Genoa is Italy's greatest secret — a former maritime superpower with Europe's largest medieval old town, palaces that rivalled Venice, and a pesto-and-focaccia food tradition rooted in the sea. Raw, authentic, and magnificently unkempt, it rewards the curious traveller handsomely.
Caruggi Old Town, Palazzi & Porto Antico
Morning (9:00 AM): Plunge into the caruggi, the labyrinthine alleyways of Europe's largest medieval old town. Start at Piazza De Ferrari and walk into narrow lanes where laundry hangs between buildings. Visit San Lorenzo Cathedral (free), a striped Gothic masterpiece with a Treasury Museum (€6) holding what some believe to be the Holy Grail.
Mid-Morning (11:00 AM): Walk to the Strada Nuova (Via Garibaldi), the stunning 16th-century UNESCO street of aristocratic palaces. The Musei di Strada Nuova (€9) span three palaces — Palazzo Rosso, Bianco, and Tursi — containing Rubens, Van Dyck, Caravaggio, and a Paganini violin still played annually. The frescoed halls rival any in Italy.
Lunch (1:00 PM): Eat at Trattoria della Raibetta — trofie al pesto genovese (€9), made with Prà basil, pine nuts, and Ligurian olive oil. Genoa invented pesto, and eating it here ruins all other versions permanently.
Afternoon (2:30 PM): Explore the Porto Antico, redesigned by Renzo Piano. The Acquario di Genova (€28) is Europe's largest aquarium. Or explore the Galata Museo del Mare (€12), a maritime museum with a real submarine you can board. The waterfront has cafes and harbour views stretching to the Lanterna lighthouse.
Evening (6:30 PM): Aperitivo in Piazza delle Erbe, the square packed with bars and young Genoese. Dinner at Soho Restaurant for creative Ligurian seafood — fritto misto (€14) and the catch of the day with Vermentino white wine.
Staglieno Cemetery, Heights & Boccadasse
Morning (9:00 AM): Visit the Staglieno Cemetery (free, bus 34), one of Europe's most spectacular monumental cemeteries. Neoclassical tombs, weeping angels, and Gothic mausoleums cascade down a hillside. Mark Twain said the weights of grief press upon you. The 19th-century marble sculpture artistry is extraordinary — allow 90 minutes at least.
Mid-Morning (11:00 AM): Take the Funicolare Zecca-Righi (€2.50) to Righi for panoramic views over Genoa, the harbour, and the Ligurian Sea. Walk down through the Parco delle Mura, the old city walls with trails through Mediterranean scrub and constant sea views.
Lunch (12:30 PM): Descend to the Mercato Orientale, Genoa's covered market inside a former church cloister. Buy fresh focaccia, local cheeses, and olives for a picnic (€8). Or eat at MOG, the food hall upstairs with artisan stalls and a rooftop terrace offering panoramic views.
Afternoon (2:30 PM): Walk east along the coast to Boccadasse, a tiny fishing village folded into the cliffs at the end of the Corso Italia promenade. Pastel houses surround a pebble beach where fishing boats still rest. Gelato at Gelateria Amedeo, watching the afternoon sun on the Ligurian Sea.
Evening (6:00 PM): Dinner in the old town at Il Genovese — cima alla genovese (stuffed veal, €13) and pansoti in salsa di noci (walnut sauce pasta, €11). End with craft beer at Le Strade Nuove in a converted palazzo.
Nervi Parks & Coastal Excursion
Morning (8:30 AM): Train to Nervi (15 min, €1.70), Genoa's seaside suburb. Walk the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi, a clifftop promenade above the sea. The Parchi di Nervi combine three villa gardens into one spectacular green space with sea views, tropical plants, and rose gardens in full Mediterranean splendour.
Mid-Morning (10:30 AM): Continue by train to Camogli (30 min), a picturesque fishing village with trompe-l'oeil facades reflected in the harbour. The Focacceria Revello makes focaccia di Recco that draws pilgrims from across Liguria. Walk the short coastal trail toward San Fruttuoso through fragrant Mediterranean scrub.
Lunch (12:30 PM): Eat in Camogli — fried anchovies (€8) at a harbour restaurant. Or catch the ferry to San Fruttuoso (€8 one way) for the most scenic lunch in Liguria. The medieval abbey (€7) sits in a bay surrounded by forested cliffs, reachable only by sea or trail.
Afternoon (3:00 PM): Return and explore the caruggi you missed. Visit Palazzo Spinola (€6), a preserved aristocratic residence with original furnishings, frescoed ceilings, and paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck displayed as the family hung them. The mirror gallery is a baroque masterpiece.
Evening (6:00 PM): Farewell dinner at Trattoria Rosmarino — minestrone alla genovese (with pesto stirred in, €8), stuffed sardines (€12), and Pigato wine from the Riviera. Genoa sends you home planning your return to this extraordinary, overlooked city.
Budget Breakdown (Per Person, 3 Days)
| Category | Budget (€) | Mid-Range (€) | Luxury (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (3 nights) | €65 | €195 | €480 |
| Food & Drinks | €45 | €110 | €280 |
| Transport (bus/train) | €12 | €30 | €75 |
| Activities & Entry Fees | €20 | €50 | €110 |
| Total 3 Days | €142 | €385 | €945 |
Getting Around Genoa
Genoa is one of the most rewarding cities in Italy to navigate on foot, and also one of the most confusing. The medieval caruggi — lanes as narrow as 80 centimetres in places — were designed to baffle invaders, and they work equally well on first-time visitors with Google Maps. The key mental model is vertical: Genoa climbs steeply from the Porto Antico up through the old town and into the hilltop residential zones, and the city's historic transport infrastructure runs accordingly. Abandon the assumption that any route is flat and embrace the stairs, ramps, and mechanical assists that make the city work.
The historic centre is compact and best explored entirely on foot. From Piazza De Ferrari — the city's central hub, easily identifiable by its large fountain — everything of significance in the old town is within 20 minutes' walk. Navigating by the landmarks rather than street addresses is more reliable: the caruggi change names every two blocks and signage is inconsistently placed. Smartphone navigation works but constantly wants to route you along the major avenues rather than through the medieval lanes — trust your instincts when the app takes you somewhere logical but boring.
For the vertical dimension, Genoa operates a network of funicolari (funicular railways), ascensori (hillside lifts), and cremagliere (rack railways) that locals use daily and tourists routinely overlook. The Funicolare Zecca-Righi (€2.50 single, integrated with the Genova Mobilità network) runs from the old town up to the Righi hilltop in eight minutes, replacing a 40-minute climb. The Ascensore Castello d'Albertis connects the port-level streets to the hilltop castle district. All these services run on standard AMT public transport tickets (€1.70 single, available from tabaccherie and machines at stations), which also cover city buses throughout the municipality.
The AMT bus network covers the whole city, with routes 17, 18, and 40 linking the train stations (Genova Piazza Principe and Genova Brignole) to the old town and waterfront. Taxis are metered, plentiful near the stations, and reasonably priced by Italian standards — airport to centre runs approximately €20-30. For the Cinque Terre and coastal day trips, the Trenitalia regional trains from Brignole station are frequent and cheap: Camogli is €3, Rapallo €5, and La Spezia (gateway to Cinque Terre) €9, with trains running every 30-60 minutes throughout the day.
Parking in central Genoa is a deeply inadvisable project. The city's road layout was not designed for cars and the narrow one-way systems are genuinely hostile to anyone unfamiliar with the routes. Visitors arriving by car should park at one of the peripheral parcheggi — Parking Fiera, Via Adamoli, and the car parks serving the Genova Piazza Principe station are the most practical — and walk or use public transport from there. The blue-line street parking zones require a Telepass or parking disc and fill completely during business hours.
