Genoa is a city built on a slope, with a port at the bottom and neighbourhoods stacked above it like seats in a theatre. It has been a great maritime power since the Middle Ages, and the Republic of Genoa ruled trade routes across the Mediterranean, financed kings and sent Christopher Columbus, who was born here, to his voyages. The old town is one of the largest medieval centres in Europe, a maze of narrow lanes called caruggi, where sunlight rarely reaches the street and every doorway seems to hold a shrine, a shop or a bakery. With over 580,000 people, the city is a proper metropolis, with everything from fuel to repair shops.
Genoa's wealth is visible in the Strade Nuove and the Palazzi dei Rolli, a group of Renaissance and Baroque palaces that are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Painted facades, marble stairs and gardens hide behind modest doors. The port has been renewed with the aquarium and the old harbour area, and the great lighthouse, the Lanterna, has stood since the twelfth century. Focaccia is eaten for breakfast here, dipped in a cappuccino if you want to be authentic.
For a rider, the city is an exercise in patience. Traffic is dense, roads are steep and narrow, scooters are everywhere, and the motorway and ring roads run on viaducts above the buildings. The Morandi bridge collapsed in 2018, and a new one, designed by Renzo Piano, replaced it. If you are arriving from La Spezia along the coast, you have the pleasure of a gradual approach, but the last hour is usually urban. Park carefully, ideally in a secure garage, as bike theft is a risk in any big port city.
At the finish, treat yourself to the local food. Trofie with pesto, stuffed vegetables, fried anchovies and a plate of farinata are hard to beat, and a sweet pandolce goes with coffee. Walk down to the old port in the evening, when the light turns golden on the water and the ferries to Sardinia and Corsica sit in the dock. Then sleep, because the steep streets make a long day.