We decided to make Genoa our home base for three nights so we could explore the Cinque-Terre, the French Riviera and Lake Como. Besides offering a place to put our heads down at night, Genoa surprised us with its beauty and charm. I was expecting a large, gritty port city. Instead, the area boasts museums, palaces (42 of which are part of the Palazzi dei Rolli UNESCO site), churches and even an aquarium.
Our drive into Genoa was eventful to say the least. For whatever reason, we kept missing a key turn into the old part of the city. By missing this important street, our navigation system re-routed us around the city. We were tired and it was almost 11:00 at night. We had been going non-stop since departing our cruise ship that morning in Venice. Add bicycle riding in Lucca and visiting two towns in the Cinque-Terre and we had put in a full day. Finally we got to the parking lot near the aquarium and walked the two blocks to our hotel.
The next morning, we woke up to a charming city. Opening the balcony doors wide, we saw mazes of cobblestone streets begging to be explored in the Old Town area of the city. TripAdvisor told us that a great coffee shop, Caffe Buona Fede was just a block away.
The tiny shop only offered three tables for seating. We watched as people would order espresso and stand at the bar for about five minutes and leave – very different from spending hours in US coffee shops. The pistachio-nutella croissants became a favorite of our and we loved starting each morning here. Upon hearing our day trip plans, the older gentleman owner suggested a few changes that proved to save us time.
On our second day, we decided to walk around the streets before our trip to the French Riviera. It was Monday morning and people were bustling about their workday. We ducked our head into an unassuming church – Chiesi di San Siro.
As I’ve said with many things on this trip, pictures don’t do it justice. We entered the large cavernous space. Craning my neck upwards, I saw detailed paintings on the ceiling and light streaming through a large rotunda.
The altar area was exquisitely designed and a few people sat at the pews meditating. Believe it or not but San Siro Cathedral is not the Cathedral of Genoa. That title belongs to the Cathedral di San Lorenzo not too far away.
We also walked by another grand building. I can’t tell you what was but it was more like an auditorium than a church.
Our time in Genoa was short – just three breakfasts and one dinner but everything we saw was fascinating. Genoa is under-rated in the tour books, being overshadowed by other popular cities. If you’re in the area, it definitely has things to see and do. A good resource on the city of half a million people can be found here.