Established in 1867 by English businessman Sir Thomas Hanbury, the 18-hectare Villa Hanbury estate is planted with 5800 botanical species from five continents, including cacti, palm groves and citrus orchards. Today it's a protected area, under the care of the University of Genoa.
Take bus 1 from Via Cavour in Ventimiglia (there's a stop two blocks from the train station beside a Calzedonia shop) to 'La Mortola' stop. The bus continues on to the Ponte San Lodovico frontier post, from where you can walk down to the Balzi Rossi caves and beach on the French border.