Soggiorna
Alassio is a town of sea and walks: when it rains it has little under cover, and it is better to know that in advance than to find out while wandering around in the wet. This guide lists only things that genuinely exist, with the hours announced for the current season, and says plainly what is not there.
First of all: there is no cinema
This is the piece of information missing from almost every "what to do when it rains" list about Alassio. There is no working cinema in town. The former Cinema Ritz on via Mazzini is due to become a 250-seat cinema, theatre and conference hall, and in July 2026 the municipality opened the planning procedure for the project, with a decision expected between September and October 2026. It is a future building site, not an option for this afternoon.
If a cinema is the priority, the realistic alternative is to take the train: Albenga and Imperia are a few minutes away and have working screens.
The two picture galleries
They are small, free or nearly so, and their opening hours are narrow: it is worth building the afternoon around them rather than hoping to drop in by chance.
Pinacoteca Carlo Levi, in the seventeenth-century palazzo Morteo, via Gramsci 58. It shows twenty-two works on free loan from the Carlo Levi Foundation in Rome, in three sections of portraits and landscapes painted during the artist's stays in Liguria: there are the large canvases of carob trees and the portrait of Italo Calvino. Open Mondays 5-7pm, Saturdays 9-11pm and Sundays 10am-noon. It is 560 metres from the station, seven minutes on foot.
Richard West Memorial Gallery & English Library, viale Hanbury 77. This is the legacy of the British community that frequented Alassio in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For the 2026 season it opens on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 to 6.30pm and on Saturdays from 5 to 7pm. It is 940 metres from the station, thirteen minutes.
These are the hours announced by the municipality for the current season and they change from year to year: before setting out in the rain, a call to the tourist office (+39 0182 647027) saves a wasted trip.
Exhibitions
The Galleria Berrino at via Cavour 10, the long-established gallery associated with the name of Mario Berrino — the man behind the Muretto — hosts the exhibitions of the "Alassio Città degli Artisti" project, with free admission, every day from 5pm to midnight except Tuesdays. It is right in the centre, a step from the Budello.
In summer the town uses other exhibition spaces too, from the former Anglican church to the Muretto itself: the current programme is in the events section of the municipal tourist portal, and events we have already verified also appear at the bottom of this page.
The library
The Biblioteca civica "Renzo Deaglio" is at piazza Airaldi e Durante 7, along the Budello, ten minutes from the station (tel. +39 0182 648078). It is the right place for a sheltered afternoon with older children, and the only public indoor space where you can settle in for a while without having to buy anything.
The Budello in the rain
The Budello is the shopping street and remains the obvious answer, but it should be described honestly: it is not covered. It is a narrow lane between tall buildings, so in light rain you can walk it perfectly well moving from shop to shop; in a downpour you need an umbrella and the window displays are not enough. It is 672 metres long, but with the shops it fills a rainy afternoon comfortably.
The old pastry shops in the centre are as much part of the experience as the shops — the baci di Alassio are bought here.
The gardens, with a poncho
The Gardens of Villa della Pergola can only be visited on a guided tour, lasting about 80 minutes, and booking is compulsory: without a ticket bought in advance entry is not guaranteed. Tours leave at 9.30am, 11.30am, 3pm and 5pm, every day from 20 March.
They are outdoors, so rain is not ideal — but they do not close, and the shop sells ponchos. A garden in light rain, without the August crowds, is a different experience and not a worse one. Tickets cost €19 full price, €15 reduced (FAI and ADSI members, students up to 25, visitors with disabilities, residents of Alassio and Albenga), €9 for children aged 6 to 14, free under 6. Dogs are not admitted, to protect the rare plants, and the route is terraced with steps and ramps, so accessibility is partial. You may enter up to ten minutes before your slot; more than ten minutes late and you are not admitted. It is 790 metres from the station, but uphill: allow a good quarter of an hour.
Take the train: Albenga
The most effective move on a properly wet day is to get on a regional train. Albenga is a few minutes away and has a compact medieval old town, with narrow sheltered lanes and two things to see indoors:
- the Roman Naval Museum, in the seventeenth-century palazzo Peloso Cepolla, holding the cargo of the Roman merchant ship wrecked off Albenga: amphorae, helmets and equipment from the first century BC;
- the early Christian Baptistery, the most important monument of its kind in Liguria, linked to the Diocesan Museum.
A combined museum and baptistery ticket costs €10 full price and €8 reduced; the baptistery alone €7 and €6. Hours differ between summer and winter: from 16 September to 14 June the Naval Museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-12.30pm and 2.30-6.30pm, and the baptistery Tuesday to Sunday 9.30am-1pm and 2.30-6.30pm. Check before travelling, particularly in July and August.
With children
In order of practicality: the public library, which is close and free; the Pinacoteca Carlo Levi if you catch one of its three opening days, because it is small and can be seen in half an hour without anyone getting bored; and the train to Albenga with the Naval Museum, which is the choice that fills a whole afternoon. The Budello only works in light rain.
More family ideas, not just for bad weather, are in Alassio with children.
If it only rains for half a day
Alassio has one advantage: it is small and everything is close, so you can simply wait. A summer storm usually passes quickly, and the central stretch of beach is five minutes from the station and three from the Budello. An afternoon built around one gallery and a stop in a pastry shop leaves you free to head down to the sand the moment it clears.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a cinema in Alassio?
No. There is currently no working cinema in town. The former Cinema Ritz on via Mazzini is due to become a 250-seat cinema, theatre and conference hall, but as of July 2026 the project was still going through planning. The nearest screens are in towns reachable by train.
Which museums can you visit in Alassio?
Two picture galleries: the Pinacoteca Carlo Levi in palazzo Morteo at via Gramsci 58, and the Richard West Memorial Gallery & English Library at viale Hanbury 77. Both open on only a few days and for a few hours, so check first.
Can you visit Villa della Pergola in the rain?
The gardens stay open and the guided tours run as usual; they are outdoors, and the shop sells ponchos. Booking, with a ticket bought in advance, is compulsory either way.
Is the Budello covered?
No. It is a narrow pedestrian street between tall buildings: in light rain you can walk it comfortably between the shops, in a downpour you need an umbrella.
What can you do in Alassio with children if it rains?
The public library at piazza Airaldi e Durante, the Pinacoteca Carlo Levi on its opening days, or the train to Albenga with the Roman Naval Museum, which fills an entire afternoon.