grotte di toirano

This was a spectacular two hour guided tour of a cave system occupied in pre history by 3metre size bears and humans.The stalactites and stalagmites are colourful and spellbinding. The ambient temperature in the caves was a pleasant 16 degrees centigrade. There were steep steps in places, but all the paths were well lit with secure hand rails. It is best to wear sensible shoes.The museum on site displayed some prehistoric animals as well as an array of semi precious stones from the caves.A lovely way to spend some time. Well worth the time.

This outing was an opportunity to visit a "natural museum," without the crowds we experienced in Rome and Florence. The grotto formations were spectacular, and if you are in or near Toirano, it's well worth a visit.

loved every minute of the visit! very fascinating and impressive formations, easily accessible tour and knowledgeable guide

A wonderful place to take kids, each cave has a different formation, the colours are wonderful. It really sparks the curiosity of every visitor how nature formed such shapes from drops od water.. Best set of caves I have ever visited. Take good walking shoes, there are something like 400 steps in the caves. Wonderful guides speaking good English. Inside temperature are 16 degrees year round so dress accordingly.

The caves are not the biggest you'll ever visit in your life, but for sure if you're around the area, they are more than worth a visit. Schedule around 2 hours and dress warmly - inside, the temperature is 16 degrees. Use good shoes, as the floor is extremely wet and slippery. That being said, one cannot help but notice that their management could improve.First of all, do not bother coming there before 9:30 am. That is the opening time and the ticket office does not open a minute before (more likely, five minutes later). Plus, the coffee place is closed - so you won't even be able to savor a nice espresso while you wait for the caves to open (which, to me, is ridiculous - we were around 40 people waiting to go inside this morning. Imagine how many coffees they could have sold while we were waiting for the ticket office to open). Also, if you go there with kids, note that although there is a lot of space near the parking, there is absolutely no area for children to play waiting for the caves to open - I'm not even talking about a playground, simply a slide or something. There is nothing.Then, note the following, since there is almost no explanation available:- there are 400 (very wet) steps to go through - up and down, up and down, during 1 hour. If you have any trouble walking, think about it. If you have a baby or toddler with you, the only solution is a baby carrier (Manduca, BabyBjorn, Ergo & Co.), and I still find it dangerous;- there is almost no folder / booklet available, with basic information. At the ticket office, we asked and we were shown a shelf, with only booklets in French. Luckily I speak fluent French, although I'm Italian;- differently from any other cave I know in the world, you cannot visit by yourself these ones. You buy your ticket at 9:30, walk around 300 meters until the entrance of the cave, you get there by 9:35, and at 9:45 am somebody comes to open the gate. The visit starts, with an Italian-speaking guide - who can speak some English. Basically, if you're not fluent in Italian, you're screwed. There is a departure every 30 minutes;- the staff is extremely patronizing. Don't even try to take a picture (even without flash) if not specifically allowed by the guide, otherwise you'll be publicly denounced and shouted at by the second "guide" (the one that is at the end of the group). It didn't happen to me, but to someone in my group. The reaction of the staff was simply a disgrace. There is way and way to talk to the people. Visitors are not vandals;- don't even try to stop two minutes to admire the caves if the group is moving. You're not supposed to slow the group down, and you have to walk, as the second guide will be more than glad to shout at you. While you are there, visit the small cave of Santa Lucia (when you exit the main caves, follow the sign and enter a small chapel which gives access to the cave). The fee is 1euro only (donation for the church) and the staff (young guides who work for free) are extremely nice and polite. They will tell you all about the American bombings of '44 and how the local villagers saved themselves in these caves.

We went to see the prehistoric foot prints (about 10,000 years old) and were blown away by the mineral formations in the cave. I've been to much better known caves and they don't overshadow this one at all.

To my surprise, the caves are quite large. The story behind them is very interesting indeed. The guides are well-informed and speak fluent English and German for those who don´t understand Italian

We had an excellent visit to the grottos of Toirano. It was exciting and fascinating to see the footprints of the prehistoric man scattered around the grottoes. It was impressive to see the variating from one cave to the next. The stalactites and stalagmites were very interesting and it was exciting to be deep into the mountain. Our visit to the grottoes was a highlight of our 2013 vacation.

Nice place to visit but beware....wear sensible shoes (not flipflops!!!) it is really slippery all the way roud woth lots of slippery stairs but worth the struggle, very nice caves and surrounding areas.

Astonishing what nature can do. The view in the cave is suggested in summer to enjoi the fresh. Great acoustic and a the sight of carcar rocks build up by nature can like fantastico columns, gives the feeling to be in a fantastic tale?

When in Liguria, it is rare to wonder away from beaches and restaurants but, if you have the opportunity to visit the prehistorical caves of Toirano, you will not regret it.You'll need an afternoon. The visit itself takes a bit more than 1 hour but you'll need 15 mn to walk up to the entrance of the caves from the parking lot, and another 15 mn to walk back down.And it's a 20 mn drive to the village of Toirano once you have left the highway.I would recommend leaving children under 10 behind. It can get dark and slippery in the caves and, the guides can have a group of up to 40 people following him. Young children can slow the whole group down and once you have started the visit, there is no exit until you reach the end of the tour.I have been there 3 times and, each time, the guide has different infos about the caves ;)... part of the local charm...so, remember to pick up one of the brochures at the front desk when buying your tickets for accurate information!

since long i wanted to visit the widely known caves of toirano. last summer i had the opportunity of listening to a beautiful concert of a ligurian group playing irish folk music (the birkin tree). it was awesome!

Nice caves but not the best in Italy. See these only if you have seen most of the others. Quite a bit of walking. It was raining the day we went so it was a bit of a break from being outside but not quite up to our expectations. Prices fair. Bring walking shoes. Coffee shop at the ticket office

If you've never visited a grotto this is your best chance to start. The grotto of Toirano display some really amazing rock formations and will make your mind plunge beck to millions of years ago.

visit is well organised with a guide, however she claimed not to speak English except to tell me off for touching a rock and useing flash. My guide book helped & you can get the flow of descriptions ( german girl translated for us ) Need good shoes as wet in places , every one else wrapped up we had T shirts & temp was comfortable but used to scottish climate ?