Wondering whether you can cross the border into Italy for the day while based in Menton, on the South of France’s Côte d’Azur — and actually make it worth the trip?
After doing exactly this route — a stop in Ventimiglia, then on to the Sanremo outlet — here’s how it breaks down, plus why the outlet in particular is worth the trip.
Crossing the Border by Train
- Menton to Ventimiglia: about 11–14 minutes, €4–5 one-way. SNCF TER runs this route 29 times a day, so timing isn’t a problem.
- Ventimiglia to Sanremo: about 11–15 minutes, €3–4 one-way. Trenitalia runs it 31 times a day.
The stop in Ventimiglia was worth building in rather than treating it as a pure transfer — there’s enough there to fill an hour or so before continuing on to Sanremo.
What Ventimiglia Is
Ventimiglia is a border town in Italy’s Liguria region — the gateway from the French Riviera into Italy. The Roia River splits it in two: a modern district on one bank, and Alta Città, the medieval old town, on a hill above the other. A Roman city called Albintimulium once stood here, and remnants of an amphitheater and tombs are still around; the town also has an 11th–13th-century Romanesque cathedral. It’s a coastal town too, with the shoreline right at the edge of the center.
The Border Crossing Itself Is Part of the Experience
What made this stop genuinely interesting wasn’t just the market or the coffee — it was taking a short detour across a national border in the middle of a France-based trip.
Walking into the local market, the atmosphere read as unmistakably Italian, distinct from anything on the French side. Just a 30-minute train ride away, and not only the language but the whole mood had shifted — Italians here came across as noticeably warmer and friendlier.
Things Worth Doing in Ventimiglia
Two things fit into this stop firsthand:
1. A coffee at a local café near the station. 2. Mercato Coperto, the covered market almost directly in front of the Ventimiglia train station. Olives, honey, wine, and fruit make for genuinely enjoyable browsing and shopping — a jar of Italian honey and a bottle of olive oil came home from here.
With more time, these are also worth considering:
- Lunch at a local Italian restaurant — a quick plate of pasta or pizza fits easily into a stopover.
- A walk through Alta Città, the hilltop medieval old town.
- A walk along the beach — the shoreline is right at the edge of town, easy to reach.
Mercato Coperto: Via della Repubblica 7, 18039 Ventimiglia IM, Italy. Open daily 7 a.m.–7 p.m. (food and produce stalls only Monday–Thursday, 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Sunday).
The Sanremo Outlet: The Mall Sanremo
The outlet is about a 10-minute taxi ride from Sanremo’s train station. There’s also a shuttle bus run by the outlet itself, departing from several points in central Sanremo (Piazza Cesare Battisti, Via Roma 140, Portosole, and the Sanremo train station) — €3 one-way, €4 round-trip.
The brand list here is short but sharp: Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta, and Gucci lead the lineup. Don’t let “outlet” suggest thin stock — the Italian brands in particular carry a genuinely large range, more than expected for an outlet format. The place wasn’t crowded, and service at every store was excellent.
A small touch that stuck: the Versace store was handing out flowers to mark Women’s Day — a tiny gesture, but it made the visit that much better.
Worth being honest about: this was, by a clear margin, the single biggest day of spending in recent memory — the range and the service made it hard to hold back.
The Mall Sanremo: Via Armea 43, 18038 Sanremo (IM), Italy. Open daily 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Phone: +39 0184 1968968.
What to Know Before You Go
- Total transit time: About 25–30 minutes of train time each way (Menton → Ventimiglia → Sanremo), not counting time spent in Ventimiglia.
- Outlet access: Taxi (~10 min from Sanremo station), or the outlet’s own shuttle bus — full timetable below.
- Bring a bag with room to spare — outlet shopping here runs deeper than the brand count suggests.
The Mall Sanremo Shuttle Bus Timetable
Sanremo center → The Mall Sanremo
| Stop | Departures |
| Piazza Cesare Battisti | 9:15 a.m. / 12:00 p.m. / 3:00 p.m. |
| Via Roma 140 | 9:20 a.m. / 12:05 p.m. / 3:05 p.m. |
| Portosole | 9:25 a.m. / 12:10 p.m. / 3:10 p.m. |
| Sanremo train station | 9:30 a.m. / 12:15 p.m. / 3:15 p.m. |
The Mall Sanremo → Sanremo center Departures at 12:35 p.m. / 3:35 p.m. / 6:15 p.m. / 7:25 p.m.
Price: €3 one-way, €4 round-trip — pay on board (cash or card). (Source: official Mall Sanremo visitor page)
Quick Facts
Mercato Coperto (Ventimiglia)
- Address: Via della Repubblica 7, 18039 Ventimiglia IM, Italy
- Hours: Daily 7 a.m.–7 p.m. (food stalls Mon–Thu 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Sunday)
- Map: Google Maps
The Mall Sanremo
- Address: Via Armea 43, 18038 Sanremo (IM), Italy
- Phone: +39 0184 1968968
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
- Website: sanremo.themall.it
- Map: Google Maps
A market haul of honey and olive oil, and a genuinely great outlet run — this is a day trip that earns the border crossing.
More from this trip: Hôtel du Continent and Au Canon des Invalides for the Paris leg, Prince de Galles in Menton, the Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice, and Saint-Paul-de-Vence round out the rest of the Riviera leg.