Genoa

Genoa fits into two packed days or three easier ones, while the riviera behind it — Portofino, Camogli, Cinque Terre — asks for a day or two of its own. Its old town, one of the largest medieval city centres in Europe, sits squeezed between the port and the hills, so the walk through it runs along narrow lanes that only open up at squares in front of a cathedral and a palace.

The walk starts on the water, at Porto Antico, the old harbour turned into a public waterfront. The Aquarium stands here, the largest in Italy. Entry €26, days closed: none, open 365 days; booking: timed slot (mandatory on weekends, 24 h ahead). Beside it, on the quay, the Bigo panoramic lift raises visitors over the harbour for €5.

From the harbour the old town's lanes, known as caruggi, climb into a 113-hectare knot, one of the largest and most densely populated medieval old towns in Europe, running from Carignano hill to Piazza Principe station. Inside it stands the Royal Palace: built from 1643 by the Balbi family, extended from 1677 by the Durazzo family, and bought in 1824 by the House of Savoy, part of the UNESCO list of Rolli palaces. Entry €12, closed Monday.

A few streets on, San Lorenzo Cathedral carries a black-and-white striped façade completed between 1307 and 1312, a hallmark of Genoese medieval architecture. The main nave is free, and the Treasury Museum takes a ticket, €6 (treasury museum); cathedral free; closed: Sunday (treasury museum).

From the centre a lift climbs up to Castelletto, opened in 1909 to a design by the engineer Carlo Bagnasco, a 57-metre rise to a lookout over the old town's rooftops, €1.20 (or the €2/110 min AMT ticket). The next stop is the Lanterna, the lighthouse at the other end of the harbour.

The Lanterna itself has stood since 1543 on the site of a 12th-century watchtower, the oldest lighthouse in Europe still in operation, 77 metres tall. The €8 ticket covers the Open Air Museum and the first terrace, and the tower is closed Mon–Thu (open Fri–Sun and holidays 10–18).

The walk ends east along the coast, at Boccadasse, a fishing village dating to the 11th century, only formally annexed to the city in 1874. Its pastel façades once helped fishermen find their way home from the sea, and now look out over a small pebble beach and a harbour of boats, free to enter. Arriving by air, you take the Volabus (AMT), airport – Brignole – Piazza Principe – city centre line, about 30 min, into the centre.