Free Walking Tour Genoa: Palaces, Harbor and Doges

Your Genoa walking tour, stop by stop through ten places

1. 1

   Piazza De Ferrari

   

   Stand by the big bronze fountain in the middle of Piazza De Ferrari and turn slowly. This is Genoa's main square, and it feels more like a financial district than an old-town piazza: offices, banks and insurance headquarters line it, which is why the Genoese call the area the “City”. The fountain was designed by the architect Giuseppe Crosa di Vergagni in 1936 and quickly became one of the symbols of Genoa; it was restored in recent years together with a full restyling of the square.

   The money is the story here. At the end of the 19th century Genoa and Milan were the two financial centers of Italy, and institutions such as the stock exchange, the Credito Italiano and a branch of the Bank of Italy settled on this square. It is named after Raffaele De Ferrari, duke of Galliera, a banker and politician. Remember that title: Galliera will turn up again at the next stop.

   Notice the odd, irregular shape. The square joins two different parts of the city and covers about 11,000 m². Its present form came in the first two decades of the 20th century, when Via XX Settembre, Via Dante and Via Petrarca were cut in and four eclectic palaces went up on ground won by digging away the Colle San Andrea. All in all, building ran between 1899 and 1983.

   Against those palaces stand neoclassical buildings: the Teatro Carlo Felice, with Augusto Rivalta's statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi from 1893 in front of it, and the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti. Next to the theater, Via Roma with its boutiques runs alongside Galleria Mazzini. One facade of Palazzo Ducale also faces this square, so the tour will bring you back here at the end.

   From here it is 560 m, about 8 minutes, to Via Garibaldi, where Genoa's merchant families built their palaces.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Website

   comune.genova.it ↗

   Location

   Piazza De Ferrari on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Via Garibaldi / Palazzo Rosso

   

   Via Garibaldi, the old Strada Nuova, is a street built for display, and Palazzo Rosso is one of its showpieces. The street and its palaces belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli”, the Rolli being the lists of private residences that had to host distinguished guests of the Republic of Genoa on state visits.

   Palazzo Rosso has a curious place in that story. It was built in 1675, a decade after the last Rolli list was completed in 1664, so it never hosted state guests. Yet as a distinguished 17th-century palace of the Strada Nuova it was added in 2006 to the 42 palaces of the World Heritage Site.

   Here is the Galliera link: in 1874 the last of the Brignole Sale family, the Duchess of Galliera Maria Brignole Sale, left the palace and its art to the city of Genoa. That gift became the core of today's gallery. The house museum reopened in June 2022 after three years of renovation.

   Is it worth going in? If you like painting, yes. The collection, together with Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Doria Tursi part of the Musei di Strada Nuova, includes works by Van Dyck, Guido Reni, Veronese, Guercino, Dürer, Bernardo Strozzi, Mattia Preti and Gregorio De Ferrari. Entry is paid, so if your time is short, walk the street and look into the courtyards instead.

   Next comes a climb of 420 m, about 9 minutes, to Spianata Castelletto. On the way you pass Palazzo Bianco, the sister gallery of Palazzo Rosso.

   Hours

   Mon: Closed | Tue–Sun: 10:00–18:30

   Price

   9 EUR

   Website

   museidigenova.it ↗

   Location

   Via Garibaldi / Palazzo Rosso on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Spianata Castelletto

   

   This is the one stop on the route that exists purely for looking: no ticket, no queue, no interior, open at any hour. After the palace street you have climbed for about nine minutes, and the city now spreads out in front of you.

   Use the terrace to fix the geography in your head. Until now the route has led through money and palaces; from up here you see how Genoa stacks from the palace street down toward the water, and that is where the next legs take you, toward the old harbor. Take your time, catch your breath and pick out where you have come from.

   From here it is the longest leg of the tour, 980 m and about 15 minutes, to Palazzo Reale.

   Hours

   Open 24/7 (free viewpoint)

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Spianata Castelletto on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Palazzo Reale

   

   Palazzo Reale, officially the Palazzo di Stefano Balbi, stands at Via Balbi 10 and is the largest city palace in Genoa. Today it is a national museum and part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as Via Garibaldi. Look at the facade: it runs almost a hundred meters along Via Balbi, while the original front was only about thirty.

   The man behind it was Stefano Balbi. Work started in 1643 and was finished around 1650, the biggest building project in the city at the time, designed by Pier Francesco Cantone and Michele Moncino and later Giovanni Angelo Falcone. The palace was then just today's central block with two rear wings reaching toward the coast. Giovanni Battista Balbi began what is now the west wing as a separate palace before the central part was even complete and added a wing along Vico della Pace, first used as a picture gallery.

   Fortune turned quickly. Both Stefano and Giovanni Battista Balbi died in the great plague of 1657. The heirs sold the palace to a cousin in 1669, and in 1677 or 1679 the Balbi family sold it for 42,000 scudi to Eugenio Durazzo, who bought up neighboring plots, including the Teatro del Falcone, and commissioned more frescoes and stucco. Because it came late, the palace appears only on the Rolli list of 1664, in the second class.

   Inside, the painted rooms by Giovanni Battista Carlone, Valerio Castello, Angelo Michele Colonna, Agostino Mitelli and Andrea Seghizzi are the reason to buy a ticket; you pay at the desk. If you already spent an hour in Palazzo Rosso, the facade and the story may be enough.

   From here it is 700 m, about 10 minutes, down to the Galata Museum of the Sea.

   Website

   palazzorealegenova.cultura.gov.it ↗

   Location

   Palazzo Reale on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Galata Museum of the Sea

   

   The Galata Museum of the Sea, locally Galata Museo del mare, is the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean and one of the most modern in Italy. It sits in the Palazzo Galata in the Darsena district of the Porto Antico, on the ground where the galleys of the Republic of Genoa were built.

   The name points east. Galata is a historic district of Istanbul, and until the 15th century it was home to one of the most important Genoese communities in the Mediterranean. When the city built commercial docks in the late 19th century, the oldest was named after that colony. The area was part of the Arsenale, the city's main military and maritime complex, then lost its commercial role in the 20th century and lay abandoned until the city chose it for a maritime museum in the late 1990s. The Spanish architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra designed the renovation, and the museum opened in 2004, the year Genoa was European Capital of Culture.

   Inside, the highlight is a full-scale reproduction of a Genoese galley, along with interactive rooms that show what going to sea meant in different eras. The “La Merica” exhibition, open since 2011, tells the story of Italian migration: exploited immigrants in 19th-century Genoa and emigrants crossing to the United States, Argentina and Brazil on overcrowded ships, right up to today's migration.

   Worth it for families and anyone with a feeling for the sea. Entry is paid, with reduced tickets for students and free entry for the youngest children.

   Then it is 1,000 m, about 13 minutes, along the harbor to the Aquarium of Genoa.

   Local name

   Galata − Museo del mare

   Hours

   Mon: Closed | Tue–Fri: 10:00–18:00 | Sat–Sun: 10:00–19:00

   Price

   10 EUR adults, 7 EUR reduced/students, free under 6

   Website

   galatamuseodelmare.it ↗

   Location

   Galata Museum of the Sea on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Aquarium of Genoa

   

   The long building on the water is the Aquarium of Genoa, the largest aquarium in Italy and one of the most significant in Europe. Some say it looks like a ship ready to put to sea. It was designed by the Genoese architect Renzo Piano for the Expo of 1992, which marked 500 years since the Genoese sailor Christopher Columbus reached the Americas, as part of the redevelopment of the old harbor.

   In 1998 a 100-meter ship was added, linked to the original building by a walkway. Inside live around 12,000 animals of more than 600 species in over 70 tanks, recreating ecosystems from tropical seas to the polar regions. The best-known areas are Shark Bay, the Lagoon of the Sirens, the Cetacean Pavilion and the Kingdom of Ice. More than 1.2 million people visit each year, and the aquarium also works in research, conservation and environmental education.

   Is it worth it? With children, almost certainly; it is open every day of the year. But it is a visit of its own, not a quick look, so decide in advance whether it fits your day. If you only want the city story, admire Renzo Piano's building from outside and walk on.

   The next stop is close: 350 m, about 5 minutes, to Palazzo San Giorgio.

   Local name

   Acquario di Genova

   Hours

   Open 365 days a year; entry times vary by date (booking calendar)

   Price

   Adults from 26 EUR online / 34 EUR at the ticket office, children 4-12 from 16 EUR, children 0-3 free, reduced (military/65+/disabled) from 20 EUR

   Website

   acquariodigenova.it ↗

   Location

   Aquarium of Genoa on Google Maps ↗

7. 7

   Palazzo San Giorgio

   

   Palazzo San Giorgio looks like two buildings in one, and it is. The older half, facing the Sottoripa portico, is a textbook piece of medieval civic architecture. The Renaissance half faces the sea, with the main portal opening onto Via della Mercanzia, the short street between Piazza Caricamento and Piazza Cavour.

   It was built between 1257 and 1260 for the capitano del popolo Guglielmo Boccanegra, who wanted a seat of civil power separate from the church's around the cathedral. A plaque on the facade facing the city names the designer: Friar Oliverio, a monk from the Abbey of Sant'Andrea in Sestri Ponente, who had already extended the Old Pier into the sea. People called it the sea palace, because the water once lapped at its foundations, and it stood at Sottoripa, then the economic heart of Genoa.

   The palace went on to house the customs, and in the 15th century it passed to the Bank of Saint George, which gave it its name. Expanded in the 16th century and later left to decay, it was fully restored in the second half of the 19th century by Alfredo d'Andrade; you will meet his name again at Porta Soprana. Since 1903 it has housed the port authority, today the Port System Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea.

   The palace is publicly accessible and free, so a look is easy to fit in. From here it is 340 m, about 5 minutes, to San Lorenzo Cathedral.

   Price

   Free (publicly accessible)

   Website

   palazzosangiorgio.org ↗

   Location

   Palazzo San Giorgio on Google Maps ↗

8. 8

   San Lorenzo Cathedral

   

   San Lorenzo Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Genoa, is a medieval building with later additions. The side aisles are Romanesque, the main facade Gothic from the early 13th century, the capitals and columns of the inner galleries from the early 14th century, and the bell tower and dome from the 16th century. Reading those layers on the front is the best way to start.

   Pope Gelasius II consecrated the cathedral in 1118, and from 1133 it held archiepiscopal rank. The money came from the success of Genoese fleets in the Crusades. Before it, the city's cathedral was the basilica of St. Syrus, founded probably in the 5th or 6th century. Excavations under the floor and in front of the west front have revealed Roman walls and pavements as well as pre-Christian sarcophagi, signs of an old burial ground.

   Look at the square, too. For the whole of the Middle Ages, with no other public squares and no seat of lay power, this piazza was the city's only public space. In 1296 a fire caused by fighting between Guelphs and Ghibellines damaged the church; between 1307 and 1312 the facade was completed, the inner colonnades were rebuilt and the galleries added, while the Romanesque structure stayed largely untouched.

   Going in is free and well worth it. Mind the midday break, when the cathedral closes for a few hours.

   From the cathedral it is 320 m, about 5 minutes, to Porta Soprana.

   Hours

   Daily: 08:00–12:00, 15:00–19:00

   Price

   Free (cathedral)

   Website

   chiesadigenova.it ↗

   Location

   San Lorenzo Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

9. 9

   Porta Soprana

   

   Porta Soprana, also called Porta di Sant'Andrea, is one of the best-known pieces of medieval architecture in Genoa. Its name comes from “Superana”, a reference to its raised position above the city on the Piano di Sant'Andrea. The two towers mark one of the few surviving gates of the medieval walls, along with Porta dei Vacca.

   This was the way in for anyone arriving from the east and from Rome, and the gate already mattered in the time of the second city wall in the 9th and 10th centuries. What you see today is the result of Alfredo d'Andrade's restoration between 1882 and 1914, the same man who restored Palazzo San Giorgio. He rebuilt the gate as it would have looked in the 12th century, when the third wall, the Barbarossa walls, went up between 1155 and 1159.

   Walk through and look at both inner sides. Two inscriptions in Latin leonine hexameters, full of rhymes and assonance, end with a list of the consuls in office in 1155. In them the Genoese government celebrates its victories in the Mediterranean and the power the city had reached. The outside is free at any hour; the towers and the Casa di Cristoforo Colombo can be visited too.

   The last leg is the shortest: 250 m, about 4 minutes, to Palazzo Ducale.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free (exterior)

   Location

   Porta Soprana on Google Maps ↗

10. 10

    Palazzo Ducale

    

    Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace, was once home to the doges of Genoa and is now a museum and a center for exhibitions and cultural events. It has two entrances and two facades: the main one on Piazza Giacomo Matteotti and the second on Piazza De Ferrari, where the tour began.

    Its story starts at the end of the 13th century, as Genoa grew in power across the Mediterranean. Until 1291 the city's highest officials had no building of their own and met in the Archbishop's Palace or in private houses of the Doria and Fieschi families. That year the capitani del popolo Corrado Doria and Oberto Spinola bought the Doria buildings, and three years later the neighboring Fieschi palace followed, with the tower later called the Grimaldina.

    In 1339 Simone Boccanegra became the first doge of Genoa, and the palace took the name “ducale”. From the second half of the 14th century Doge Antoniotto Adorno had it enlarged to the east, forming a kind of C around today's Piazza Umberto I, and to the north, where the central block stands now.

    The palace building itself is open every day and free to walk into; exhibitions and events are ticketed separately. At the end of a long walk, wander through the courtyards, then step out onto Piazza De Ferrari and you are back at the fountain. If you want to return to the start by another way, the GPS navigation in your browser will lead you there.

    Hours

    Palace building open daily all year 07:00–23:00; exhibitions and events have their own hours

    Website

    palazzoducale.genova.it ↗

    Location

    Palazzo Ducale on Google Maps ↗

Shorter ways to walk Genoa

Ten stops is a lot if you also want to see the museums properly. These three cuts follow the route order, so the GPS navigation simply leads you from one stop to the next.

Palaces and the view

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4

For art and architecture lovers with a morning to spare. From Piazza De Ferrari through Via Garibaldi, up to the Castelletto viewpoint and on to Palazzo Reale: 32 minutes of walking. Tickets at Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Reale.

Harbor day for families

Stops: 5, 6, 7

For anyone travelling with children or simply curious about the sea. The Galata Museum of the Sea, the Aquarium of Genoa and Palazzo San Giorgio are linked by 18 minutes of walking, which leaves the day for the two big ticketed visits.

Harbor to the medieval heart

Stops: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For a relaxed second half: from the Galata Museum of the Sea along the old port to Palazzo San Giorgio, San Lorenzo Cathedral, Porta Soprana and Palazzo Ducale. 32 minutes of walking; tickets at Galata and the Aquarium if you go in, the cathedral is free.

How long this Genoa tour takes, with and without the interiors

The walking itself is short: 1 h 13 min for the whole line. What fills the day is what you choose to enter. Walk past the facades, go into Palazzo Rosso and San Lorenzo, and pause at Castelletto, and you are looking at about half a day.

The Aquarium of Genoa and the Galata Museum of the Sea are each a visit of their own. Add both and the tour becomes a full day, which is why the harbor stops make a good separate outing. The palace variant and the harbor-to-old-town variant each need 32 minutes on foot before any museum time.

Before you start the Genoa route

• Start and finish: The recommended start is Piazza De Ferrari, but you can join at any stop. The tour ends at Palazzo Ducale, whose second facade opens onto Piazza De Ferrari, so you finish close to where you began.
• Best day: If you want to go inside, pick your day with care: Palazzo Rosso and the Galata Museum of the Sea are not open every day of the week.
• Timing: Start in the morning so you reach Palazzo Rosso once its doors have opened. San Lorenzo Cathedral closes for a midday break; if you spend the morning in the palaces and the harbor museums, you will reach it in the afternoon when it has reopened.
• Costs: Free: Piazza De Ferrari, Spianata Castelletto, Palazzo San Giorgio, the cathedral, the outside of Porta Soprana and the Palazzo Ducale building. Paid: Palazzo Rosso, Galata, the Aquarium, and Palazzo Reale, where you pay at the ticket desk.

Common questions about walking Genoa