The area’s best achievement comprises Stage One of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri hiking trail . The 10km route (which takes an cushy 3hr) begins from Ventimiglia tourist office; achievement easterly for a few minutes along Via Cavour, which becomes Corso Genova, and then duck north beneath the train tracks via an underpass which is marked with the first of the red-and-white “AV” waymarkers. From here, you climb out of the town through vineyards onto a ridge running between the valleys of the Roia and the Nervia, past the votive chapel of San Giacomo , through the ancient hamlet of Ciaixe and up to La Colla .

From La Colla, the trail continues along a side-path that takes you easterly down to the medieval riverside village of DOLCEACQUA , best-known for its excellent Rossese red wine and its olive oil. Piles of black olives crowd the village at harvest time, spread out on cloths on the ground prior to processing. The Nervia, crossed by an elegant 33m single-span medieval bridge, runs from the new part of town, or borgo , alongside the valley road, to the steep, stone alleyways of the older quarter, the terra , which are arranged in concentric circles around slopes topped by the blank-eyed ruins of a castle that once belonged to the Doria family. A theatre festival and concerts are staged here every summer (contact the tourist office for details ), and Dolceacqua is also the scene of a more ancient festival, rooted in fertility rites: on the Sunday nearest to Jan 20, a laurel tree hung with coloured Communion wafers is carried through the village as part of the procession of St Sebastian. For ideas on walks in the beautiful Upper Nervia Valley, ask at the tourist office , Via Patrioti Martiri 58 (daily 10am-1pm & 4-7pm; tel 0184.206.666). Buses run between Dolceacqua and Ventimiglia.