Loano and the Riviera delle Palme

Loano is a splendid little town on the Riviera delle Palme a few km from Savona. These are the characteristics that make us choose it over others, as well as of course its closeness to home:

1 a truly beautiful seaside promenade, with benches, toilets, video surveillance, ramps for pushchairs and wheelchairs, a play area for children 2 easy parking 3 a historic centre to be reckoned with, with many shops. 4 an ideal starting point for many trips along the riviera or in the Ligurian hinterland (Alassio, Finale Ligure, Noli, Ceriale, to name but a few): As many Ligurians know, the best time to enjoy our beaches is the low season, and indeed we favour periods of lower tourist numbers, not only for the lower prices but above all for the tranquillity. If you're looking for a good hotel option I recommend the residence Perelli, right in front of the beach and the municipal playground; we had a really good stay there, lovely rooms and large terraces, a children's games room and a gym.

Another option is the Loano village, which offers both hotel and residence formulas; it isn't very close to the sea but they provide a free shuttle, and it has a fantastic pool. For those who want to spend a bit less, in the heart of the historic centre there's the hotel Isabella; the rooms are truly spacious and brand new.

Our little angel had a great time with his new little car, but what he liked most was surely the 'little train of Loano' (not to be confused with the little train that does the sightseeing tour of the town; the one I'm talking about is in front of the train station and the Saitta dance hall). We always buy a certain number of tickets, also because we know perfectly well we'll be back, so why not save? As for the beach, I can only recommend the 'free' ones right on the border with Borghetto Santo Spirito; there are several, also 'EQUIPPED' ones, so if you want the comfort of a sun lounger and umbrella you can rent them at half the price of the other 'VERY CROWDED' private bathing establishments; moreover, if you're lucky, right in front there's free parking.

If instead you want sand, you can go to the beautiful beach of Alassio; there's a truly beautiful public one on the border with Laigueglia, again with free parking; the water is clean and the beach very white, indeed surprisingly we found many shells, and then as everyone knows the characteristic of these beaches is that you can walk out to sea always in shallow water, which is great fun for children. As for trips, I recommend a few.

1) Le Caravelle, a large water park in Ceriale 2) Finalborgo is a very ancient medieval village, really beautiful; from there you can go to Perti and stop to eat at the agriturismo dei 5 campanili 3) Alassio, international tourism, famous for its wall and its 'gut' 4) Albenga, another very beautiful medieval town, there are many things to see; among the many I suggest doing the panoramic path that links Albenga to Alassio (via Julia Augusta) and returning by train or bus 5) Noli, an ancient maritime republic 6) Toirano and its caves 7) Le Manie: go and eat at the restaurant la grotta, the food is good, the price fair, and it's the ideal point for visiting the cave below, 'ARMA DELLE MANIE', and doing another stretch of the Julia Augusta, seeing the Val Ponci with its very ancient Roman bridges; get a map at the tourist information point 8) Varigotti: don't miss a visit to the church of Sa

n Lorenzo and the Saracen Tower 9) For cave lovers there are several in the area; I recommend a simple excursion to the Strapatente and the Grotta dei Balconi

PRACTICAL INFORMATION: SHOPPING: for your shopping you're spoiled for choice; obviously the shops in town are expensive, but if you organise yourself well you'll manage to spend the right amount. I, for example, do the 'big' shop at large supermarkets like the Iper in Savona, the Coop in Albenga or the Dico in Borghetto Santo Spirito, and turn to the local shop only for the little things I may have forgotten.

PARKING: we always park the car where they hold the market; there's a large free car park; remember to move it!

HOSPITALS: hoping you won't need it, at Pietra Ligure, a few minutes by car from Loano, there's the Santa Corona.