In the summer season, a lot of tourist visit Cote d’Azur, and it is a lot of traffic. Our bike tours from Nice have therefore been in October to April. Many hotels are closed in winter, but the climate is pleasant, and good accomodations and restaurants are still quite easy to find. We have hired bicycles from Holiday bikes.
The suggested route below goes along a railway line, so it is possible to travel parts of the distance by train in case the weather becomes really bad or something unexpected happens.
Day 1: Nice to Bordighera (50 km, map link)
Let us start on Promenade d’Anglais near the world famous Hotel Negresco (which offers a less expensive half board price in winter).
Go east on the cycling path along Promenade de Anglais, which continues along the harbour of Nice. Then turn north along Boulevard Lech Walesa, and east along road M6007, which is followed all the way uphill past Villefranche-sur-Mer to Eze, and downhill past Cap-d’Ail to Monaco.
Eze or Monaco can then be visited for lunch. To use an extra day to visit both Eze and Monaco is a good alternative to the present route.
From Monaco, continue along D6007 towards Menton where the route goes along the sea to the Italian border. Across the border, take SS1, which goes through 3 tunnels. Make certain that you and your bike is easy to see for car drivers in the tunnels (turn lights on; reflecting clothes and gear also helps).
Choosing smaller roads or bicycle paths often feels better than sharing the main road with cars. The suggested route turns right along roads with less traffic at Latte and before Ventimiglia, and follows small roads and bicycle paths along the sea to Bordighera. There Grand Hotel del Mare can be recommended for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2. Bordighera to Alassio (56 km, map link)
From Grand Hotel del Mare, go north-east along the main road. Just before Ospedaletti, turn right to find a nice bicycle path along the sea converted from an old railroad. The bicycle path goes through a long illuminated tunnel with historic pictures from Giro de Italia, and continues along the sea through San Remo and Riviera dei Fiori to San Lorenzo al Mare. If any place on the earth is the best for cyclists to visit, it may be the coast near San Remo.
Going further east from San Lorenzo, cyclists share the main road with cars until Imperia, where a good lunch restaurant can be found (for example Ristorante Sarri in Porto Maurizio). To reserve a table in advance may be a good idea.
From the harbour of Imperia, the route continues on a narrow path along the sea to Diano Marina. At San Bartolomeo al Mare, the medival village Cervo is seen from the road.
Further east towards Alassio, follow the main road (SS1, Via Aurelia). Hotel Dei Fiori in Alassio can be recommended for overnight stay.
Day 3. Alassio to Savona (51 km, map link)
Go along the main road from Alassio to Albenga, where there are several options. The suggested route goes along the sea, until Via Aurelia again becomes the only option between Ceriale and Luano, and between the villages along the Ligure coast.
At some places the coast is hilly, giving very nice viewpoints. At Finale Ligure, a detour to a lunch restaurant may be a good idea. Restaurant Ai Cuattro Canti at Finalborgo can be recommended.
In Savona, the old town is worth seeing. Hotel NH Savona Darsena can be recommended for overnight stay. There are good restaurants near by, for example La Granda in Riviera and Molo terrazzetta.
A visit to Genova by train from Savona can be recommended. To spend a day in the old city of Genova is a nice experience. Back from Savona to Nice, taking a train is an alternative to the cycling route.
