Corso Imperatrice
The red, black, and white flagstones underfoot are the first thing you notice — a geometric pattern that runs the full kilometre of Corso Imperatrice before the palm canopy pulls your eye upward. Canary date palms and tall Washingtonia fan palms line both sides, their trunks rising above the Liberty-style facades of the Hotel Royal and Hotel Lolli Palace, with the sea opening out to the south.
This is Sanremo's oldest public park, a pedestrian promenade that has been a place for slow walking since the 1870s. Benches face the water at intervals, the Pista Ciclabile runs alongside, and the white marble Primavera statue stands somewhere between landmark and quiet city mascot.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who return tend to do the corso in the early morning, before the day heats up, when the light comes low off the sea and the hotels are still quiet. The Garibaldi monument — a bronze by Leonardo Bistolfi, cast between 1906 and 1908 — is worth stopping at rather than walking past. The bust of the Tsarina, donated by St. Petersburg in 2010, rewards anyone who looks for it.
The story behind Corso Imperatrice
In December 1874, Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna arrived in Sanremo from Nice, suffering from tuberculosis and looking for a gentler winter. She stayed until February 1875. The municipality named the promenade after her the same year, and she donated palms to line the western section — an arrangement brokered by the mayor's wife, Adele Roverizio di Roccasterone, and the banker Antonio Rubino. The palms you walk under today are their descendants.
The final layout came with the Lamborizio urban plan in 1904. Sculptor Vincenzo Pasquali added the white marble Primavera between 1924 and 1926, having settled in Sanremo a decade earlier. The Liberty-style Hotel de Paris, designed by local architect Pietro Agosti, had opened in 1897, anchoring the architectural character that the corso still carries.
Good to know
No ticket, no gate — just walk in from Corso Matteotti near the Casino. The stretch is about a kilometre and takes a half-hour at an easy pace. Mid-April through June is the most comfortable window. The Russian Orthodox Church is a short detour from the western end.
Mid-April through mid-June is the sweet spot — warm enough for the palms to feel right, rarely oppressively hot. July and August are sunny and dry with temperatures around 28°C, though the promenade fills up. Autumn turns humid and November is the wettest month; winter is mild but can be rainy, with January temperatures rarely falling below 7°C.
Where is Corso Imperatrice?
Location
- In Sanremo
- 43.8148, 7.7700
- Open in Google Maps
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