Soggiorna
Sanremo copes with rain better than almost anywhere else on the Riviera: it is a real town, alive all year, with museums, a restored fort, a casino and a cinema. The catch is different: almost everything has narrow opening hours and different closing days, and anyone who sets out without checking finds the doors shut. This guide lists only what we have verified on official websites, and says plainly when opening hours are not published.
First of all: what day is it
That is the question that decides the afternoon. Hours for the current season:
| Where | Days | Hours | Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Nobel | Tuesday to Friday | 9.30am-12.30pm | €7, reduced €5 |
| Fort Santa Tecla | Thursday to Sunday | 10am-1pm and 3-6pm (Friday from 9am) | €5, €2 aged 18-25, free under 18 |
| Civic Museum, Palazzo Nota | ask outside the summer | — | free |
| Russian church | every day | 10am-12.30pm and 3-6pm | — |
| Casino | every day | slots from 10am, table games from 2pm | free entry, over 18s |
Monday is the awkward day: Villa Nobel and the fort are both closed. On Saturdays and Sundays Villa Nobel is closed but the fort is open. The Russian church, the Casino and the cinema are always an option.
Villa Nobel
At corso Felice Cavallotti 116 stands the house where Alfred Nobel spent his last years and carried out his last experiments. Today it is a museum, and the indoor visit most worth making in town.
It opens only in the morning, Tuesday to Friday, from 9.30am to 12.30pm; it is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. Tickets cost €7; the €5 reduced ticket applies to children aged 5 to 10, visitors over 65 and groups of at least 25. You buy it on the spot, with no booking, and it includes an audio guide you play on your own phone: bring it charged, with earphones. There is no parking inside the villa.
On a rainy weekday it is the first thing to put in the diary, precisely because it is closed in the afternoon.
The Civic Museum, which is no longer where they say
Many guides still place it in Palazzo Borea d'Olmo on via Matteotti. Since 30 December 2016 the Civic Museum has been in Palazzo Nota, piazza Alberto Nota 2, and admission is free.
The first floor holds the archaeology section, from prehistory onwards, told through models and dioramas. The second floor is the picture gallery, from the seventeenth century to contemporary art: a painting by Rubens, a Flemish tapestry, works by Giacomo Grosso and Edward Lear, and the Sala Rubino dedicated to Antonio Rubino.
The hours published by the municipality cover only the summer (1 July to 21 September, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-1pm and 5.30-10.30pm). For the rest of the year there are no official hours online: before going, call +39 0184 580700 or write to ufficio.museocivico@comunedisanremo.it.
Fort Santa Tecla
The fortress facing the old harbour, restored and run by the Ministry of Culture, hosts exhibitions, concerts and workshops. It is at Giardini Vittorio Veneto 34, a quarter of an hour on foot from the station.
From 17 September 2026 to 24 January 2027 it opens Thursday to Sunday, 10am-1pm and 3-6pm, and on Fridays from 9am; last entry is half an hour before closing, and hours may change when an event is on. A full ticket costs €5, the reduced ticket €2 for those aged 18 to 25, and under-18s get in free.
It is also the most accessible place on this list: on the old-harbour side the entrance is step-free (ring the intercom) and all the restored interior spaces are accessible. The nearest paid car park is at Giardini Vittorio Veneto, two minutes away. After 24 January, check the fort's website before going.
The Russian church
The five domes at via Nuvoloni 2, near the Casino. It is open every day, from 10am to 12.30pm and from 3 to 6pm.
It was inaugurated in 1913, and the interior was never finished: after the 1917 revolution the money ran out. Members of the Montenegrin royal family are buried in the crypt. It is a working church, not a museum: during services, go in quietly or come back later. The visit is short, and it pairs naturally with the Casino, a few steps away.
The Casino
At corso degli Inglesi 18, open every day of the year: the slot hall from 10am, the traditional games hall from 2pm, closing at 2.30am or 4am depending on the day. Entry is free but restricted to over-18s.
Two details that matter in the rain: umbrellas, hats and bulky coats go to the cloakroom, and you cannot enter the traditional games hall in a cap, shorts, a vest, sandals, flip-flops or a tracksuit. In the slot hall, informal but appropriate clothing is enough. The building is the 1905 one with the white Art Nouveau façade: even people who do not gamble go in to see it.
There is a cinema: the Ariston
Unlike many places on this coast, Sanremo does have a cinema, in the most famous theatre in Italy. The Teatro Ariston on via Matteotti, home of the Festival since 1977, works as a cinema and theatre for the rest of the year. The programme is on the theatre's website. In the Festival weeks, in February, the hall has a different programme and the whole area changes.
The Mercato Annonario
At via Martiri della Libertà 5 is the covered market: fruit and vegetables, fish, delicatessens. It is the place to taste sardenaira, the focaccia with anchovies, and torta verde made with trombetta courgettes, and to buy olive oil, pesto and tuna to take home. Inside there is also a small book exchange where you can leave a book and take one.
No official opening hours are published: like any food market, it is at its best in the morning.
Shopping, described honestly
Via Matteotti is the pedestrian shopping street, but it is open to the sky: in light rain you can move from window to window, in a downpour you need an umbrella. It is not an indoor alternative, it is a way to fill the hour between one museum and the next.
With children
The Civic Museum is the easiest choice: it is free, and the models and dioramas in the archaeology section work even with younger children. Villa Nobel works from about nine or ten, when they already know the name of the prize. Fort Santa Tecla runs children's workshops at €10 each, with the first accompanying adult free: dates and sign-up are on the fort's website. And there is the cinema.
More family ideas, not only for bad weather, are in Sanremo with kids.
If it only rains for half a day
The centre is compact: the Casino and the Russian church are a few steps apart, the Ariston and the Mercato Annonario a few minutes away. You can wait for the rain to stop without losing the day, then go back to the promenade or the cycle path.
One thing not to do in the rain: go up to Bussana Vecchia. The ground is uneven and the lanes are open-air; keep it for a dry day.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a cinema in Sanremo?
Yes: the Teatro Ariston on via Matteotti, home of the Festival, works as a cinema and theatre for the rest of the year. The programme is on the theatre's website; in February, during the Festival weeks, everything changes.
Is Villa Nobel open on Saturdays and Sundays?
No. Villa Nobel opens Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm, and is closed at weekends, on Mondays and on public holidays. Tickets cost €7, reduced €5.
Where is Sanremo's Civic Museum?
In Palazzo Nota, piazza Alberto Nota 2, since 30 December 2016: no longer in Palazzo Borea d'Olmo. Admission is free; outside the summer, ask the museum for opening hours (+39 0184 580700).
Is Fort Santa Tecla open in winter?
Yes, until 24 January 2027: Thursday to Sunday, 10am-1pm and 3-6pm, Fridays from 9am. Tickets €5, €2 for ages 18 to 25, free under 18.
Can you go into Sanremo Casino without gambling?
Yes: entry is free, every day, but only for over-18s. In the traditional games hall the dress rules apply: no shorts, vests, sandals or tracksuits.