The Grand Finale

What is there not to love about a frutteria!

After Antibes, the five of us squeezed into a hire car for the two hour drive to Finale Ligure on the Italian Riviera.

Nothing cooler than walking or driving over

a 4th century Roman bridge to go climbing each day

For a change of pace from Le Club 55, we stayed at Valleponci Agritourismo an agricultural commune which included an agritourismo run by Georgio and his colleagues who I suspect are throw backs to the heyday of Italian socialism. The accommodation was basic but the food was excellent and mostly from fresh farm produce.

There is no end of quality clinbing of different styles and at all grades.

This was the view during our evening meal after an afternoon climb

at Osteria Agora

We were attracted to the area as the hills around the town were littered with limestone crags and over 6000 rock climbing routes yet we were a stones through from some really nice beaches which were adjacent to a bustling coastal old town. Slightly inland sits a very cool old walled town, Finaleborgo, which has a great selection of climbing gear stores.

Ada working her way up a 4C.  It looks chossy

but was remarkably solid

The climbing was great and we soon settled into a routine of a few routes in the morning before a trip to the beach, some lunch and and an afternoon climb near one of the small villages that surrounded the town.  In most cases, these towns had great little restaurants and we would end up at one of these for dinner before driving back to the agritourismo.

The view of the village of San Lorenzino after a

morning climb nearby with the Chiesa Di Lorenzino

in the foreground and the Chiesa Lorenzino on

the skyline.  Only in Italy would a tiny village

of a few hundred people have two churches!

As I had put in some dedicated climbing training before the holiday, I was climbing well which added to the enjoyment. The latest version of the guide book is very good  which minimized the efforts to find the crags and routes.  The older version was not as user friendly and the routes are not marked as is the case for many crags in France which made the areas a little less user friendly. 


















That said, we had the crags mostly to ourselves their was no one to help with orientation . This resulted in my getting on the wrong climb on occasion.  Nothing like being lost to help you push your grades! Most of the routes have been re bolted and the results are excellent; however their are routes with old and dangerous bolts although these are clearly noted in the guide and in some cases marked at the bottom. We did most of our climbing in Costa Villa in the area near San Lorenzino, Valleponci and Verezzi.

The view accross the little harbour at Vernazza

We were a couple of hours by car or train from the Cinque Terra and this area had been on Kate's list for a long time so we decided take the drive to Levanto.  Here we obtained the Cinque Terra pass which gives you access to the walking traills and the train, the existence of which was a bit of a surprise to me. 

Looking back to Vernazza as we walked north west

I had this ill informed impression that there was limited access to the villages except by walking.  However the train has the capacity to move in thousand of people every hour and the pass allowed you to move from village to village.  With this access it is easy to see how the villages become choked with tourists.

Ada on one of the old foot bridges en route

Some sections of the walk were closed so in the end we caught the train to Riomaggiore the furthest village and then trained back to Corniglia as the track between the two was closed. We then walked from Cornigla to Monterosso.

Fresh orange juice en route from an

enterprising gentleman who was
tapping into the power grid!

To be honest, it is pretty but not stunning. The villages look tired and they were crowded even though it was not yet peak season. Personally I think it is over rated and I preferred exploring the area around Finale.

One of the free braches at Finale, just on the outskirts of town.

The town beaches are predominately occupied by beach clubs with sun

lounges, showers, floating patforms and cafes.  Lounges can be hired at a

reasonable rate for full or half days

The beach scene at Finale on face value was similar to Pampolonne (near St Tropez from a few days earlier) in terms of beach clubs and lounges but it was very much an Italian family scene with lots of Nonnas taking the grand kids for a swim.  You have to love large 70 year old women who care so little about the opinions of others that they are happy to wander around in their bikinis.There was plenty of beach without beach clubs and accessible to the public and the beaches were a mixture of sand and stones.

The other significant activity in the area was the mountain biking.  The hills are full of trails which have been linked together and graded.  They include cross country, downhill and freestyle trails most of which lead back to Finale.  There seemed to be far more cyclists in town than climbers and the scene was well supported by a number of cycling shops.  There were even groups out on their road bikes working on their (bike) climbing legs

The highlights for us were:

The view of Borgio Verezzi from La Rosa Dei Venti

Osteria Bar La Rosa Dei Venti which is immediately adjacent to the Chiesa San Martio and is a short walk from some good crags.

  Ada enjoying fine Ligurian Cuisine in a
stunning setting after an evening climb

The food is good and the views over Borgio Verezzi are great at sunset.  A really great
place for an afternoon climb then a glass of wine and or dinner. The church also has a Caravaggio painting.

A great place for lunch between swims at a nice free beach

Ristorante Bar Cndf, which is not the most evocative of potential names for an Italian cafes, but it had local seafood at a good price next to a nice section of open beach.  Located in in the Marina, it mainly seem to serve the yachting crowd which made for some interesting people watching

The ladies prowling the trendy stores of the small

walled town of Borgio Finale

Giovannaci Caffe located in Finale had long macchiatos that Kate referred to as "liquid gold".  As a non-coffee drinker I cant verify her claim but I can say they had great WiFi.

Just down the road is the medieval town of Noli,

once considered one of the 5 great martime cities

of Italy (along with Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice)
In the 13th century they had 72 towers.

Now just four remain.

Valleponci Restaurant. Even if you are not staying at the agritourismo, it is worth checking out the restaurant.  It is set into the hills on the old Roman road so it is worth the trek up the switchback road just to drive over the old Roman bridge.  The majority of produce used in the kitchen is grown on the farm and they have plenty of vegetarian and gluten free options.  For the meat eaters try the rabbit. They even produce their own wines!

The ladies are happy with their meal choice at Agora

Osteria Agora in the village of Gorra.  Once again a great evening meal after an afternoon climb. It had high quality food in a quiet village provided by kitchen and wait staff who obviously take great pride in their food.  Our favourite meal while in Finale.

One of the gates in the old city wall of Borgio

Finale, Aloha Cafe is on the left before the gate

Aloha Cafe in Finaleborgo which has an odd name for an Italian cafe but it's paradise for those looking for vegetarian, organic and gluten free food.

Lucy and Lizzy pondering gelato

Another favourite was any gelateria in the area!

Also, don't miss out on the great selection of outdoor stores in Finaleborgo.  As someone who lives in Dubai and works in France ts was good to browse through the various Italian outdoor brands that were on offer. You can certainly get any climbing gear that you could possibly want at reasonable prices!