All About Genoa

Anita Garibaldi promenade: The promenade is wedged between the parks of Nervi, the sea of Nervi, the cliffs, the city, nature...... A long and very beautiful 3/4 km walk to be done absolutely on foot and with a camera in tow; if then, like me, you're lucky enough to find a day like that of 16/11, you've truly been kissed by Lady Luck. Sunday 16/11, I arrive in Genoa-Nervi and exit at the toll booth; we park very far from the Anita Garibaldi promenade since everyone had the same idea: let's go for a walk in Nervi. After 2 km of walking we arrive at the entrance of the promenade and begin our adventure. The promenade is very well maintained, paved and perched over a Genoese sea that seems to come directly from Cuba: crystal-clear water and spectacular seabeds. The stratified grey cliffs, flat and intricate, offer beautiful views and also spots to sunbathe and........

swim! Well ladies and gentlemen, 16/11 and there were people calmly swimming. The promenade is indeed famous for being immersed in a particularly mild climate all year round but yesterday the sun was at its zenith and the heat was almost unbearable, 23 degrees which with a blazing sun that beats down and reflects off the water become 27! The sea views visible are guaranteed photo material: sea, rocks, mountains and some beautiful historic houses frame the beautiful green parks full of palms and trees a few metres from the sea. We did the outward leg on the seafront promenade; 330 photographs can give you an idea of the landscape that stood before my lens. A transparent blue/green sea that revealed the rocky seabeds, an invaluable desire to swim and lots and lots of people. The promenade is dotted with benches, bars, small restaurants, monuments and panoramic points.

There's no shortage of a touch of public greenery along the promenade with flowerbeds and hedges. It's truly worth walking these 3/4 km at a leisurely pace to enjoy the views which in my opinion can be beautiful even in bad weather! At the end you arrive at Nervi, you emerge at the little harbour of Nervi where an inlet is dotted with colourful boats, fishing boats, canoes and lots of tourists. The little harbour is picturesque in the Cinque Terre style and here there's a small rowing school; the sea water is crystal-clear even in the small port, many little venues wind along the harbour front. Nervi itself isn't formidable but the part facing the sea is good for some nice photos, there's a pretty little church and a nice bell tower. Little shops open, a walk on the pier and so you head back, though this time along the road, no longer on the A.

Garibaldi promenade but along the parks that here wind along the seafront: 4 green parks full of every kind of plant and above all palms that give a sense of the tropics. I should mention that we had lunch in a bar open on the promenade, paying a little more than we should have for those 2 scanty sandwiches we wolfed down........ I should mention that you pay for the view!!!! Probably the prices of the venues along the promenade are deliberately higher precisely because they're positioned there......a shame but in Italy everything is like that.

Back to the parks of Nervi: palms, hedges, lawns, warm temperature, a rose garden almost in bloom, little paths that wind through nature, every now and then a glimpse and a view of the sea with the sun reflecting off the water!! Spectacular! Inside the parks there are small artificial ponds embellished with low walls, flowers, aquatic vegetation, benches....... a small children's playground creates an organised entertainment area so that, while children run around and play, adults can enjoy the day. The villas that stand in the 4 parks are ancient, historic, very beautiful and important villas. Inside these villas are housed some museums, visitable for a fee; the villas are very sumptuous and beautiful also on the outside, they lend themselves well to photographs and reward a good look.......

stuccoes, bright colours, paintings, inscriptions, balconies, aviaries, porticoes, precious marbles, engravings......... what houses!!!! The last villa before exiting is the one housing the Luxoro museum, famous but I didn't have time to visit it. The villas have their own little gardens with further embellishments and very beautiful natural compositions, flowering hedges, stone benches, a view perched over the beautiful sea of a Genoa bordering towards the Cinque Terre. The public transport of Genoa-Nervi well meets the tourist demand for movement and transport both in the centre and at the parks, near the promenade and the main nerve points of the place. The promenade is free!!!!! that's the beauty of it, you don't pay to access it, which for example differentiates it from the Cinque Terre park trail.

True, it's also a third of the length of the "Cinque Terre" trail, but I'd say that in many points it's truly beautiful; the beauty of the landscapes comes very close to that of the nearby Cinque Terre nature park. On the promenade there are then some particular points such as for example the square tower facing the sea, the street vendors, a hotel perched over the sea with a restaurant with a breathtaking view, outdoor areas worthy of being photographed, little coves and steps to go down to the wide and beautiful cliff, where yesterday tourists in swimsuits were camped out happily lazing under the sun. A last flash of summer in November, how lovely to live by the sea!! Walking time: 4 hours return, pit stop for photos, a bit of scrambling on the rocks and a 20-minute stop for a quick sandwich. Gardens included....... villas included without entering the various museums.

I recommend it to anyone who wants a Sunday out of town, with a good walk to tone up the muscles, a photo session, switching off from the working grind...... this enchanted place where the heat will take possession of you and the landscape will cradle you from beginning to end!!! The images on trivago are only a tiny part of what I shot, a place I discovered on trivago and which, despite the tiredness and fatigue of the long walk, I was extremely satisfied to see.

Nervi: Nervi is a small village, a suburb of Genoa, from Genoa towards La Spezia. The village is incredibly picturesque, between raw mountain and gentle sea, with a perfect climate all year round and a Cinque Terre-style setting. Like all seaside villages it has a very characteristic port, a rowing school based in the port and many attractions set into the setting of the little harbour. The colours of the houses are those of the Cinque Terre: pink, yellow, light blue...... the sea is crystal-clear and greenish. There are no sandy beaches but the place is perfect for photographs and a Sunday in the open air. From here begins the promenade dedicated to Anita Garibaldi, about 3 km long, which runs along the entire coastal area of the Nervi parks.

Nervi has a large square facing the harbour where the many colourful boats are stored; the little restaurants facing the harbour are picturesque and always full of tourists. Just outside the centre are the cliffs of Nervi that allow bathing and sunbathing.....Nervi is a quiet little village with large green areas, typical Ligurian carruggi and restaurants with excellent fish dishes; the hub is the harbour square and the harbour itself, where tourist boats and those of the fishermen who sell fish early in the morning dock. From the port of Nervi you can admire a beautiful historic villa perched over the sea and the cliff; on sunny days the reflections are mirrored in the port and make it a magical and romantic place, suitable for photos and paintings. There's a swimming pool right next to the little harbour that is used to play water polo; the houses are perched...