Practical stuff and do's and dont's
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-> How to get there
Click above link for the basic description. Below is the extensive description of how to get to Bussana.
The trip from Nice airport to Bussana is fairly straightforward: From the car rental office follow the road and take a left at the first intersection towards the airport exit. See this Google map.
The airport exit road goes alongside the river Var and over the A8 highway which you can directly access with a right hand curve into the direction of Genova (Gênes as the French call it). If I remember correctly there are three toll stations before you cross the border. The toll amounts are small but it is handy to use a credit card because there may be long waiting lines for the cash stations. Follow the curvy road with many tunnels (39 to Arma di Taggia) towards the Italian border, passing exits for Monaco/La Turbie, Roquebrune and Menton.
Just across the border there's an Italian toll booth where you only need to pick a paper ticket from the machine. If there is a long wait (does not happen often except on Fridays when the famous open market in Ventimiglia is held) before this toll station, use the two right booths. They state it is for the Ventimiglia exit but you can continue onto the highway without difficulty.
Some 20 minutes later, after the Sanremo exit, you will take the exit for Arma di Taggia, where you will have to pay a few euros toll (credit card) and the machine-lady will shout 'arrivederci!' when you're done. That's when you are sure you are in Italy.
Follow the road down the hill all the way. You will pass a very large Conad supermarket complex on the left hand side (discount gas station behind this supermarket). The next intersection (with a small roundabout) is good old Via Aurelia. Go to the right. If you accidentally would follow the Via Aurelia to the left and keep on driving you will eventually arrive at the Colosseum in Rome where it starts.
You are now in the pleasant town of Arma di Taggia. Go straight at the traffic light and through a small tunnel. After the tunnel the road bends to the left and around the hill to the right. At that point you will need to take a sharp (90 degree) turn right to Bussana, followed by another sharp (150 degree) turn right and follow the road, with views of Arma beach and a small park, and follow the turn to the left at the end . You will see one of two primary schools of Bussana Nuova on the right hand side. The foot path 'mulatteria' to Bussana Vecchia starts on the right side of this school. Take a right to get to the Bussana Vecchia road.
The road splits after a few hundred meter. You need to go straight. The road to the right is going to the hamlet of Beuzi.
The tiny road to the left originally would take you down to the via Aurelia-bis, but it has been 'temporarily' closed for repairs since 2017 so now it is a dead-end street.
You go straight ahead. This is the final part of the road to Bussana Vecchia and there are no more intersections. This road does have three hairpins and it will be tight for two cars to pass each other. On Saturdays and Sundays it may be crowded with tourists, especially in second half of July and August. If you take your time this last stretch of the road should not pose any problems.
Continue all the way up to the end of the road at the medieval village entrance and take a few minutes to unload any heavy luggage. Once you've done that you can turn the car at the 'zona di manovra' (near the garbage collection boxes) and park it somewhere along the road so that it doesn't block other traffic.
If it is off-season or if you are lucky you may find a parking spot directly in front of the village. If it is a busy tourist day you may have to walk a few minutes back to the village entrance.
Tip: Usually when I fly in and out of Nice airport I leave early in the morning for my return flight and spend the last day in Nice. It has a nice old town with some decent restaurants at the Marche au Fleurs. There's a car park (Indigo Salaya) underneath the flower market and another one directly to the left under the Palais de Justice. If your plane leaves later in the evening you may also opt to drive the more touristy coastal road to Nice (the Grand Corniche or Moyenne Corniche) which has great views of Monaco and the other towns. I discourage people to go to Monaco. Except for the spectacular annual car race it functions as key tourist trap and rip-off with its fake-old palace. Spend your valuable vacation time in nice places such as Menton, La Turbie and Nice.
-> How to get there by public transport
Click above link for dedicated page
-> House location and parking
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The street up to Bussana Vecchia is a dead-end street: the village starts where the pavement transforms into cobblestones.
Houses do not have addresses and streets are not recognised by navigation systems because it is a 'ghost' village. The street forks to the left and right immediately at the entrance of town. On the left side is the Piazzetta Golosa bar. On the right side is the Osteria degli Artisti restaurant. Take the left side. Some 10 meters (30 ft) further you will notice a long stairway on the right side of the street. The house is at the top of the stairs (19 steps) on the left side. My friend Ivana, who manages my house when I'm not there, lives in the other house on the right side.
The village is car-free (with few exceptions) and parking is done nearby the village entrance. Note that parking during peak season (July-August), busy weekends, or during special events will be challenging. At busy times you'll need a little patience and drive up to the village entrance for some quick on/offloading of luggage, turn the car at the dedicated turning zone (where you are not allowed to park because it will block all traffic to/from the village) and park it further down the road towards the cemetary, wich will be a few minutes by foot. As anywhere in the world: don't leave any valuables visible in your car. Theft is extremely rare in this area. It hasn't happened to me in over 40 years traveling in Italy.
In practice we usually drop our luggage off at the entrance of town, park the car somewhere along the road and only use it every few days for mass shopping in one of the nearby large supermarkets. Walking down to the beach or Arma di Taggia, even with a 4-year old, takes less than 30 minutes and it is easy to pick up groceries at small shops in Bussana Nuova or the Carrefour on the Via Aurelia. Our Carrefour customer card can usually be found on one of the tables in the house or kitchen drawer. It allows you to benefit from discount offers.
-> Cash dispensers / ATMs
Keep in mind that there is No ATM in Bussana Vecchia. There is one in Bussana Nuova just after the church. See Bussana Nuova map. There are multiple ATMs in the town of Arma di Taggia, e.g. in center of town opposite the old railroad crossing. All supermarkets and most shops (not in Bussana Vecchia) will accept 'Bancomat' cards (standard banking debit cards).
-> Beach parking
Most times we take a leisurely stroll to the beach or use the bikes. We seldom take the car. Outside high season, we park it along the beach road (via Lungomare). It only has few official parking spaces but police never checks... except in summer during the peak days of August (Ferragosto, August 15). That's when they check cars to bring in annual revenue for illegal parking. If you want to minimize the risk you can park at the dedicated parking area along the beach, where you can park your car in the shade of solar panels for a small hourly fee. See the Bussana Nuova map for the location and the Bussana/Arma Beach map for suggestions.
-> Internet & wifi
See the Internet page.
-> Electricity
Officially, Bussana Vecchia is not part of the italian energy distribution network. You can get an Enel electricity connection but there are certain limits to maximum power usage, so please conserve energy. I've replaced most light bulbs by LEDs, which helps a lot.
In winter, you can use electric heaters in addition to the stove and Zibro heater, but it may happen that the
combined electricity usage of heaters, water boiler, electric grill, etc. results in a connection overload. A simple reset at the Enel box outside will do. The electric network itself in the house was designed to easily support far higher currents so there are no risks in that sense.
-> Water
Most houses in Bussana share a water connection and so does casajoan. To overcome possible shortage situations there's a 1000 liter water tank on the terrace with a dedicated pressure pump. Under normal conditions this should refill in a couple of hours, but keep in mind that a typical 5 minute shower uses about 50 liter. Taking one shower a day, in addition to lavatory usage and dishwashing, should not pose a problem for up to six guests. If you are a full bath or multiple 10-minute shower-a-day-person you may risk that you run out of water and may have to wait a few hours before being able to shower again.
There is no need to water the plants. Most of them are succulents who can easily withstand the dry, hot italian summer.
So again, please conserve energy and water.
-> Gas
The water heater uses gas and so does the cooking stove. The gas we use is propane, and there are several bottles located under the entrance stairs. A typical bottle (bombola) lasts about one month and we have our own gas replacement person in town who quickly can replace an empty bottle. However, if you are a 10-minute hot-shower-two-showers-a-day person, don't be surprised
if the bottle needs to be replaced after less than a week. In that case, I may ask you for a contribution to a new bombola.
Since early 2016 there is a new gas heater which always is in stand-by mode and automatically ignites whenever you use a hot water faucet.
It has two big kobs on the front side: One with heating power setting on left side and the other with water temperature on the right side.
If you turn the left knob counterclockwise, you increase heating power, so more water will reach the desired temperature but gas usage will be less efficient.
If you turn the right know clockwise, the water will become hotter.
They must have some brilliant engineers at Vaillant Italy to develop such counterindicative product, but that's how it is.
In summer, the sun will warm the water storage (1000L) on the terrace so the heater will only have do do little work and both power (left) and temperature (right) settings can be low.
In winter, the water supply will be cold so the power (left knob) needs to be closer to the left side and the water temperature (right knob) will need to be closer to the right side.
-> Kitchen food supplies
We store various supplies in the kitchen and nearby cabinet to ensure there is always something to eat when we arrive late in the evening: some pasta, canned tomatoes, canned fish, cereals, etc.
Feel free to use these for your cooking but makes sure to replenish the supply before you leave. Other guests may need them when they arrive late at night. If you are unable to replace them with identical or similar supplies please provide Ivana or myself with a list of the supplies that you used and some payment so that we can timely buy new supplies.
We had one guest who found a supply of special beers and
drank all of it without telling us. When we found out she told us she left some of her olive oil and flour for us. She apparently thought that, upon late arrival from the airport, we would be pleased to drink a refreshing glass of olive oil with flour.
Same is true in case you have broken items. These things happen, but please help by telling us so we can find an alternative together.