Sanremo smells of cut flowers and warm brioche. Capital of the Italian Riviera of Flowers, it has grown carnations and roses on its terraced hillsides since the 19th century, and this fragrant gentleness still permeates its palm-lined avenues. Small ships moor in the harbour, a few hundred metres from the centre; larger ones anchor offshore and bring their passengers ashore by tender, almost at the foot of the seafront cafés. A few minutes later, you're already walking beneath the palm trees of Corso Imperatrice, between the grand hotels that made its reputation.

La Pigna, old Sanremo

On its hill, the medieval core curls in on itself like the pine cone that gives it its name. La Pigna is climbed through a maze of vaulted lanes, stairways and arcaded passages, built in a spiral from the year 1000 onward to resist Barbary raids. Artisans sit side by side with hanging laundry and doors adorned with carved slate. It's easy to lose track of time here: a wood-fired oven fills the air with the scent of sardenaira, the local focaccia with tomato and anchovies, and conversations drift down from open windows. At the top, the Regina Elena Gardens reward the climb with a sweeping view over the rooftops, the harbour and the Mediterranean; a little farther on, the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Costa crowns the hill with its Baroque dome.

The casino and the Belle Époque city

Below, the scenery changes completely. The municipal casino, an Art Nouveau palace inaugurated in 1905, embodies the era when European aristocracy came to winter on this coast. Its hushed salons still host gamblers, concerts and literary evenings, and its immaculate façade reigns over Corso degli Inglesi. Nearby, the Russian Orthodox church, topped with colourful onion domes inspired by Moscow, recalls that Empress Maria Alexandrovna and her entourage were among these winter visitors. Between the two, Via Matteotti lines up shops and cafés as far as the Ariston Theatre, the temple of the Italian Song Festival, which every winter since 1951 has literally brought the whole country to a standstill in front of the television. Songs born here, such as Nel blu dipinto di blu — the famous "Volare" — have travelled around the world after being heard for the first time on this stage.

Gardens, cycling and the seaside

Sanremo is wonderful for strolling. The gardens of Villa Ormond line up rare palms and exotic species on a terrace above the sea, in a calm broken only by the fountains. The more active hop on a bike on the Ponente Ligure cycle path: laid out on the former coastal railway line, it runs for 24 kilometres right along the water, through beaches, tunnels and villages. Cyclists the world over know the city as the finish line of the Milan–Sanremo classic, raced every spring since 1907. At the covered market, focaccia, Taggiasca olives and edible flowers paint, stall after stall, a gourmet portrait of the western Ligurian Riviera.

Evening falls on the Riviera

As the light fades, the seafront palms stand out against an orange sky and the terraces fill up for aperitivo. Sanremo is no frozen backdrop: this Ligurian city lives to the full, singing, cycling, gambling and growing its flowers. The passenger returning on board takes away a little of this Ligurian cheer and often, without realizing it, a refrain from the latest Festival that refuses to leave their memory.