Soggiorna
Genoa with children has an advantage few Italian cities have: almost everything you need is in one place, the Porto Antico, and you get there in one metro stop. There are no journeys to organise, no choosing between opposite ends of the city.
And it has a second thing that is not in the guidebooks: the city itself is a game. In Genoa the public lifts are means of transport, and at six years old a lift that comes out of a mountain is worth an entrance ticket.
The Porto Antico
Four things in the same space, grouped under the name AcquarioVillage: the Aquarium, the Città dei Bambini, the Biosfera and the Bigo. The Galata is a little further along.
The Aquarium
It is why most families come to Genoa, and it holds up: over 70 recreated environments, more than 12,000 specimens of around 400 species, across saltwater and freshwater tanks.
One practical thing nobody says: it is long. The route is designed to be done in full, and with small children the risk is arriving tired halfway and rushing the second part. Go at opening time, not after lunch, and reckon on it taking most of the day.
The Città dei Bambini e dei Ragazzi
It is Italy's largest venue devoted to play through science and technology, for children and young people between 2 and 12.
It is also the answer to the classic problem: if one half of the family wants the Aquarium and the other is three and a half and wants nothing to do with it, here the routes are split by age and it works for both.
The Biosfera and the Bigo
Two Renzo Piano structures looking out over the harbour. The Biosfera is the glass sphere with a tropical environment inside — plants, butterflies, small animals. The Bigo is a panoramic lift that rises to 40 metres and turns on itself: you see the city from above, the port and the ships, and it is short, which with children is a virtue.
The Galata maritime museum
It is the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean, and it holds a card the others do not: the submarine Nazario Sauro, the only Italian submarine you can visit afloat. You actually go inside it.
For a child of eight and up it is often the thing they remember best from the whole trip, Aquarium included. Below that age it depends on temperament: the space inside is narrow and dark.
The vertical city, which is the free part of the fun
Genoa has two funiculars, twelve public lifts and a rack railway from 1901 that still has its toothed rail. They are part of public transport: you go up on a travel ticket, not an admission ticket.
The best one to take with children is the Castelletto lift, an Art Nouveau installation from 1909: from piazza Portello it climbs to the Spianata Castelletto, 57 metres of ascent in 45 seconds, and you step out onto a terrace with the city below. Forty-five seconds is the perfect length for a child.
Nervi, where they can run
The Porto Antico is beautiful and it has no lawn. When you need space, take the urban train from Principe or Brignole and get off at Nervi.
There you have 92,000 square metres of urban park with around a hundred botanical species, and the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi: almost two kilometres along the sea, pedestrian, no traffic and no junctions, from the little harbour to the beach at Capolungo. With a pushchair or a small bicycle it is the best place in the city.
Getting around with children
The metro handles the centre: San Giorgio for the Porto Antico and the Aquarium, Darsena for the Galata, De Ferrari for the centre, Principe and Brignole for the trains.
Outside the flat areas, the rule that applies to all of Genoa counts double with a pushchair: look at the height gain, not the distance. Two points close together on the map can have a hundred and fifty steps between them. When that happens there is almost always a public lift that avoids them: worth looking for in advance rather than discovering afterwards.
If it rains
This is the right city for rain. The Aquarium, the Città dei Bambini, the Biosfera and the Galata are all indoors, and each is already half a day. Genoa's problem in the rain is not what to do: it is that the carruggi get slippery.
How to fit it together
- One day: Aquarium in the morning at opening, Bigo or Biosfera in the afternoon, a walk around the Porto Antico.
- Two days: on the second, the Galata with the submarine, and Nervi in the afternoon to run about.
- Half a day: Città dei Bambini if they are small, the Galata if they are older.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to see in Genoa with children?
The Aquarium, the Città dei Bambini e dei Ragazzi, the Biosfera and the Bigo — all at the Porto Antico — and the Galata maritime museum with the submarine Nazario Sauro. Outside the centre, the parks of Nervi.
How long does a visit to the Genoa Aquarium take?
Reckon on most of the day: the route runs through over 70 recreated environments with more than 12,000 specimens. With small children it is better to go in at opening time rather than after lunch.
What age is the Città dei Bambini for?
For children and young people between 2 and 12, with routes divided by age group. It is Italy's largest venue devoted to play through science and technology.
Can you visit a submarine in Genoa?
Yes: the Nazario Sauro, at the Galata maritime museum, is the only Italian submarine you can visit afloat. The space inside is narrow and dark, so with the youngest it depends on temperament.
Is Genoa easy with a pushchair?
In the flat areas yes — the Porto Antico, Corso Italia, the Nervi promenade. Outside those, Genoa is vertical and the map deceives: before setting off, check the height gain and look for the public lift, because there almost always is one.
Where can children run about in Genoa?
At the parks of Nervi: 92,000 square metres of green space and the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi, almost two kilometres along the sea with no traffic. You get there by urban train from Principe or Brignole.