As part of a 4 week trip to Liguria and Piemonte, mid-November to mid-December, we can't decide between Dolceacqua and Apricale. There are equally nice apartments and B&Bs in both towns and they both seem interesting as a place to stay in for a few nights.
I guess the main thing we'd like to find out is which town is better for non-fancy places to eat and to buy food, and which town is less "shut down" in the off season. In Puglia in November and December we've seen that the beach towns are ghost towns (as we drove through or past them!) and the other towns are just great, just normal. Not sure what to expect in winter-time Liguria.
We are mainly interested in exploring the nearby towns, such as Pigna, and eating good local food. We understand what the weather might be like. We are not interested in beaches, seafood, biking, shopping, nightlife, staying in larger towns or cities (except for Genova where we will also be staying earlier in the trip), resorts, or (in general) restaurants that squirt stuff on the plate or the food to decorate it.
After this location we are driving to La Brigue in France to see a fresco that I have to see, then on to our first stop in Piemonte.
This will be our 10th trip to Italy and my husband speaks pretty darn good Italian (like, can argue about politics in Italian).
Besides Genova, we are probably going to be staying in Camogli and Finalborgo (if anyone has thoughts about these two towns in the winter).
Thanks --- this forum is so enormously helpful that I rarely need to ask a question!
Nancy