remdog99

I'll be arriving at GOA on a Wed at 11AM and will be starving--any good spots for lunch? I will have a rental car but would prefer to avoid the ZTL area. thx

zeppole

If you are headed south toward le Cinque Terre and Tuscany, get on the autostrade and head for the autostrade exit of Recco. It is easy to get off the autostrade there and find parking -- mind the signs, but there is no ZTL area, and forbidden zones are clearly marked.

I believe Manuelina's foccaceria is open on Wednesdays. Google to find out. You can also google up Da O Vittorio and see if it is open for lunch on Wednesday.

Recco in general has good food, so take your chances if the prime destinations are closed.

Recco is not a scenic town, but it is easy to get in and out on the autostrade, so that's why I'm recommending it.

zeppole

PS: The Italian lunch hour ends by 1:45, and if your plane is late or your car rental is delayed, get off the autostrade at Nervi, head to the seaside, find parking as close to the water as you can, and ask a local for directions to La Marinella. it serves all day, and has a pretty terrace by the sea. Google it up first to get a general idea of where it is, and whether it is open on Wednesdays (I don't know). Order foccacia al formaggio (as you should in Recco if you see it on the menu).

remdog99

Does anyone know if 'sa pesta' in genova is in the ZTL, or if its easy to get to by car?

zeppole

Nothing in Genova is easy to get to by car if you've never been in the city before -- and sometimes impossible even if you have! If you have your heart set on eating in the heart of Genova, consider calling your car rental company and switching your pick up location to an office in Genoa. Take the airport shuttle bus into town, stow your bags at one of the train stations. Take a taxi or walk to Sa Pesta. Pick up bags and car after lunch, be on your way.

If you don't want to do that, I believe "Sa Pesta" is within walking distance of the old port (Porto Antico) -- which is the location of the acquarium, and thus you should find plenty of parking around the acquarium unless you are coming during August, especially the last 2 weeks of August. Then I can't tell you.

via Michelin is a good website for locating whether there is parking nearby Sa Pesta, and you can use it to plot a route from the airport to the parking lot. You will also need to find your way back to the autostrade. It may be a different route, so map that too. If you have a GPS, I'm not sure it can be relied upon not to steer you into a ZTL.

Here is Genova's website for "area blu" and the ZTL -- although unless you speak Italian, you may have a hard time figuring it out.

http://www.bluareagenova.it/it/home.asp

zeppole

PS: The Acquarium is one of the most popular family attractions in Italy, and surely people drive to it. If you do a google search for the Acquarium's website, it might have driving directions to it, and parking indications.

remdog99

boy, sounds complicated. i just want a stop that is good for lunch and relatively easy to get to (no ztl's to worry about) from the airport as we make our way to Lucca. any other suggestions?

zeppole

remdog99,

Genoa has the largest intact medieval core in Europe, so yes! It's a complicated place to drive.

You'd have to explain what you don't like about the two simpler suggestions I gave you above. Also, if I'm not mistaken, when you posted previously about wanting a place to eat near Genoa airport for your departure, I gave you the name of a place 20 minutes from the airport in the hills. I don't know if it is open for lunch on Wednesdays.

All Italian restaurants only serve lunch between the hours of 12-2. You are going not going to be leaving the airport until 11:45 at the earliest, so I suggest you avoid the city entirely.

The Italian Riviera is a great place for food and a lousy place for parking. If you start driving toward Lucca, get past Genoa and then get off the autostrade when you are hungry. Find parking. Ask a few people to tell you which is a nice place for lunch in town. Tell them you would like to taste the best local food. You'll get a nice lunch.

There are ZTL's in Lucca and any historic place you are going in Italy (i.e., everywhere.) Learn to recognize this sign and don't drive there:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/3...e5e9f3eab2.jpg

remdog99

now thst sounds easy, will do. btw, i am staying at agriturismo montecontessa on my way back for our final night in genoa (just outside the city). i have yet to find any mention of anyone having stayed there before, but i have read rave reviews of their food.

zeppole

Hope you have a great trip start to finish.

remdog99

It was AMAZING!

We ended up stopping off the Autostrada at Chiavari, which was a bit past the greater Genova area. We found a resto across the street from the beach. We knew it was a good choice when everyone looked at us when we walked in, and nobody spoke any english. A great first Italian lunch!

A note about agriturismo montecontessa. They seem to only have 1 bedroom there, and it likely isn't used too often since they store a fridgs in it. Not the best accomodations but definitely worth it for 50 Euros. The real reason to stay there of course is the food. There were about 25 diners the night we were there, all except us were there just for the dinner. A huge amount of food, all of it fantastic, and so reasonable for just 50 euros for the 2 of us for dinner. Just a note if you look for them in your GPS--you need to get to via Sant'Alberto, but at least for us, when we searched our gps for 'albert', nothing came up. We spent a good hour trying to find their place, but it was still worth it! And they are just a 15 min drive from the airport.