Genova
The Port of Genova from the hostel
Genova – Genoa to us Anglos – ended up on the itinerary because it was there. The ferry from Barcelona docked here, and at the time, it seemed as good a place as any to spend a couple of days.
Apparently my newly-adopted “wing-it” attitude towards travel planning has failed me.
Don’t get me wrong. Genoa is a very pretty city. Part of it – the Strade Nuove and the Palazzi dei Rolli – is UNESCO World Heritage listed (although, since being in Europe, I’m starting to wonder what doesn’t get World Heritage listed), and the historic centre is full of beautiful old buildings.
It’s probably just me. With two weeks remaining at the time til I went home, I think travel burn-out has set in.
At any rate, I did enjoy my time in Genoa, short as it was (I was only there two full days) mainly because of the hiking.
The Forts of Genoa
Being a port city, Genoa was in need of protection throughout its history. Its location, wedged between the sea and the mountains, allowed for good protection, but over the years, a number of walls, ever expanding outward from the historic centre, were built.
Fort Puin
The most impressive of these fortifications are along the ridges north of the new walls. There is a hiking trail that starts at the top of the Zecca Funicular at Righi. The path takes you along the ridge of the mountains, and if you do the full loop, it’s around 10km. I, of course, did this loop.
View of Genoa from the mountains
The hike itself isn’t what I would call difficult. There are certainly some inclines, but it was overall a great hike. The views Genoa and its suburbs are breathtaking, and I had to often remind myself to stop walking and just look.
The last fort on the hike is Forte Diamante, built in the 1800s.
Forte Diamante in the clouds
According to the guide pamphlet I bought, Forte Diamante sits around 640m above sea level. As you can see above, I did the hike on a (thankfully) cloudy day, and so the cool thing was getting to see the fort emerge from the clouds, and to watch the rest of the world disappear as you hike up into it. The fort itself is in partial ruins, which makes for some interesting exploring.
View out of the ruin of the fort… there are mountains beyond that gap
It was a fun first 3 hours of walking around and finding places. I ran into very few people (mostly mountain bikers and dog walkers) which also made for a pleasant hike.
View of the hiking trails from the top of Forte Diamente
The hike back, however, was less than awesome. I took the other route back, which was fine until I realised that I missed the path to take the fast way home. Instead, I ended up walking all the way into the city, and finally found a bus taht would take me back to the hostel. An extra two hours, but overall, I quite enjoyed the day.
Walking Tour
The Tourism Office on Via Garibaldi offers an audioguided walking tour of the historical centre. It was only 12E, and since guided tours only operate on the weekends, it was my only option.
One of the many Palaces in Genoa
The audioguide itself was a flimsy cardboard box with the audio mechanism inside – cheezy, and I think that the tourist office would be better off just offering the files for download.
At any rate, the guided tour lasts a little over two hours, and was very thorough. Like most ancient European cities, there are buildings dating back to the medieval period, and everything is on a grand scale. this tour follows a path that takes you by the main buildings in the city, and gives you a good introduction to all there is to see and do in the city.
San Lorenzo Cathedral
There is no shortage of history here – Christopher Columbus was born here, and the house where he lived as a child, just outside the city walls, is still standing today.
The old gates to the city
There are, of course, museums and galleries, and what seems to be great aquarium and biosphere. I am, however, at that point where, unless there’s something I can’t see (or haven’t seen) anywhere else, I’m probably not going to go. And while I really did want to spend an afternoon looking at fish (no joke, I did), I wasn’t going to pay 20 euro to get in.
Piazza della Feste in the Porto Antico
I guess I was hoping for something really exciting in Genoa, and what I found was a pretty, sleepy little port city with not a whole lot going on.
Would I go back? Probably not – I don’t think there was enough here, even if I were in a more adventurous mood, to make me need to come back and explore.
Overall, I’d give Genova a miss.
Rocky on the Road 