3 days in Genoa
October 8, 2013 5:03 AM Subscribe
My husband and I are going for a long weekend in Genoa, Italy. I've been really lapse in my planning and now I turn to the hivemind! I've done a bit of homework, but not enough, can you help?
- We want to go to Cinque Terre either Saturday or Sunday but I don't know which of the 5 towns to target! We're after a bit of light walking and great views (helpful right?).
- I definitely want to go to the aquarium but anything else we should check out? Is the Royal Palace Museum worth a visit?
- Food. We are mainly in it for the food. I may just resort to using this guide, but anything else to add?
- We want to go to Cinque Terre either Saturday or Sunday but I don't know which of the 5 towns to target! We're after a bit of light walking and great views (helpful right?).
- I definitely want to go to the aquarium but anything else we should check out? Is the Royal Palace Museum worth a visit?
- Food. We are mainly in it for the food. I may just resort to using this guide, but anything else to add?
All the towns in Cinque Terre are pretty small - you could conceivably see all of them in a day if moving quickly. Best meal we had in all of Italy was at Le Tre Cantine Osteria Bistro (and that includes several amazing meals across Rome, Venice, and Florence). If you're going for food, Cinque Terre is awesome - all the osteria's compete with each other with their seafood appetizer courses - which are usually tapas sized, and usually an avalanche of plates (seriously - maybe 20). You won't need to order anything else, and you won't want to - they're really that good.
We weren't originally planning on going to Genoa at all - but Cinque Terre really didn't have that much for kids to do, where Genoa's harbor is basically completely devoted to kids' activities. The aquarium is great. I'm not sure how interesting Genoa would be for non-families.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 11:40 AM on October 8, 2013
We weren't originally planning on going to Genoa at all - but Cinque Terre really didn't have that much for kids to do, where Genoa's harbor is basically completely devoted to kids' activities. The aquarium is great. I'm not sure how interesting Genoa would be for non-families.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 11:40 AM on October 8, 2013
Response by poster: So Genoa came and went and I'll add our itinerary here for future reference:
We stayed at the Melia Genova, they were very nice, the rooms were clean and modern, and the breakfast buffet was satisfactory. It was a nice walk down to town from there. If you stay there, there is a nice little bar across the street that is quite lively around 6 o'clock for drinks and complimentary snacks (quite common all around Genoa).
We hit 4 out of 5 of the Cinque Terre towns using the trains. I think I would rather we spaced it out over two days as some of them felt a wee bit rushed to try to catch the next train. Watch your bags on the platforms, I am quite sure my husband almost got pickpocketed by a little kid. I am very glad we went in October because it was still a bit busy and I cannot imagine the crush during high tourism season. Unfortunately our food experience was Not Good there so I don't have any advice to give on that front. The gelato was delicious though and the views were indeed breathtaking!
For eating in Genoa I highly recommend Trattoria Rosmarino. Really excellent stuff.
We ended up not going to the aquarium, but lots of wandering around, a little bit of shopping and a lot of drinking. People were very friendly and were a bit surprised that we picked Genoa for visiting.
posted by like_neon at 6:59 AM on November 19, 2013
We stayed at the Melia Genova, they were very nice, the rooms were clean and modern, and the breakfast buffet was satisfactory. It was a nice walk down to town from there. If you stay there, there is a nice little bar across the street that is quite lively around 6 o'clock for drinks and complimentary snacks (quite common all around Genoa).
We hit 4 out of 5 of the Cinque Terre towns using the trains. I think I would rather we spaced it out over two days as some of them felt a wee bit rushed to try to catch the next train. Watch your bags on the platforms, I am quite sure my husband almost got pickpocketed by a little kid. I am very glad we went in October because it was still a bit busy and I cannot imagine the crush during high tourism season. Unfortunately our food experience was Not Good there so I don't have any advice to give on that front. The gelato was delicious though and the views were indeed breathtaking!
For eating in Genoa I highly recommend Trattoria Rosmarino. Really excellent stuff.
We ended up not going to the aquarium, but lots of wandering around, a little bit of shopping and a lot of drinking. People were very friendly and were a bit surprised that we picked Genoa for visiting.
posted by like_neon at 6:59 AM on November 19, 2013
« Older Dealing With Strangers (Other Parents and Kids) As... | Resources to help parents to support children... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Look at the architecture as you walk around the city. Many of the buildings are extremely old but have been redesigned a number of times. It's possible to see plenty of buildings that contain ancient, middle ages, and modern design features all in one.
The Christopher Columbus house is somewhat underwhelming, but it is an interesting look at the Columbian Exchange.
Connected to the Columbian Exchange, Northern Italy has a long tradition in polenta preparation.
posted by donut_princess at 5:45 AM on October 8, 2013