What to see in Genoa? Genoa is a wonderful city, and around every corner, among the alleys, there is the richness of a piece of ancient Liguria, full of history. We are talking about a city squeezed between the sea and the hinterland, which, however, has found a perfect balance over time.
Getting off at Genova Brignole station, you are immediately in Victory Square; right in the center stands the triumphal arch, dedicated to the Genoese who fell during the First World War. This can be just the beginning of a wonderful tour to know what to see in Genoa.
Strolling in Genoa
In the background of the square is the Staircase of the Caravels, in which the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria are depicted. Only by turning right, in via XX Settembre there is the shopping street, which joins central Piazza della Vittoria with Piazza De Ferrari.
Elegant shop windows and elegant bars meet here, and you can walk underneath the Monumental Bridge. How to ignore the beautiful and endless arcades, with the imprinted vestiges of the ancient Genoese nobility: black and white? Gliding down a pleasant walk, you will find Piazza De Ferrari, recognizable by the large round bronze fountain located in the center. The flagship is the Ducal Palace (venue for exhibitions and conferences), the Carlo Felice theater.
Going down you meet the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, with two large lions in front of the entrance; built between 1100 and 1300. To the right of the church you can see a little dog carved in marble.
The alleys and the aquarium of Genoa
According to a legend, during the construction of the Cathedral, there was a little dog that always went around the sculptors. During the end of the work, the little dog mysteriously disappeared, and the workers sculpted it to remember him. A visit is inevitable at the Porto Antico. In this area, now used as a residential area, rather ancient, there is the famous Aquarium of Genoa. This area hosted the Universal Exhibition '92.
Medieval buildings
From the Porto Antico, if you enter via al Ponte Reale, walking for 100 meters you will arrive in the beautiful Banchi Square where there is the famous Loggia della Mercanzia, a beautiful medieval building that housed the trading of merchants and bankers. The historic center of Genoa is its main feature, distinguished by hundreds of alleys; term with which in the dialect the arcades and the shady and narrow alleys are defined. In these parts there is the Romanengo confectionery, one of the most important pastry shops in Italy, which dates back to the early nineteenth century.
Fabrizio De Andrè and Genoa
Gliding through the Genoese tour, you reach Soziglia square, and then again Banchi Square; once there, to the right, for Via San Luca, there is one of the most charming and picturesque alleys of Genoa. Then again the legendary "Field street”, The famous cobbled street known to have been sung and inhabited by Fabrizio De Andrè.
There is also there the famous museum dedicated to Fabrizio De Andrè.
Genoa is wonderful for the atmosphere full of music, great musicians of course, for the irony, the grumbling, the women who still make pesto at home. Beautiful, eternal and fascinating, Genoa has as its flagship the "Marassi", its beautiful stadium full of Story. In this regard, Genoa has a great record, namely the first Italian football team, the "Genoa". But in Genoa there is the Doge's Palace, the Treasury Museum, the Royal Palace, or the Museum of the Risorgimento!
The nightlife
If there is one thing that the Genoese love, is the "movida", living the nightlife in the alleys. The premises of the center are an institution between one “caruggio” and another. Almost all of the clubs and pubs are located in the city center; around the Cathedral of San Lorenzo or in other squares, where you can have a beer, a cocktail.
For those over 25, the place for an aperitif is Lavagna, with a more adult, soft nightlife. But don't forget a panoramic view with the funicular that takes you to the heights! It is also a must to take a walk up to Boccadasse, which is the contraction of “donkey's mouth”, the shape of the zone of coastline. It was Genoese who emigrated to Argentina a century ago to found "la boca" the oldest area with the stadium and the team, symbols of Buenos Aires! You only have to choose what to see in Genoa!
