Genoa does not reveal itself from a car. It is a long, narrow city squeezed between the sea and the mountains, running some thirty kilometres from Voltri to Nervi and climbing upwards with creuze lanes, public lifts and funiculars. For a weekend, leave the car behind, stay in the centre and walk: in two days you can see the city of the old Republic, the city of the port and the fishing village at the end of Corso Italia.
Saturday morning: the heart of the Republic
Start at Piazza De Ferrari, the square where Genoa gathers whenever it has something to say or to celebrate. The bronze fountain in the middle, inaugurated in 1936, is the city's most recognisable symbol after the Lanterna. On the old town side stands Palazzo Ducale, seat of the doges: its courtyards and porticoes are free to walk through, and it is worth climbing the Grimaldina tower, which looks over the maze of caruggi and the port at the same time.
A short walk away is the cathedral of San Lorenzo, striped black and white, with two bell towers that never became twins. Inside, in the right aisle, look for the shell: on 9 February 1941 a British naval shell tore through the side of the church and failed to explode, and an exact replica now marks the spot. Down in the crypt, the Treasury Museum keeps the Sacro Catino, the green glass bowl the Genoese believed for centuries to be the Holy Grail.
End the morning at Porta Soprana, the two towers of the city walls of 1155. Under the arch, an inscription in Latin verse lets the city speak and orders all who enter to come in peace. At the foot of the gate is the house of Christopher Columbus: what you see is a rebuilt fragment, but the archives confirm the family lived at that address from 1455 to about 1470.
Saturday afternoon: the street of palaces
The Republic had no royal palace, yet visiting sovereigns still had to be housed. The answer was the rolli: official lists of the grandest private palaces, from which the house that would host a cardinal or an ambassador was drawn by lot. In all, 163 palaces were listed, and the place where the system shows best is Via Garibaldi, the Strada Nuova laid out from 1550: 250 metres of façades, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.
Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Doria Tursi make up the Strada Nuova Museums, with a single ticket, and Tursi displays the Cannone, Niccolò Paganini's violin. If time is short, choose Palazzo Rosso and save its rooftop terrace for sunset, with the slate roofs, the Lanterna and the port cranes below you. Then walk the street again after dinner: the lit entrance halls let you see the courtyards beyond.
Saturday evening: pesto where it was born
For dinner, head down into the caruggi. Pesto alla genovese comes on trofie or on trenette with potatoes, and its story is less obvious than you might think: the first printed recipe, from 1863, combined basil with Dutch cheese and parmesan, because merchants from the Netherlands sold their cheese in Genoa's markets. Today Genoese basil holds a protected designation of origin.
Sunday morning: the port and the Lanterna
Sunday begins at the Porto Antico, redesigned by Renzo Piano, home to the largest aquarium in Italy. Facing it, by the Sottoripa arcades, stands Palazzo San Giorgio: in 1298, after the battle of Curzola, the Genoese locked up a Venetian merchant here, Marco Polo, who dictated the account of his travels to Rustichello da Pisa in his cell. The building still houses offices, but both its faces, the medieval one and the painted one towards the port, can be seen from outside.
Then walk to the Lanterna, 77 metres high, the tallest lighthouse in the Mediterranean. Getting there is half the visit: a pedestrian walkway of about 800 metres runs along the old walls, suspended above the docks. The first 172 steps are open to the public, and the museum next door opens mainly at weekends: one more reason to go on a Sunday.
Sunday afternoon: Boccadasse
The last afternoon is to the east, at the end of Corso Italia. In 1915 the residents of Boccadasse opposed the extension of the seafront road so stubbornly that the project was halted, and the pastel houses still huddle around the small pebble bay. Fishermen still cast their nets, next to ice cream parlours and restaurants. Climb the crêuza up to Capo di Santa Chiara, below the Türcke castle: from up there the view reaches as far as the Portofino promontory.
If you would rather see another Genoa, there are two alternatives. Castello d'Albertis is the neo-Gothic home of a sea captain, full of objects collected on his voyages, reached by the Montegalletto lift. Or take the train to Pegli for Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, a park designed like a stage play, voted Italy's most beautiful park in 2017 and open every day except Monday.
Practical tips
- Getting around: the centre is best on foot; public lifts and funiculars take you uphill, and the metro stops at Principe, San Giorgio and De Ferrari.
- Opening times: towers, museums and the Lanterna change their hours during the year, so check before you go. Twice a year the Rolli Days also open palaces that are usually closed.
- Where to stay: in the centre, between De Ferrari and the port, so you can do everything on foot. Places to stay, with guest ratings, are on our page on where to stay in Genoa.
