Alassio is the undisputed belle of the western Ligurian Riviera — a long, sandy beach, pastel-coloured houses, and a mild climate that keeps the bougainvillea flowering well into autumn. It sits between Albenga and Laigueglia in what the Italians call the Baia del Sole, and its roughly 11,500 permanent residents share the town with tens of thousands of summer visitors who have been coming here since the Belle Époque.
The heart of social life is Il Budello, a narrow pedestrian alley that runs behind the beach hotels parallel to the seafront. Lined with boutiques, gelaterie, and bars, it becomes a slow-moving promenade on summer evenings. Out on the seafront promenade is the Muretto di Alassio — a low wall in the public gardens covered in hundreds of ceramic tiles signed by celebrities who have visited, starting with Ernest Hemingway and Charlie Chaplin. It is kitsch and entirely charming.
Historically the town was a fiefdom of the Benedictine abbey on the island of Gallinara before passing to the Commune of Albenga in the twelfth century. Alassio won its freedom in the sixteenth century and built the city walls, fragments of which still stand. The main landmark from that era is the parish church of Sant'Ambrogio, whose campanile with its distinctive spire dates from the eleventh century, though the church itself was rebuilt several times over the following centuries.
The tourist marina, with space for around 400 boats, makes Alassio a popular sailing base for cruises along this stretch of coast. The beach itself stretches for 4 kilometres and is the longest uninterrupted sandy beach on the western Riviera.