There is a ‘secret’ fairytale valley in Italy that not many people know about, where hill towns are piled on top of one another and tumble vertically down mountains.
Apricale is the showpiece: one of those audacious towns that stun you when you come around a corner.
Castelvittorio was the most intriguing for me, however, perched directly above Pigna – I’ve never seen a hilltown so tiny and dinky that is almost sitting on the rooftops of the one below:
This is the Val Nervia in Liguria. It’s resplendent with a string of hilltowns that are more or less within sight of each other, and it also has spectacular countryside. The laghetti di Rocchetta Nervina are crystal-clear, turquoise pools a short hike away from the craggy village of Rocchetta Nervina:
Rocchetta Nervina:
There are swimming and paddling opportunities for everyone, including some incredible dive spots and gorgeous picnic areas.
Rocchetta Nervina:
Hilltown cat, Apricale:
Buggio is one of the more northerly towns and is an amazing drive up into the clouds:
Dolceacqua is perhaps the most touristy of the Val Nervia towns and the most well-known; it’s an ancient settlement with a strategic castle and old narrow streets.
A peculiar feature of Val Nervia towns are lamp-lit stone passageways like the ones below; they link the medieval streets of the historic town centres and are incredibly atmospheric and very ‘hilltown-Dickensian’:
Centro storico di Dolceacqua:
Il ponte di Dolceacqua:
One of the smallest hamlets is Isolabona (below), where we based ourselves. We stayed in an agriturismo, which was great, but I would go self-catering if I ever returned as restaurants are relatively limited and the local food wasn’t the best that I’ve had in Italy (rabbit, goat and beans; mountain fare).
Resident:
View of Apricale:
One of the villages that is a bit off the tourist track is Vallecrosia Alta, worth a short detour to hunt out the brightly-coloured doors and windows painted by artist Imelda Bassanello – the theme is imaginary or long-gone shops and about thirty old doors of the ancient village are painted thus.
The painted doors and colourful crannies of Vallecrosia Alta:
There are plenty of manageable treks of varying lengths linking the villages, so the Val Nervia is ideal for a walking holiday interspersed with views and swims.
Trekking in the Val Nervia -the trail above Rocchetta Nervina:
Castelvittorio seen from Pigna:
The approach to Buggio:
Hilltown cat:
Villages of Val Nervia:
Apricale:
Where is the Val Nervia?
It’s really close to France: you can fly cheaply to Nice and drive to Apricale in 1 hour. If you want the sea, you can stop at beautiful Menton, which is 44 minutes’ drive from Apricale. The valley itself, whilst feeling isolated and rural, is only 24 minutes’ drive from busy Ventimiglia on the main road between Italy and France.
Villages in the clouds
We stayed in Isolabona at Agriturismo La Molinella, which has nice rooms in a super-relaxing setting and its own restaurant:
Val Nervia views:
Painted doors:
Val Nervia
Another Hilltown cat:
Bring on the summer FFS!
Hahaha I love your last line! Beautiful pictures, as always. I’m learning about a lot of new places through you. 🙂
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Hey Phoenix, thanks! Hope you’re well 🙂
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This is gorgeous!!
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beautiful! I’ve been to Menton, and this is so close:)
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These pics are gorgeous thank you for sharing! Hoping to make it to Italy someday.
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Wow, what a beautiful place!
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I’ve been to Dolceacqua many times for lunch (living so close!) and have heard many great things about Apricale and Pigna but haven’t visited yet. There are literally hundreds of hill villages near me and I’m doing my best to get to them all and now this lot need to go on the list! Thanks for inspiring me. #farawayfiles
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I went up to the hilltown Saorge in the French mountains while I was in Val Nervia, it was lovely.
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OMG I’m absolutely in love!!! I really want to go to Menton and Nice, France one day and I know we will likely drive as we love to road trip, and when we do, I am squeezing this in!!! #FarawayFiles
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WHOA!! This is amazing! This definitely just made it up to my bucket list. Thank you so much for sharing! #farawayfiles
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This post is delightful. I’m in love with places I didn’t even know existed! THIS is why i love this travel blog community! Fantastic and accessible and interesting and unique. Thank you kindly for sharing and again love your amazing photography. Cheers from chilly Copenhagen, Erin #FarawayFiles
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Oh my word! I now have serious travel envy 😊 What a wonderful place… would love to go there. Thanks for letting us on on the secret!
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Arghhh stop it! I am seriously trying to stop my Italian addiction and this post is no help at all. How incredibly beautiful all these towns are. I love their painted doors, their pretty colours and even their cats.. and I’m a dog person! Thanks for sharing your wonderful post with us on #FarawayFiles
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I love the way you’ve interspersed your incredibly scenery pictures with the odd cat peeking around the corner! I was very grateful for the map as I didn’t know about these wonderful-looking hill towns. Thanks for putting them on my wishlist – they look absolutely delightful. A perfect share for #FarawayFiles
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Lots of hilltown cats 😉 We’ve not visited this area yet (we have friends not too far away) but I’d never considered Nice as the flight option so thanks for bring that to my attention. Looks so pretty! #farawayflies
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Thanks for the introduction to the hilltowns of Val Nervia. Beautiful photos as always!
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Beautiful pics!!
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My favorite among your posts.:)
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Thank you so much
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Without actually visiting I get to see different places through your pictures. Beautiful, do share more 🙂
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. Thanks for sharing your wonderful post with us on #FarawayFiles
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