Bridge on the Italian & French Rivieras
Join us on a delightful holiday to the Italian and French Rivieras. A warm welcome awaits at the boutique B&B Palace Hotel, beautifully located along the seafront promenade in Diano Marina, on the Riviera Dei Fiori, and facing its own sandy beach. With just 48 rooms, this classic, modern hotel is really something special. Its restaurant serves excellent Italian food, highly rated by tourists and locals alike.
From our fabulous base, you can easily explore this fascinating region, full of quaint coastal towns and brimming with history, colourful gardens and beautiful flowers. You can enjoy a coastal walk to neighbouring Imperia, capital of the province – not to be missed is a visit to its Olive Museum. The medieval village of Cervo with its winding cobbled streets, colourful houses and famous music school, as well as the hilltop Diano Castello, are also worthy of a visit.
Your Tour Includes
- Return flights from London Gatwick to Nice with 1 piece of checked-in luggage. Manchester is available at a supplement
- 7 nights half-board accommodation
- Return airport transfers from Nice Airport
- 7-course Ligurian Dinner
- Services of an EBU-qualified director and friendly hosts
- Varied bridge sessions with Masterpoints and prizes awarded
- 1 morning seminar
- Bathrobe and slippers supplied in all bedrooms
- Excursions and visits as described in the itinerary
- Coach travel for excursions
Gary and Lesley Conrad
Gary and Lesley are new to the First for Bridge team but have been hosting bridge holiday events for many years They enjoy these events, socialising, and caring for the guests, and always strive to ensure that our guests have a wonderful holiday experience.
Gary is a senior EBU panel director as well as the chief tournament director for Hertfordshire, their home county. He is always delighted to help bridge players up their game; he is completely approachable and stands ready to put any nervous players at ease. His priority is that everyone enjoys themselves during their events. You will rarely encounter Gary without a wide smile and welcome for every guest. Gary is also a trainer for EBED, running courses for players who want to be able to direct bridge in their own clubs, and has assisted well over 100 people achieve this.
Lesley is their social expert, will always help any single guests, and looks after all the scoring and preparation of the hands and makes sure the bridge room is always tidy and ready for every session.
Itinerary
Your Bridge Programme
Our bridge programmes will vary according to the length of your break, and, in addition to playing bridge, we try to include interesting bridge seminars, hosted by your EBU-qualified director.
Your duplicate bridge will be available every evening between 7:45pm and 11:15pm. We endeavour to vary these evening sessions, balancing between teams and pairs and featuring at least one Swiss event during a two-week break.
Bridge will also be offered some afternoons between 2:30pm and 4:45pm. These sessions are normally given over to open pairs/teams.
Masterpoints are awarded on evening bridge sessions, and on day sessions with over 5 tables.
During your bridge holiday, nothing is obligatory, and you can play in as many or as few bridge sessions as you wish. We don’t forget you are on holiday and our bridge programmes also allow time to relax, giving the opportunity for you to explore the surrounding area.
Today we fly to Nice. We enjoy dinner in the hotel this evening.
Includes Dinner
Alongside your varied bridge programme, we have two full-day excursions included on this holiday.
Monaco, Monte Carlo and the French Riviera
We depart from the hotel around 8:00am and drive to the Principality of Monaco where we visit the old town and the Prince’s Palace on the fortress. Our tour in the old part of the town includes a visit to the cathedral hosting the graves of the prince's family.Later we head for 'Hotel de Paris' following the circuit of the famous Monaco Grand Prix. Why not make a stop at Monaco’s Casino and try your luck on the fruit machines, or simply just admire this beautiful building and look out for an A-lister? From Roquebrune, we take the wonderful panoramic road, the Grand Corniche to Eze Village, a beautiful medieval village perched high on a cliff top overlooking the sparkling blue waters of the Cote d’Azur. In the foothills of Eze village, you will visit a renowned perfume factory where you can make your own perfume, before returning to our hotel for dinner and evening bridge.
Liguria with Wine Tasting
Our full-day tour takes us to Dolceacqua, one of the prettiest villages in Liguria. Spend time in this historic centre and be enchanted by the Doria Castle and Roman Bridge. We visit a famous wine producer to taste the excellent wines from Liguria. We continue to San Remo, a beautiful coastal city with its Japanese Gardens, palm trees and olive groves, which is dominated by the 12th-century San Siro Cathedral, an elegant Art Nouveau building with 12 bells in its tower. We return to our hotel for dinner and bridge. On one evening, you will enjoy a fabulous, candlelit Ligurian dinner.Includes Breakfast
Includes Dinner
Included Highlights
Return flight back to the UK.
Includes Breakfast
Single Room Supplement from £240.00 (8 days).
Accommodation
You will stay for seven nights on a half-board basis at the B&B Palace Diano Marina.