This year, Genoa has been selected as Europe's cultural city, I guess, and I was wondering what anyone thought about Genoa for a visit. Anything specific that you've really enjoyed? All I know is they have a nice aquarium (and Cristopher Columbus's house...). The pictures I saw of the main piazza looked quite pleasant...

I spent a day there a couple of years ago. The harbor and the tiny streets leading to it are terrific.

the small streets and harbor sound nice...

but is it too overgrown with modern concrete buildings? that's my main fear, although I think they have done some things to make the newer modern buildings somewhat attractive--at least the picture i saw seemed that way.

i know charles dickens wrote about it with some sense of it being just beautiful--chaotic but nice. almost a northern napoli maybe?

The impression one gets of Genova when driving on that incredible highway is terrible, but the city centre itself is actually very very beautiful. Its definetely worth a visit.
Great food too......

Yes I was thinking it might be a real food mecca--pesto, and focaccia bread too, right? we'll see if i can fit it in sometime this year. Anyone else have any insights about this town? I know it's not in Rick Steves, but still...

Jackie - A trip I very much enjoyed from Genova was the train ride up to Casella. A delightful ride up into the hills, with lovely views over Genova.
http://www.ferroviagenovacasella.it/

There are lots of possibilities for day trips really - Camogli, SML, Portofino, Rapallo, Nervi, Finale Ligure, Noli ...

Steve

Great city! A all time favorite of mine for its hectic relatively car free city center around the harbor and excellent food. Very few tourists also.

I will have to look into Casella. Anyway, Genova sounds fun--and with all of the events going on there for 2004, I think it would be a great time to explore it. Okay, gotta start looking into train tickets...

Thanks!

just a quick note and question about Genova: the press for this 2004 cultural capital of Europe is getting tons of press here in Italy (for good reason), and Genova has spent quite a bit of money on this year. I just wondered if other people, outside of Italy, have heard about this "event" and if Genova is being advertised a lot there (in America, other European countries, etc.). If so, is anyone planning a visit there this year based on the recent publicity?

Hi Jackie,

Here in Madison, GA our weekly paper hasn't yet picked up on the story.

That's okay--Italy has never heard of Madison, GA either, so I guess we're even .

Topping this after so long because I wanted to report back: we went to Genova in August and really enjoyed ourselves! The city is quite diverse--a mix of tiny little alleyways and wide boulevards, proper palaces and a busy port. I thought it was quite neat, and I would love to go back to there AND that beautiful Liguria region (why DIDN'T I know it was so gorgeous before???)!

Anyway, given that this year Genova holds the distinction of being the European capital of culture, if you are in the area and like bigger cities, I would go. This year especially there are lots of museum exhibits going on, and the whole city has been cleaned up for tourism. Especially worth seeing are the palaces, the main piazza (Ferrari), the duomo, and the maze of streets in the city center that makes up Genova's famous carruggi. And of course, the aquarium.

I can share pictures if you want, or you can check out my blog entries about it here:

Pesto Alla Genovese:
http://www.thelongtriphome.com/trave...es/000089.html

Genova Per Noi:
http://www.stelleinitalia.blogspot.com/
(scroll down to find this one)

Oh, and did I mention that they have fantastic food? (pesto, foccacia, and more...) Anyway, I really liked it. It was a side of Italy I had not yet seen.

P.S. I wanted to also say thank you for all of your previous comments regarding Genova--it helped make up our minds to go . Thanks!!

We visited Genova for a half day in early September. We were surprised to see what a beautiful this is and were sorry we had only a half day to spend!
I second Jackie_in_Italy's opinion about the Ligurian coast. It's gorgeous, from Genova to La Spezia! We've spent a very relaxing week with daytrips to Lerici and Portovenere, the Cinque Terre (of course), and Portofino and Rapallo. Great area!

Myriam:

I really was amazed at how gorgeous it was. I am used to Central Italy, a little bit of southern Italy, but mostly the Adriatic coast. I had actually never been to the other coast of Italy, despite living here. My husband and I took pictures as we drove by, but we didn't stop at any of the towns. I want to visit Camogli when I go back, and some of the other beach towns.

Glad you agree about Genova too! I don't think it gets a lot of tourists, so its sights are too often overlooked by people passing on the autostrada above. I think it's definitely worth a couple of days.

I was on the Italian Riviera at the beginning of June - stayed in Camogli and Nervi. Genoa was a real surprise - my friend and I had a personal guide that was wonderful and really showed us around Genoa. I'm amazed that some of the now pedestrian malls were open to cars only a year ago. Camogli was really charming - great seafood, ferries to various other towns along the coast and a wonderful Fellini cast of characters along the passegiata. Nervi was quieter with beautiful villas and incredible foliage and flowers. Nervi has a passegiata that clings to the rocky cliffs, like in Cinque Terre though not as precarious, with restaurants, gelaterias and bars - really delightful to walk along on a saturday night.

Nervi sounds nice--we were considering stopping there, but instead we opted for coastal driving since it was a nine hour drive back home to Le Marche. I really wanted to stop at Camogli, but we didn't. I look forward to going back. Even though I just caught glimpses of the coast, I can't quite get the images out of my head--it was surprisingly beautiful.

marktyner: what were some special places your personal guide took you to? That must've been a treat.

We just saw the film Agata e La Tempesta, which I am not sure is out in the states, and it takes place in Genova with some minor glances at Piazza Ferrari and the caruggi. It was neat, because we sort of realized it was Genova without being told, even though at first they didn't show any major Genova landmarks. I think we just saw the churches with their black and white stripes.