Travel Guide to Genoa

A gull cries over masts in Porto Antico, espresso steam fogs the café window, and the first focaccia trays slide out of wood-fired ovens. Sea salt rides the dawn breeze, mingling with basil leaves pounded for pesto in back-alley trattorias. That briny-herb perfume is your cue that Genova, Genoa to English tongues, has switched the lights on for another day. Welcome aboard this Ligurian labyrinth, mapped out by us, the VayCay Couple, after a dozen espresso-fuelled wanderings.

Last Updated May 2025

(Planning to hop south afterward? Don’t miss our one-page companion, “How to Get to Portofino from Genoa”, a coast-hugging mini-guide you can open on the train platform.)

QUICK REFRESH

USING THIS HANDBOOK

• Skim the tables for at-a-glance logistics.
  
• Dip into each district’s bullet list to match mood with neighbourhood.
  
• Screenshot FAQs for offline reassurance in the medieval backstreets (caruggi), where GPS signals ricochet like pinballs.
  

TOP 12 WAYS TO FALL FOR GENOA

1. Cattedrale di San Lorenzo – Zebra-striped façade, dragon-carving side door, and a WWII unexploded bomb displayed inside as a peace talisman. Free; bell-tower climb €6.
   
2. Via Garibaldi Palazzi Rolli – Sixteenth-century mansions with trompe-l’œil frescoes and golden staircases. Thursdays many open late; combo ticket €12.
   
3. Galata Museo del Mare – Four floors of maps, sextants, and full-size migrant ship where speakers pipe out ocean squalls. Reserve a slot for the submarine Nazario Sauro moored outside.
   
4. Lanterna Lighthouse Walk – 172 steps to a harbour panorama—container cranes look like Lego from up here. Go late afternoon; the sun sets behind the peninsular hills, not in your face.
   
5. Boccadasse Sunset – Former fishing hamlet; pastel houses cluster like gelato scoops. Grab paper-wrapped cones of fried anchovies and dangle your legs off the breakwater.
   
6. Funicular to Righi – A seven-minute clank lifts you above rooftops; follow the Mura delle Chiappe fort walls trail for city-and-sea double-deck views.
   
7. Piazza de Ferrari Splash Zone – Kids chase fountain arcs while business folk power-walk past the Neo-Renaissance stock exchange. At dusk, golden light bounces off wet granite.
   
8. Mercato Orientale – A belly-growl warren of basil bouquets, pecorino wheels, porcini towers, and fluorescent red shrimp. Upstairs “MOG” food court serves fork-tender octopus with chick-pea puree.
   
9. Strada Nuova Museums by Night – Summer Fridays, violinists fill marble halls while visitors roam with a glass of Pigato white.
   
10. Street-Art in Via del Campo – Guitars painted on shutters honour singer Fabrizio De André; vintage record shops hum his ballads through tinny speakers.
    
11. Genoa Aquarium – Europe’s largest; jellyfish room hypnotises, and the manatees munch lettuce like zen masters. Buy timed tickets online at https://www.acquariodigenova.it to skip the hour-long queue.
    
12. Derby della Lanterna – If timing fits, watch Sampdoria vs. Genoa CFC; blue smoke, drums, and Ligurian swear-poetry echoing off the Marassi terraces.
    

DISTRICT RUNDOWN

EAT & SIP (TESTED MULTIPLE TIMES, FOR SCIENCE)

• Antica Sciamadda, Via San Giorgio 14 – 19th-century friggitoria; order farinata (wood-oven chick-pea pancake) then watch them scoop sizzling oil off trays with a spoon the size of a tennis racket.
  
• Ostaia de Banchi, Vico de’ Scudai 1 – Five-table cave for pesto-trofie tossed the second the pasta lands; ask for extra pine-nut crumble.
  
• Sa Pesta, Via dei Giustiniani 16 – Coal-fired pans turn out herb-speckled vegetable pies (torte salate) and steaming minestrone alla genovese that rewrites your soup standards.
  
• Caffè dei Musei, Largo Pertini 3 – Modern espresso bar pouring single-origin brews and selling postcards of local typographic signage. Perfect pit-stop between Palazzo Ducale and Via XX Settembre.
  
• Bitta Rossa Enoteca, Corso Italia 3R – Natural wines by the glass, Ligurian anchovy boards, and footpath stools overlooking swimmers.
  

Hefty bill alert: seafood platters along Corso Italia can soar; peek at chalkboard prices first.

BEACHLETS & SALTY DETOURS

• Sturla Pebble Strip – Locals unfold deck chairs at 07:00; join them with a cornetto, leave towel unattended—nobody minds.
  
• Quarto dei Mille – Small slipway where Garibaldi set sail to unify Italy; snorkel out to see bronze plaques bolted to rocks.
  
• Vernazzola – Crescent of gritty sand perfect for a dusk picnic; fishermen mend nets under ochre arches.
  
• Bagni Maddalena (Nervi) – Pay-in lido with diving platforms and showers; 20-min coastal train east of Brignole (€2.20).
  

GETTING AROUND GENOA

The local transport site https://www.amt.genova.it posts real-time strike alerts, worth a pre-breakfast glance if you have timed museum slots.

For more tips, itineraries, and one-pagers, check out our other articles on the site, including guides to Italy, Cernobbio, Lake Como, Verona and Rome.

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MICRO-MUSEUM GEMS

1. Basilica di Santa Maria delle Vigne – Hidden baroque jewel; free organ recitals Thursdays.
   
2. Museo di Sant’Agostino – Medieval sculpture, dusty cloister coolness, almost nobody else around.
   
3. Wolfsoniana (Nervi) – 20th-century propaganda posters and Deco furniture; café terrace overlooks palm park.
   

SEASONAL SNAPSHOT

ESSENTIAL NUMBERS & APPS

36-HOUR Genoa Itinerary

Day 1
08:00 – Cappuccino + focaccia at Antico Forno Patrone (Via Ravecca).
09:00 – Cathedral & treasure museum.
10:30 – Walk Via Garibaldi palazzi, quick espresso at Caffetteria Rolli.
13:00 – Lunch Mercato Orientale food court.
14:30 – Funicular to Righi, fort trail snack stop.
18:00 – Aperitivo in Piazza delle Erbe (Spritz + panissa chips).
20:00 – Seafood dinner at Bittà Rossa, moonlit stroll Corso Italia.

Day 2
08:30 – Train to Nervi, clifftop Anita Garibaldi promenade jog.
11:00 – Return, dive into Galata Museum & submarine.
13:30 – Quick farinata at Antica Sciamadda.
15:00 – Lanterna lighthouse, watch tugs ballet.
18:00 – Sunset Boccadasse, paper cone anchovies.
21:30 – Jazz nightcap at Count Basie Club, Vico Tana.

FINAL DOCKSIDE TIP

Set the alarm for nautical-time 05:45. Walk down to Molo Molo Vecchio just as fishing boats unload. A café kiosk serves €1 espresso to dockhands; sip while dawn turns cranes silhouette-black and the rippled water copies the sky’s first peach stripe. Genoa’s soul is maritime, it wakes earliest at the pier.

FAQs