Palm trees are the first surprise. This is Italy's Riviera di Ponente, a narrow strip of terraced hills and sea, and it makes a gentle finish to a ride that started on the French side.
The town has a long connection with palms. According to local tradition, Bordighera has supplied the fronds for Palm Sunday in the Vatican since the sixteenth century, and the date palms that line its streets are a legacy of that trade. The place became a winter resort for British and other northern European visitors in the nineteenth century, and the old villas and gardens still carry a faint air of that era. Claude Monet came here in 1884 and painted the coastal light and the palm groves, and the town has been proud of it since.
Riding here is mostly a coastal affair. The old Via Aurelia hugs the shore, with bends, traffic lights and the slow flow of local cars, and the autostrada runs behind in tunnels and viaducts. It is not a road for speed, but the sea views are generous and the evening light is warm, and in the cooler months the traffic eases. In summer, plan to arrive early or late, since Italians and French cross the border in large numbers at weekends. The hills behind the town have narrow lanes up to villages like Apricale and Dolceacqua, steep, twisty and full of old stone, and they make a rewarding detour if you have time.
Fuel and food are no problem. Bordighera has a population of over nine thousand, plus Vallecrosia, and both have stations, supermarkets and plenty of cafes. A focaccia from a bakery, a coffee at a seafront bar, and a glass of local Rossese di Dolceacqua wine make a very good ending, though the wine is best saved for the evening.
Take your helmet off, find a bench on the promenade, and listen to the sea against the pebbles.