Hi all,
In my quest to visit new places I am considering visiting Genoa down in Italy. I don't speak Italian but used to watch Sampdoria as a child. Is it worth a weekend there? I have looked on the net but was hoping someone who has visited it could give me a few pointers.

Hello

Genova (in italia) is absolutely not a nice city. You should better visit Portofino (20 kilometers from Genova)! Or visit other closer area near Genova.
Genova is an port without charm. The city has poor buildings and houses on a hill.

Regards

Alex

I second that. Genoa is industrial and gray. There are fantastic places in Italy. Genoa is not one of them.

Could not agree more ! It's very poor, dirty and run down. On either side of Genova you will however find really nice places. Have a look here if you are interested in staying in the countryside

http://en.agriturismo.it/liguria/index.jsp

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Web Guide for Expats in Ticino www.lacastagna.ch

I thought Genoa was a dump.

Hmm, I like Genoa. I find it's similar to many northern British towns, with a Mediterranean feel. True there are rough areas, but there's fun to be had and places worth visiting. As a 'simple tourist' with little Italian it could get strange and the other posters are correct to point out other, more pretty places, but there's no guarantee you'll be impressed / disappointed anywhere you visit. It's down to your sense of adventure.

Considering the history of the place, you could fill a weekend wandering around the museums and cultural sites, shops, restaurants and importantly the stadium and bars

Hi,

I am Italian and I never visited Genoa. However, even if dull and industrial, there are some interesting spots. It hosts one of the biggest aquariums in Europe http://www.acquariodigenova.it/jsp/index.jsp and also the old city is really characteristic.
Portofino is not far away and do not forget to try pasta with pesto as it is the area's speciality.
My opinion? Probably not the first choice but why not? You can get an Italian feeling more than in more touristic places like Venice or Florence.

Have fun,

Cinzia

I was planning a visit to Genova as well. I do speak Italian and know some people there. Nevertheless, my friends advised me to go somewhere else instead because the city can be quite dangerous so we are meeting in Milan and stayin at Arona instead.
But maybe there is a specific reason why yoiu want to go to Genova? I went through the city when travelling from Rome to Nice and I can say that I found the city a bid depressing and very gray but who knows maybe you will have a better experience than I?

Good luck!

Yup, I concur with the "grey, industrial, not very nice" crew.

If I got as far as Genoa, I'd personally keep the right foot
down until the Cote d'Azur came into view
.

If you are a Joy Division fan then you might be interested in seeing Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno in Genoa. It's where the artwork on the "Closer" album cover came from.

Dead links will tear us apart

oops... fixed.