Here we suggest some two day-trip itineraries for exploring the immediate surroundings of Genoa. At the end of your trip, you can make a reservation in a Genoese hotel of your liking, and enjoy a real Genoese evening marked by good food and the joy of being alive, without having to worry about getting back to the place you started from.

This itinerary takes you southwest to explore the Riviera delle Palme (Palm Riviera), a long coastline measuring over 100 kilometers, extending west from Genoa out to Alassio. For several decades, this tract of coastline has been a tourist center for sunbathing and swimming; the consistently mild climate makes it enjoyable to visit this area even out of season, thereby avoiding the summer crowds.

The Riviera di Levante is home to cities whose names are internationally famous. The Tigullio Gulf is a succession of renown spots, including Camogli, Rapallo, Sestri and Portofino, the pearl of the gulf. Further south lies the incredible magic of the Cinque Terre, five small towns handing on cliffs where time stands still. At the tip of the Riviera is the Poets Gulf, with the towns of Lerici and Portovenere. Places full of charm and popular with many European aristocrats and literati who vacationed here in the nineteenth century.

The cuisine of Genoa is based on traditional Mediterranean cooking. It is very rich in ingredients and flavors, and often very labor-intensive. The Ligurians use very simple ingredients, which by themselves seem insignificant, but when combined together, they truly accentuate and bring out each ingredient's individual qualities to produce a final result of superb flavor harmony: mushrooms, pine nuts, walnuts, and a great variety of aromatic herbs.