From January 31st to March 3rd, it’s Carnival time all along the Italian Riviera and the French Riviera, with San Remo, Menton and Nice offering spectacular parades.

San Remo Flower Carnival

It’s San Remo starting on January 31st with its unique “San Remo in Fiore” (San Remo in Bloom), a great carnival parade with Flower Floats, all covered with thousands of fresh flowers from the famous Riviera dei Fiori (Flowers Riviera), and in the middle many brass bands coming from all over Europe. The event is unique, as the flower floats, built after months of work, can be used only once. Nearly 50.000 spectators attend the event, that’s even broadcasted live on national tv, scoring 5 million viewers, attracted by the winter sun and flowers of the famous Italian Riviera.

From February 12 to March 3 it will be the time of Menton, with its famous “Fete du Citron” (Lemon Feast), where the carnival floats are all covered with lemon and oranges. The Parade goes on the seaside avenue all borded by thousands of spectators, while in the town centre are exposed unique colorful sculptures made of lemon and oranges.

In Nice the famous “Nice Carnaval” (Carnival of Nice), this year will take place between the 12 and the 28 of February and will be named after the “King of the Blue Planet”.  The gigantic floats and a thousand artists will parade towards the Promenade des Anglais and the Place Massena filling the spectator’s eyes with colors and happiness. A truly old tradition of Nice Carnival are the Battailles des Fleurs (Flower Battles), special parades where fresh flowers are thrown from the floats towards the spectators.

Nyala Wonder Travel have prepare some special packages to take advantage of that fun time in Liguria and Cote d’Azur: San Remo Flower Parade Package and Nice and Menton Carnival Package.

Nobel's Villa in San Remo

Villa Nobelhas been the last residence of the great Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel. He bought the amazing villa in morish stile in 1890 and lived here until his death on December 10th 1896.

Today the Villa, property of the Province of Imperia, is a very interesting museum and host some important cultural and official events.

During the visit one can discover the apartments of Nobel and its laboratories, where he conducted all experiments.

Up to August 29th, on Saturdays the Cooperativa Strade organizes guided visits of the villa.
Time: 4:30 pm. Duration: 1 hour. Price: € 3,50 p.p.

To learn more about the villa visit Sanremo Guide.

2009 Summer Sales in San Remo

Shopping remains one of the top attactions of San Remo, thanks to many exclusive bouriques and jewelleries in the renowned Via Matteotti.

Summer Sales  last from July, 10th to August, 22nd 2009

Shopping hours are
Monday: 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Tuesday to Saturday: 9:30/10:00 am to 12:30/13:00 pm and  3:30/4:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
Sunday: some shops may be open, mainly in the afternoon.

Night shopping hours (until August, 22nd):
Friday and Saturday: 9:00/9:30 pm ’till midnight