the most important collection of this type in Italy and one of the most important ones in Europe. The oldest plant comes from Chile - where it grows on the Andes slopes - and is three hundred years old.