Genoa, Italy

Genoa — La Superba, the Proud — was one of the four great maritime republics of medieval Italy, a city whose merchant fleet and banking houses once rivalled Venice for dominance of the Mediterranean. Christopher Columbus was born here in 1451, and the Palazzi dei Rolli — a system of Renaissance and Baroque palaces that served as public lodgings for state visitors — earned the city a UNESCO World Heritage designation. The old port, revitalised by architect Renzo Piano (himself a Genoese native), is now a sleek waterfront promenade anchored by Europe's largest aquarium.

Genoa's appeal lies in its authentic, unpolished vitality. The caruggi — a labyrinth of medieval alleyways in the old centre, some barely wide enough for two people to pass — harbour artisan workshops, candlelit churches, and some of Italy's oldest shops. The Via Garibaldi, by contrast, is a monumental boulevard of UNESCO-listed palaces housing the Musei di Strada Nuova — galleries displaying works by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Caravaggio. The Lanterna, the city's twelfth-century lighthouse and one of the tallest and oldest in the world, still guides ships into port.

Genoa claims to have invented pesto, and nowhere is it better than here. Pesto alla genovese — hand-pounded basil from the hillsides of Prà, Ligurian olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano — is served atop trofie pasta or stirred into minestrone. Focaccia di Recco, a paper-thin bread filled with stracchino cheese, is the city's most addictive snack. The Mercato Orientale, housed in a former cloister on Via XX Settembre, brims with local cheeses, fresh anchovies, and seasonal vegetables. Farinata — a thin chickpea-flour flatbread baked in a wood-fired oven — is another Genoese original.

The Ligurian Riviera unfolds in both directions from Genoa. Portofino, the jewel-box fishing village with its pastel harbour, is forty minutes east by car or ferry. The Cinque Terre — five colourful cliff-side villages connected by hiking trails and a regional train — lies ninety minutes southeast. To the west, the palm-lined promenade of Nervi, technically a Genoa suburb, offers seaside parks and cliff walks.

Genoa serves as an important western Mediterranean cruise port, welcoming Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Explora Journeys, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises, Silversea, and Windstar Cruises. It is also the headquarters of both MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises, giving the port a deep connection to the cruise industry. Spring and early autumn are the ideal seasons, with September and October offering warm seas and the grape harvest in the Ligurian hills.