There was a time when the landscape was all about the railway. Two strips of iron, a ballast, the loud passage of screeching carriages destined from Genova to Ventimiglia, or from Ventimiglia to Genova, along a single track. Then, in 2001, the decision to decommission this line and move it further inland, farther from the deep blue of the Ligurian Sea that foams along the jagged western coast of the Italian peninsula. A few years later, the start of work to serve a visionary idea: to create a bicycle path, or rather a cycle route, in place of the railway, returning this panoramic stretch of land to tourism, investing in an abandoned infrastructure that would otherwise have been difficult to reuse.
Thus, along the Ponente coast of Liguria, the Riviera dei Fiori Cycling Route was born, a long ribbon of asphalt suspended between sea and hills. An unusual and unique perspective on Liguria, along a flat, safe itinerary truly suitable for everyone, from families with children to the most trained cycle tourists. Today, after the expansion works, the cycling route stretches for 45 kilometers, from Andora, a picturesque town of the Riviera delle Palme, to Ospedaletti, in the province of Imperia.
Where the Riviera dei Fiori Cycling Route is located
The Riviera dei Fiori Cycling Route thus runs along the coast of the provinces of Imperia and Savona, in the extreme Ponente of Liguria, not far from the French border. Its course nearly follows the alignment of the old Genoa-Ventimiglia single-track railway, decommissioned at the dawn of the new millennium and replaced by a new route to free the coastline from an infrastructure that for over a century had kept the sea at a proper distance from passing travellers.
The two ends of the cycle route are Ospedaletti, a few kilometres from Sanremo, a town symbolic of cycling history, and Andora, where some of the Ligurian coast’s most beautiful beaches are found. The entire route has recently been extended to its definitive length: initially the cycle path was 24 kilometres long, between San Lorenzo al Mare and Ospedaletti. It was then extended in both directions to reach the uninterrupted 45 kilometres it measures today, all facing the sea.
In 2025 the Riviera dei Fiori Cycling Route earned the Italian Green Road Award, the recognition dedicated to the most virtuous cycle routes in design, usability and sustainability: only a handful of other itineraries in Italy can boast such an uninterrupted sea view, combined with a perfectly paved surface and an almost-zero gradient. At the start of summer 2026, works were completed for a further expansion, integrating into the cycle route the so-called The Incompiuta stretch, a panoramic coastal route linking Imperia Oneglia to Diano Marina. A true dream for cyclists.
What to see along the cycle route
San Lorenzo al Mare is a small fishing village gathered around its tourist harbor. A few churches and some picturesque squares animate this town along the Riviera dei Fiori cycle route. The stretch from San Lorenzo to Ospedaletti is the old heart of the itinerary, the one opened first and still the most frequented. In this part of the route, the track is almost entirely flat and bidirectional, with an asphalt surface that makes it accessible not only to bikes of all kinds, but also to those who want to try skating and roller blades.
One of the most evocative features of the entire itinerary is the presence of old railway tunnels, recovered and lit, which once carried trains beneath the rocky promontories of the Ligurian coast, and which today give cyclists the thrill of passing through them on two wheels.
The Riviera dei Fiori Cycling Route crosses several towns of notable beauty, with plenty of opportunities to park the bike and enjoy exploring the alleys, lanes and squares of these small coastal towns with timeless charm. Arma di Taggia is the quintessential seaside destination in summer, with its palms and its golden shoreline. Cervo has a medieval soul, but a grand Baroque church that dominates the view of the town. Imperia is a city split into two halves, each worth a visit. Santo Stefano al Mare, Diano Marina, Riva Ligure cultivate the maritime atmosphere and the typical slow pace of a climate that remains mild.
Unmissable stops
More specifically, the Riviera dei Fiori cycle route offers a small cross-section of what Ponente ligure has to offer.
Andora, from which it begins (or ends, depending on the direction you travel), offers beautiful views of the riviera, especially near the frazione of Marina di Andora, which faces Capo Mele. Along Capo Mimosa, the first tunnels are encountered and then you glimpse the Gulf of Diano Marina as you pass by Cervo, one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia, its profile rising on its hill as you go by along the seafront.
When you pass the pier of Diano Marina, you enter the so-called Incompiuta, which today is all but complete: it is the newest part of the cycle route, crossing a seafront otherwise unreachable by car, in a rocky coastal area where only the Mediterranean scrub clings to the cliffs. Here you can even stop for a swim on a small stretch of free beach.
You arrive in Imperia and traverse its two parts, Oneglia and Porto Maurizio, the former more industrial, tied to pasta factories and olive oil production, the latter more picturesque, made of alleys and elegant palaces. A little after leaving Porto Maurizio and before arriving in San Lorenzo al Mare, you come upon the fascinating silhouette of the Torre di Prarola, an ancient lookout point against naval incursions.
In San Lorenzo al Mare it is worth taking a few minutes to admire the colorful houses of the harbour. A little further on, a stop at Marina degli Aregai, in Santo Stefano al Mare, allows you to observe a modern marina nestled in a landscape still heavily rural, with olive groves and fields of flowers sloping down toward the sea.
Continuing westward, you reach Arma di Taggia, with its seaside atmosphere; you skirt Capo Verde and finally enter Sanremo. Not far away, on the hillside, a short detour can be made to visit Bussana Vecchia, the village abandoned after the 1887 earthquake and today reborn as a small artists’ village.
Arriving in Sanremo, the City of Flowers offers one of the route’s iconic moments: cycling along Corso Imperatrice, with its ancient palm trees, and getting up close to the golden domes of the Russian Church, one of the town’s most recognizable buildings. It is no coincidence that this very stretch of the cycle route was chosen as the start of the 2015 Giro d’Italia stage and is closely linked to the historic Milano-Sanremo, one of the world’s most important cycling races. A long gallery leads to the final stretch of the route, along the seafront of Ospedaletti.
