Hopping the French-Italian Border to Ventimiglia

I have a curious fascination with border towns. After spending one month in lovely Biarritz, where the mix of Spanish and French culture is present in the food, style of life, and even the people, I couldn’t wait to explore the Italian-French border towns of Menton and Ventimiglia. Menton belongs to the French side, while Ventimiglia belongs to the Italian side, and both share a border with the sparkling Mediterranean Sea—and love for pastel buildings!

I have to admit I didn’t have any particular reason to visit Ventimiglia, other than noticing it was the last stop on the French national railroad train from Nice. So after a lovely early afternoon in Menton, I boarded my 20-minute train over the border of Italy. We passed a town called Latte before stopping in Ventimiglia. As in Menton, the train station was a short walk from the shore, so I walked towards the Roya River before heading to the sea.

While Ventimiglia isn’t a particularly special town, I so enjoyed the charming view over the river of the neighboring candy-colored homes…