My wife and I actually stayed in Genoa 2 years ago at the Jolly Plaza hotel which seemed like a decent area. We had great food in the neighborhood and it was very pleasant. The only problem we had we caused. My wife managed to shut down the power on an entire floor of the hotel because she forgot to use the converter. We managed to have a good laugh about it.

<i>Patrick, I think that Genoa got a major face lift when it hosted the G8 summit a couple of years ago.</i>

That seems very likely. In addition to that...

&quot;The 500th Anniversary Expo of 1992 marked a turning point Genoa's recent history. In 1990 the Italian government finally began the $4 billion building and restoration projects that have transformed the formerly blighted neighborhoods into showcases of urban renewal. . . . Most striking of all, perhaps, the colorful facades of many medieval buildings have emerged from the grime of neglect, including the thousand-year-old Palazza Ducale, for centuries the seat of Genoa's Doge.&quot; -- from <i>Enchanted Liguria (1997) by David Downie.

Downie also writes about Genoa's <i>carruggi</i> -- &quot;a warren of narrow alleys an armspan wide . . . serpentine streets seemingly quarried from the mountainside . . . cars cannot enter this realm, a landlocked Venice, and the silence is striking&quot; -- and says that they are in &quot;Europe's largest and most densely populated medieval city.&quot;

He also says, interestingly, that an &quot;enduring clic&eacute; has it that the Genoese are the Scots of the Mediterranean.&quot; </i>

Thanks Patrick.

Not sure about staying in Genoa, but we recently stayed in Tuscany for a week and, because we put together the trip at the last minute, had to fly out of Genoa. I cannot tell you much about what to see there, but the drive up the Autostrada from Pisa was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. You go up the western coast of Italy, through mountains, with the Mediterranean below. It was a bit of a shlep, but I'm really glad we did it.

Zena (Genovese for Genoa) is great! (I live in Genoa) :)

A little tidbit I learned recently: Genoa has the largest historical center in Europe. At least that's what everyone keeps telling me here.

The mountains, the sea, the pesto... :)

I remember stopping for the night in Genoa in Nov '94 coming from Nice on the way to Florence on the train. I don't recall any negatives. It seemed like a typical large Italian city with a pretty large old town area and lots of people selling things on the streets. The food wasn't bad and the hotel where we stayed near the train station was very nice. I don't recall any nice views of the sea however.

We went there for a day trip while we were staying in Camogli last September and really enjoyed wandering around the old town. It was a nice change of scene. We didn't feel at all threatened in any way. Of course we didn't have a car to worry about. We were glad to have made the effort, but probably wouldn't want to base myself there.