Why Genoa is Best in Travel 2025

La Superba. Never was a more apt epithet for Genoa, which appears in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025. The Ligurian capital has in fact been included in the new edition of the guide that each year publishes a list of countries, cities, regions and trends to explore. The only Italian to make the list of the ten best cities to discover in 2025 according to Lonely Planet, Genoa is mentioned along with Toulouse in France, Puducherry in India, Bansko in Bulgaria, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Pittsburgh in the United States, Osaka in Japan, Curitiba in Brazil, Edmonton in Canada and Palma de Mallorca in Spain. It was not only the Best in Travel 2025 that rewarded the Ligurian capital, but also all the visitors who chose it: more than 1.3 million overnight stays were recorded in the first half of 2024. With an extension of over two hundred and forty square kilometres from east to west, Genoa and its territory are multifaceted. An ancient and contemporary city, lively and in constant ferment, its precious artistic, historical and cultural heritage has remained unchanged for centuries and there is always the right opportunity to admire it.

It is not difficult, while walking along Via Garibaldi in the heart of the historical centre, to try to imagine the privilege enjoyed by some influential and powerful Genoese families in the late 16th and early 17th century: building Renaissance and Baroque palaces along the so-called 'strade nuove' (new streets), with the consequent urban restructuring of the area. Today, the system of those ancient and elegant dwellings is called Palazzi dei Rolli, from the name of the lists to which the noble families who offered to host kings, princes, diplomats on official visits to Genoa were registered - and since 2006, forty-two of these buildings and the 'Strade Nuove' have been recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A symbol of the period of maximum splendour experienced by the Republic of Genoa as an economic and maritime power, these palaces with their courtyards and gardens, decorations and frescoes, still convey the wealth of the city's aristocracy obtained during the Golden Age. Also on Via Garibaldi, the museum complex of the Strada Nuova Museums offers a tour of courtyards, loggias, gardens, terraces and over seventy-five rooms, including: Palazzo Bianco with its splendid picture gallery that holds masterpieces of Renaissance Venetian painting, early 17th-century Italian paintings such as Caravaggio and Guercino, as well as works by the Flemish painters Rubens and Van Dyck; Palazzo Rosso, in whose sumptuous rooms the paintings and furnishings of the Brignole-Sale family shine; and Palazzo Doria Tursi, now the Town Hall, which preserves relics, 18th-century paintings, and even the historic violins of Nicolò Paganini. Another collection to discover is that of Palazzo Reale in Via Balbi, the former home of Genoese aristocratic families, which houses frescoes, paintings, sculptures and furniture from the 17th-19th centuries in its noble rooms. Palazzo Reale is part of the National Museums of Genoa together with the National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola, a space that houses paintings by Genoese, Italian and European painters, including Rubens, Van Dyck and Antonello da Messina.

With its monumental bronze fountain, Piazza De Ferrari welcomes citizens and visitors alike to what is Genoa's main agora. Among the buildings that line it are the Carlo Felice Theatre, the palace of the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, the Palazzo della Regione, and the Palazzo Ducale with its side facade. The latter is the headquarters of the Foundation for Culture, which organises art exhibitions, events, meetings and reviews. On the current calendar at the Palazzo Ducale, 'Impression, Morisot', the first major exhibition in Italy dedicated to the French impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, is on until 23 February 2025; 'Molto vicino, incredibilmente lontano' (Very Near, Incredibly Far), focusing on the work of the Genoese artist and photographer Lisetta Carmi on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of her birth, is on until 30 March 2025. The historical centre's maze of alleys enchants every visitor, who is enchanted to admire its details, votive aedicules and find the soul of Genoa in the words sung by De André, and then stops in front of the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral of San Lorenzo, which stands majestically with its façade decorated with black and white stripes. Once you reach the sea, take the promenade leading westwards to reach one of the symbols of the city: the Lanterna, the tallest lighthouse in the Mediterranean Sea, which has been welcoming sailors since 1128 and is now also a museum housing the instruments used over the centuries. On the other hand, it is necessary to head towards the east of Genoa, walking along Corso Italia, to answer the call of another iconic place: Boccadasse, which retains its charm of an old fishing village, with its small boats, colourful houses and beach where you can enjoy a piece of focaccia with the sun warming even in the middle of winter.

It is the scent of the sea and the liveliness of this area - redesigned by Renzo Piano in 1992 - that guides you from the carruggi to the Porto Antico, where you can enjoy a variety of experiences: from the Aquarium to the Biosphere, from the Bigo panoramic lift to the interactive museum the City of Children and Young People. Not to be missed is a visit to the Galata Museo del Mare, the largest museum in the Mediterranean. Among the reasons that led to Genoa's inclusion in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025, its being a smart city through sustainable tourism, digitalisation and urban regeneration projects. Like the one featuring architect Renzo Piano, the architect behind the Waterfront di Levante: an innovative residential and commercial project built according to eco-sustainable construction criteria, which will rise in the former Fiera area, east of Genoa. One more reason to call this wonderful city Superb.