One day in Genova

©mkvale.it

In Genova you can find many interesting museums, historical palaces, the largest European Aquarium, wonderful sea view…

Starting from Genova Brignole Railway Station

the best thing is taking a bus (18, 19, 46, 47...) on the first platform to reach Piazza De Ferrari that is the centre of the city…

I suggest you to buy the “Biglietto Giornaliero” (daily ticket) : for 4 € you can use all the day all the buses you want… (and you use it also on the VOLABUS)

If you are interested in visiting museum there is a card called Museum Card (for 48 hours € 20 , but you have free entry to many museums and unlimited buses, see http://www.museigenova.it/card.asp?Lingua=eng and here http://www.museigenova.it/musei.asp for the list of the museums)

From Piazza De Ferrari you can go on the right in looking the Opera , the Carlo Felice Theatre

at its back you can visit the Mazzini Gallery …………….

full of shops and interesting from the artistic point of view, at the top of the gallery you are in Via Roma just 2 steps more and on the corner with Piazza Corvetto you have the Caffè Mangini, where you can have a wonderful coffee.

Go back and cross the road going down in Salita Santa Caterina, at the end you can see (on the left) a wonderful black and white palace that now it’s a bank, on the right you find a street called Via Garibaldi…

it’s ancient name is “Strada Nuova”… here you find many museums (Palazzo Bianco , Palazzo Rosso)… full of incredible paintings like Rubens, Van Dick… and many historical Palaces, most of them now are banks, and one is the city hall.

(At the beginning of Via Garibaldi there is a street that takes you in Piazza Portello, here there is a wonderful liberty elevator (=Ascensore) that takes in Spianata Castelletto…this is one of the most beautiful place …from Spianata you can see all the landscape of Genova, with its symbol too...the lightouse called “Lanterna”. Don’t miss to take this elevator!!! )

Coming back in Via Garibaldi…go straight down and you arrive in Piazza della Meridiana (ancient building with a sundial on it), go straight ahead in Via Cairoli then turn left go down and you find Piazza della Nunziana (or Annunziata) where there is a wonderful church with arcade outside made by Barabino.

On the left of the church there is a Via Balbi, go up and reach on the left Palazzo Reale, (Royal Palace) simply wonderful! If you can visit it.

Go back (on the opposite pavement you can see the University …with a hall with 2 lions), arrived back in Piazza della Nunziata go on the right (Via delle Fontane) and then on the left under the ancient door of the city , Porta dei Vacca,

now you are in the historical centre (Via del Campo) with its famous “caruggi” (narrow street) , go always straight ahead (be careful, like in all tourist areas there are pickpockets) arriving in Via Fossatello, then in Via San Luca…

In the half of this street there is a little square with a beautiful church, if you want to visit my favourite historical Palace follow the signs for Palazzo Spinola Pellicceria…it’s a pearl of the city!

There are paintings and original furniture…and if you are lucky to find the terrace open… there is an amazing view on the city roofs!

At the end of Via san Luca you find Piazza Banchi with the beautiful “Loggia”,

go on the right and you are in front of San Giorgio Palace with its ancient prison ..where Marco Polo wrote his book “Il Milione”

and in front of the Aquarium…it’s amazing, but consider at least 2 hours to visit it.

Here you are in the “Porto Antico” area, everything was built (from Renzo Piano architect) for the 500 anniversary of America discovery…as you know C. Columbus (in Italian…Cristoforo Colombo) was born in Genova…during this trip you can visit his house.

Make a tour of this part of the city, a real tourists heaven full of shops, cafè, restaurants and so on… I suggest to go on the “Bigo” the elevator that take you up and then it turns around to make you see the landscape of the city and the harbour.

Don’t miss the Sfera..with its plants and animals!

Go out of Porto Antico and return near San Giorgio Palace, go on the right under the arcade and then go on the left in Via San Lorenzo…here there is the Cathedral of Genova…San Lorenzo Cathedral. With its beautiful facade , and its 1 and ½ tower J you can go up on the tower.

In front of the cathedral, on the left there is Via Scurreria, take it, go down, at the end you can see Palazzo Imperiale with a antique shop simply wonderful…visit it with eyes up to the roof of the shop!

Then have a look at Piazza Campetto, go right (here there is another wonderful ancient Cafè , the Kleinguti and “caruggi” like via Luccoli.

Coming back in front of Palazzo Imperiale take the street on the left of the animal shop and reach Piazza San Matteo with its wonderful church! All this square was of the Doria family, and its black and white stripes are the “symbol” of this family.

Take the street on the right of the church (Salita san Matteo) and you are back in Piazza De Ferrari…Here go on the right and enter the arcade of Palazzo Ducale (in this place there are always interesting exhibitions) , go out from the other door…you are now in Piazza Matteotti…have a look to the real façade of Palazzo Ducale !!!!

There is also a great church Chiesa del Gesù …go then on the right of the church , go up along the shops …and you arrive under Porta Soprana another ancient door of the city (you can visit it inside!), pass under it and go back..on the left you find Sant’Andrea cloister and… Cristopher Columbus’ house!

You are now in Piazza Dante.

From Piazza Dante if it’s late you can go in Via Venti (XX) Settembre that it the most important street of Genova, full of shops, life and where there is the beautiful Chiesa di Santo Stefano … you can to visit it, going up by a little stairs in front a newspaper kiosk.

At the end of Via XX Settembre, on the left, there is Brignole Railway station

If it’s not late you can take the bus number 42 to reach Boccadasse, that is an ancient village of fisherman now included into the city …

here you can have a very good ice cream, make a walk on the long promenade Corso Italia and then take directly a bus back to Genova Brignole.

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