Things To Do In Genoa

Genoa is a coastal city in Liguria, north-west Italy, lying on the Ligurian Sea in a narrow strip between the water and the Apennine hills, with the Porto Antico old harbour and a major working and ferry port at its foot. The Comune di Genova counted 566,247 residents at 1 January 2026, with 820,691 in the metropolitan city, reported from ISTAT data. Its old town covers 113 hectares and is described on the official tourism site as one of the largest medieval historic centres in Europe, while the Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli have been on the UNESCO list since 2006, inscribed as "Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli" with 42 palaces. Genoa offers plenty to do across a first day, in rain, with children, at night, and on day trips, with prices for the Aquarium, the museums and the transport that stitches it all together. More on the site's overall approach is on the Genoa Travel Guide home page.

Things To Do In Genoa On Your First Day

Start at the Porto Antico and the Aquarium of Genoa, walk into the caruggi of the old town to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, then reach Piazza De Ferrari and the Strade Nuove palaces, and finish with the view from Spianata Castelletto. The Aquarium is open 365 days a year with adult tickets from 26.00 EUR, and the old town's lanes, the cathedral exterior and the Spianata viewpoint cost nothing to see.

The Porto Antico is the redesigned old harbour, redeveloped by Renzo Piano for the 1992 Columbus Expo, and it holds the Aquarium of Genoa, which opened that same year, plus the Bigo panoramic lift. The Aquarium's own ticket page lists fixed-date adult tickets from 26.00 EUR with dynamic pricing, reduced tickets from 20.00 EUR, children aged 4 to 12 from 16.00 EUR and under-4s free, and a combined Aquarium, Biosfera and Bigo ticket from 37.00 EUR for an adult. Ticket options and timings are covered in detail in the Genoa Aquarium tickets guide.

From the harbour the caruggi, the narrow lanes of the medieval centre, lead inland to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Further north, the Strada Nuove streets carry the Palazzi dei Rolli, the palace system inscribed by UNESCO in 2006, and three of them, Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria-Tursi, form the Musei di Strada Nuova, where Palazzo Doria-Tursi holds Paganini's violin "Il Cannone", built in Cremona in 1743 by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri. Under the winter timetable from 28 September 2026 to 18 April 2027 the three museums open daily 10:00 to 18:30, with only Palazzo Rosso visitable on Mondays, and a combined ticket with the Museo di Sant'Agostino costs 14.00 EUR full price and 9.00 EUR reduced.

End the day above the rooftops. The Castelletto Levante lift climbs 57 m from Piazza Portello to the Spianata Castelletto terrace, runs daily 06:40 to 24:00, and a single ride on any AMT lift or the Sant'Anna funicular costs 1.20 EUR. The Spianata sits about 0.7 km from Piazza De Ferrari in a straight line, and the Zecca-Righi funicular, about 1.9 km away, climbs further into the hills on the same daily 06:40 to 24:00 schedule. The Genoa walking tour guide strings these sights into routes, and the detailed background on the palaces is in the Palazzi dei Rolli guide.

What Do Genoa Tours And Tickets Cost?

The headline fixed costs are the Aquarium from 26.00 EUR adult, the Genoa Museum Card at 24 EUR for 24 hours and 45 EUR for 48 hours covering 28 city museums, the Strada Nuova combined museum ticket at 14.00 EUR full price, and an AMT transport ticket at 2.00 EUR for 110 minutes. The Museum Card's bus-inclusive variants are the only cards that include transport.

The Genoa Museum Card, at its 2026 rates, covers 19 municipal museums plus 9 others across the city, including the Strada Nuova palaces, and is the economical choice once a visit moves beyond two or three museums; the Genoa Museum Card guide breaks down what each variant includes. Only the "+bus" card variants include AMT buses, and none of them covers Volabus, Navebus or trains. The Aquarium prices deserve a second look before booking, because the dynamic system means the from-prices are the floor, not the ceiling, and the combined Aquarium, Biosfera and Bigo ticket from 37.00 EUR bundles the harbour's three paid attractions. For guided tours, prices and ratings display on each operator's live listing rather than in this prose.

Guided products span walking tours of the historical centre, food tours through the caruggi, cooking classes built around pesto genovese, which is made with Basilico Genovese PDO basil, and boat trips along the coast. The trio below covers the three formats this site rates for a first visit: a historical-centre walk, a sea-based excursion and the full-day coastal tour.

Free Things To Do In Genoa

The free list is anchored by the caruggi lanes of the 113-hectare old town, the Strade Nuove and the Palazzi dei Rolli seen from the street, the Porto Antico promenade, the Boccadasse fishermen's village about 4 km away, and the parks and clifftop promenade at Nervi about 9 km away. The Spianata Castelletto terrace itself is free to stand on, though the lift ride up costs 1.20 EUR.

None of these needs a ticket. The old town's lanes are the city's defining public space, and the palace facades of the UNESCO inscribed area line streets that cost nothing to walk. The Porto Antico promenade runs beside the working port, and Boccadasse, the former fishermen's village between Corso Italia and Capo Santa Chiara, keeps its colourful houses, gozzi fishing boats and small pebble beach in public view; the ARPAL 2026 bathing-water class for Boccadasse is reported as poor, so treat the beach as a place to look at rather than swim from. Nervi combines the roughly 2 km cliff-top Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi with the Parchi di Nervi, 9.2 hectares of parks holding historic villas and a rose garden with more than 200 varieties. State museums join Italy's free-first-Sunday scheme only as a reported arrangement, so confirm per museum before counting on it. The full list is in the free things to do in Genoa guide.

Things To Do In Genoa When It Rains

Genoa's rainy-day core is the Museum Card circuit: the Musei di Strada Nuova at 14.00 EUR combined, the Aquarium of Genoa from 26.00 EUR, the Galata Museo del Mare, and Palazzo Ducale's exhibition programme, which in late 2026 includes World Press Photo to 8 December 2026 and a Renoir, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Cézanne show from 15 October 2026. The 24-hour Museum Card at 24 EUR covers 28 museums under one roof of a ticket.

Rain is a real planning variable here. The official Aeronautica Militare CLINO 1971-2000 normals for Genoa Sestri record 171.3 mm of rain in October and 24.2 mm in July, with the annual total at 1079.2 mm, so an autumn visit benefits from an indoor plan. The museums answer that well. The Galata Museo del Mare covers 12,000 m2 over five levels and 31 rooms, and visitors should check the official site for opening times. The Strada Nuova museums close on RED weather alerts, a detail worth checking on a stormy day. The Genoa museums guide and Genoa in the rain guide expand the indoor list, and the Genoa weather guide has the full normals table.

Things To Do In Genoa With Children

The Aquarium of Genoa is the family anchor, open 365 days a year with children aged 4 to 12 from 16.00 EUR and under-4s free, according to its own ticket page. Add the Bigo panoramic lift at 5.00 EUR for ages 4 to 12, the boat tours from the Porto Antico, and the parks and promenade at Nervi, and the city's steep hills are offset by AMT's 14 public lifts and funiculars at 1.20 EUR a ride.

The Aquarium's child pricing makes it the clear first choice for families, and the combined Aquarium, Biosfera and Bigo ticket extends the harbour visit. On the coast, the San Fruttuoso abbey, reachable by boat from Camogli year round, charges ages 6 to 18 5.00 EUR with under-5s free and a family ticket at 26.00 EUR, per the FAI visit page. Nervi's parks give children open space between the villas, and the Zecca-Righi funicular and the public lifts turn the city's vertical layout into part of the entertainment. The Genoa with kids guide develops the full itinerary.

Things To Do In Genoa At Night

Genoa's evening runs on the Porto Antico promenade, the lanes of the old town, the Piazza De Ferrari area, and the summer calendar anchored by the Festival della Scienza from 22 October to 1 November 2026 and the Teatro Carlo Felice's autumn and winter programme. The Zecca-Righi funicular and the Castelletto Levante lift both run until 24:00, so the city's viewpoints stay reachable after dark for a 1.20 EUR ride.

The port area keeps its promenade open through the evening, and the old town's lanes carry the city's nightlife, from focaccia counters to bars, with the scene mapped in the Genoa nightlife guide. The cultural calendar fills the autumn: the Festival della Scienza ran 22 October to 1 November 2026 under the keyword "Prospettive", with roughly 250 events, and Teatro Carlo Felice lists performances through October to December 2026. The Salone Nautico, the Genoa International Boat Show, filled the port area from 1 to 6 October 2026, and its 67th edition is already set for 30 September to 5 October 2027. Events through the year are collected in the Genoa events and festivals guide.

Day Trips From Genoa To Portofino And The Cinque Terre

Portofino sits about 25 km from Piazza De Ferrari in a straight line, the Cinque Terre about 67 km, and both are reachable by train, boat or guided tour, with the Cinque Terre Treno Card at 22.00 to 35.00 EUR for one adult day depending on date band. The Golfo Paradiso Two Gulfs boat tour runs from the Porto Antico on listed dates from March 2026, departing at 11:00 and calling at Camogli, San Fruttuoso and Portofino.

The boat option is the most direct from the city itself: the Two Gulfs tour departs Genoa Porto Antico at 11:00, reaches Camogli at 11:45, and takes about 30 minutes each for the Camogli to San Fruttuoso and San Fruttuoso to Portofino legs, with fares reported at about 29 EUR full day and 21 to 26 EUR half day. Camogli to San Fruttuoso boats run year round, and the FAI abbey at San Fruttuoso charges 10.00 EUR full, 5.00 EUR for ages 6 to 18 and students to 25, and 26.00 EUR for a family. The Servizio Marittimo del Tigullio adds lines linking Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, Sestri Levante and the Cinque Terre, though no regular scheduled ferry from Genoa to the Cinque Terre appears in the sources, only a dated tour. AMT line 782 from Santa Margherita to Portofino is included in the 10.00 EUR Met Daily ticket. Portofino is a limited-traffic zone and non-residents park at a reported 8 EUR an hour, which strengthens the case for arriving by water.

The Cinque Terre Treno Card covers the paid trails and the area's trains: one adult day costs 22.00 to 35.00 EUR by date band, two days 36.50 to 61.00 EUR and three days 49.00 to 81.00 EUR, with low-season rates from 2 November 2026 to 12 March 2027, and the Trekking Card is reported at 10 EUR a day standard. The Via dell'Amore is included in the card with a booked time slot, open 29 March to 24 October 2026 from 09:00 to 21:00 and 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027 from 09:00 to 18:00. Full route detail is in the Portofino guide, the Cinque Terre guide and the Genoa to Cinque Terre guide. A guided coastal option is the full-day Camogli, San Fruttuoso and Portofino tour, which covers all three by boat and leaves the logistics to the operator: Check availability.

Getting Between Things To Do In Genoa On Foot

Genoa is a walking city with a vertical twist: the old town, the Porto Antico, Piazza De Ferrari and the Strade Nuove sit close together on the flat, while the hills above are reached by AMT's 14 public lifts and funiculars at 1.20 EUR a ride rather than on foot. Spianata Castelletto is about 0.7 km from Piazza De Ferrari in a straight line and the Zecca-Righi funicular about 1.9 km, so the viewpoints are short hops, not hikes.

The useful mental model is a strip. The harbour, the medieval lanes, the cathedral and the main square form one walkable band along the water, and the Renaissance Strade Nuove sit immediately north of it. What the map does not show is the gradient: the city climbs from the sea to the Apennine foothills, which is why the lift network exists. The Castelletto Levante lift and the Zecca-Righi funicular both run daily 06:40 to 24:00, the funicular covering seven stations in about 12 minutes. Corso Italia, the roughly 2.5 km seaside promenade linking the Foce area to Boccadasse, extends the flat walking along the shore. The old town caruggi guide and the Genoa viewpoints guide cover the routes in detail.

How To Get Around Genoa By Metro, Bus And Lift

An AMT ordinary ticket costs 2.00 EUR and is valid 110 minutes on the whole Città Metropolitana network, the Met Daily 24-hour ticket costs 10.00 EUR and covers Volabus and line 782 to Portofino, and the metro is a 7 km line with 8 stations from Brin to Brignole, serving Principe, Darsena, San Giorgio, Sant'Agostino and De Ferrari in between. A single lift or Sant'Anna funicular ride costs 1.20 EUR.

The 110-minute ticket is generous by Italian standards and can be bought via the AMT app, contactless onboard, machines or retailers. The integrated AMT plus Trenitalia version costs 2.20 EUR, a 5-hour ticket 5.00 EUR, and a carnet of 11 tickets 20.00 EUR. The Met Daily at 10.00 EUR is the airport answer, because Volabus, which links Genova Cristoforo Colombo airport to Principe, De Ferrari and Brignole in about 30 minutes, has no single fare of its own and requires it. The airport taxi is a fixed 25 EUR per car to the centre, 30 EUR over four people, plus 2 EUR at night and on holidays. The metro's Canepari and Martinez extensions are not open, with Canepari reported as targeted forJune 2027 and Martinez for December 2028, both reported rather than confirmed. Everything below is expanded in the Genoa public transport guide and the Genoa lifts and funiculars guide.

One lodging figure belongs in any planning table: the city's tourist tax, the imposta di soggiorno, runs per person per night with 1-star hotels at 2.00 EUR, 2-star at 2.50 EUR, hostels and campsites at 2.00 EUR and B&Bs at 4.00 EUR, with only the first 8 consecutive nights taxed; the 3, 4 and 5-star rates of 3, 4 and 5 EUR are reported and worth confirming at booking. The where to stay in Genoa guide handles neighbourhoods, and Genoa on a budget and what to eat in Genoa close out the money and food planning.

Common Questions About Things To Do In Genoa