Italy · Liguria
Yacht Charter Genoa
The republic that ran the Mediterranean, with the largest medieval old town in Europe behind its port.
Genoa was a maritime republic for eight hundred years and financed half of Europe from it, and the city still reads that way from the water: a wall of tall narrow houses stacked up a hillside behind a working port. Behind them is the largest medieval quarter in Europe — a labyrinth of caruggi so narrow that daylight reaches the ground only at noon — and along one street, forty Renaissance palaces built by bankers who ran the continent's money.
The Strade Nuove and the caruggi
Via Garibaldi is a single street of palaces put up in the sixteenth century by the families who financed the Spanish crown. Several are open and hold Van Dyck, Rubens and Caravaggio, hung in the rooms they were painted for. It is UNESCO-listed and takes a morning.
The caruggi around it are the medieval city, still lived in, with a focacceria every fifty metres and a Romanesque church at unexpected corners. Genoese focaccia and pesto both come from here, and both taste different at the source.
Along the coast
East of the port the coast turns immediately residential and then wild: Boccadasse is a fishing cove swallowed by the city and kept intact, and beyond it Camogli, the Portofino promontory and San Fruttuoso.
West, the Riviera di Ponente runs towards France through Noli, Alassio and Sanremo, with sandy beaches instead of the pebble of the eastern shore.
Practical notes
- The nearest base is Cala de' Medici; everything else is positioned for your dates
- Genoa airport sits on the water at the western edge of the port, fifteen minutes from the berths
- Camogli and the Portofino promontory are ninety minutes east; Sanremo about three hours west
- Via Garibaldi and its palaces take a morning; the caruggi behind are best before the shops open
Reached from: Cala de' Medici
Where to dine
A table by the water
Il Marin
Porto AnticoOn the old harbour, doing Ligurian fish with the port in front of the windows.
Trattoria Rosmarino
GenoaIn the caruggi behind Via Garibaldi, small, and where the city eats when it is not showing off.
Boccadasse
BoccadasseA fishing cove swallowed by the city and kept intact: tables on the pebbles, and gelato that people cross town for.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Via Garibaldi
Forty Renaissance palaces on a single UNESCO-listed street, several open, with Van Dyck and Rubens hung where they were painted to hang.
The caruggi
The largest medieval quarter in Europe, still lived in, so narrow that daylight reaches the ground only around noon.
Boccadasse
A fishing cove inside the city, unchanged, and the easiest place to understand what Genoa was before the port.
Camogli and the promontory
Ninety minutes east: a tall painted seafront, then the Portofino park and San Fruttuoso beyond it.
The fleet
Yachts available for Genoa
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Genoa
- Is Genoa worth a day on a charter week?
- A day, comfortably. Via Garibaldi holds forty Renaissance palaces with Van Dyck and Rubens in the rooms they were painted for, and the medieval quarter behind is the largest in Europe.
- Where do you berth in Genoa?
- The old port has berths right under the city, which puts the passerelle a few minutes from the caruggi. Marina Molo Vecchio and the Porto Antico basins are the usual choice.
- What does a yacht charter in Genoa cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season, the crew and the positioning, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in Genoa
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.