Skip to content
Vicinalia
Italiano Sign up

Bordighera: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Imperia, Liguria. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Bordighera

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Via Vittorio Emanuele 1, Bordighera.

Bordighera, palm trees, the old hill town and France next door

In the nineteenth century the British picked Bordighera as a place to spend the winter, and the town still shows it: villas with gardens, palm trees everywhere, churches and a library founded for the foreign community. Claude Monet also spent a few months painting here. It lies on the western Italian Riviera, between Sanremo and Ventimiglia, a few kilometres from the French border.

The town has two sides. Bordighera Alta, the old core on the hill, is a tight cluster of houses and lanes closed to cars. Below it, the nineteenth and twentieth-century town spreads down to the seafront and to the Genoa to Ventimiglia railway, which has a station in the centre. On the hills behind are villas and scattered houses reached by narrow, steep roads. Many residents work across the border in Monaco and France, so journey times westwards by road and rail matter to them.

Second homes shape both the market and the population. At the end of 2023 there were 10,213 residents, down 1.9% since 2011, with a mean age of 50.1 and 31.4% over 65: older than the province, which is already one of the oldest in Italy. Households are small, 1.89 people on average. Foreign residents make up 11.9%. Declared incomes are above the provincial average.

In 1887 a strong earthquake struck this stretch of coast, so the risk is not theoretical. Bordighera is in seismic zone 3 on the Civil Protection Department's scale from 1 (highest) to 4, while 30 municipalities in the province of Imperia are in zone 2; expected ground acceleration is about 0.133 g. In the masonry buildings of the centre and Bordighera Alta, ask about any structural work.

On the slopes landslide hazard changes from one road to the next, and the streams running down to the sea can swell within hours during autumn rain; the report checks both for the address. Services are extensive for a town this size, with 138 bars and restaurants. The Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) publishes cadastral maps here.

Key points

  • Western Riviera between Sanremo and Ventimiglia, close to France.
  • 31.4% over 65, households of 1.89 people on average.
  • Seismic zone 3, expected acceleration about 0.133 g.
  • Hillside landslides and streams to check for the address.

Overview

Bordighera is a municipality in the province of Imperia, in Liguria. At the end of 2023 it had 10,213 residents, among the most populous in the province (5 of 66).

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Bordighera is in seismic zone 3, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible but rare. Most municipalities in the province (36 of 66) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.133 g, a moderate value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

Even in zone 3, seismic standards apply to new buildings: for an older building, ask about the design year and any structural work.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 1.9%. The estimated average age is 50 years, in line with the province. 31% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 29%). Foreign residents make up 11.9% of the population. On average, a household has 1.9 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Bordighera declared an average taxable income of 22,667 euros, above the provincial average (21,487 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Bordighera is in climate zone C, with 1,057 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 15 November to 31 March, for up to 10 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 5 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Bordighera has 9 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 9 grocery shops and supermarkets, 12 healthcare facilities, 17 sports facilities and 7 parks and green areas.

There are 1.2 healthcare facilities per 1,000 residents, more than the province average (0.7).

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 26.4% of the land in Bordighera, compared with 6.4% in the province and 7.3% in the region. In 2024 built-up land stayed almost the same.

Radon and contaminated sites

Bordighera is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Liguria in 2026. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list no open contaminated sites in Bordighera; 4 have been cleaned up or closed.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Bordighera: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Bordighera are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 79 inhabited census areas in Bordighera. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 60 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 7.3%
  • fair 63.7%
  • good 29.0%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 008008. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.