What to See in Liguria, Italy

Things to do in Liguria range from exploring historic ports and hilltop villages to tasting pesto, seafood and olive oil beside the Ligurian Sea. This narrow region in north-western Italy brings the coast, the Alps and the Apennines together in a landscape where cities, villages and mountain slopes are always close to one another. Neywo offers free audio guides for 8 cities in Liguria, with 307 narrated places in total and 21 walking tours.

What to see and do in Liguria

Explore Genoa, Liguria’s historic capital

Genoa is the regional capital and one of the clearest places to understand Liguria’s maritime identity. Its port remains one of Italy’s most important, and the city’s history has been shaped by trade, political power and its position between the sea and the mountains.

Among the city’s narrated highlights are Palazzo Rosso, the Royal Palace of Genoa, Palazzo Bianco and the Doge’s Palace. Together, they offer a way to explore Genoa’s artistic and civic heritage. The city had already been inhabited in prehistoric times, and its history later passed through Roman, Byzantine, Lombard, Frankish, French and Milanese influence.

Discover more with the Genoa city guide.

Visit the villages and coastline of Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre represents the compact coastal landscape that defines much of Liguria. Here, the sea and steep ground meet in a setting of villages, fortifications and dramatic shorelines. The narrated places include Cinque Terre itself, Manarola, the Castle of Riomaggiore and Vernazza Castle.

The area is part of the Italian Riviera, which follows almost the entire Ligurian coastline from near Ventimiglia to Capo Corvo near the Gulf of La Spezia. The mountains rise quickly behind the shore, leaving little level land between the water and the high ground.

Read more on the Cinque Terre page.

Discover La Spezia and its historic monuments

La Spezia lies at the eastern end of the region, near the Gulf of La Spezia. Its places of interest include La Spezia Cathedral, the Province of La Spezia, Castagnola Palace and Castello San Giorgio.

The city also helps connect Liguria’s coastal and inland stories. The region’s main roads and railways follow the narrow corridor between the sea and the mountains, linking La Spezia with Genoa, Savona and the western Riviera.

Explore the city with the La Spezia guide.

See Savona’s fortifications, cathedral and museums

Savona offers several ways to explore Ligurian history, from the Forte Madonna del Monte to Savona Cathedral. The All About Apple museum and the Archaeological Museum of Savona add a different perspective, bringing food culture and the region’s past into the city visit.

Savona is also part of the coastal route that runs across Liguria. The main motorway connects the French border near Nice with Savona, Genoa and La Spezia, while the coastline continues west towards the province of Imperia.

Find the city’s narrated places in the Savona audio guide.

Walk through Sanremo

Sanremo is one of the towns along the western Italian Riviera. Its narrated highlights include the Sanremo Casino, Madonna della Costa, the Museo Civico di Sanremo and the Pinacoteca Rambaldi.

The wider province of Imperia is less densely populated than metropolitan Genoa, but it shares the region’s characteristic relationship between coastal settlements and nearby mountains. Agriculture in Liguria also produces flowers, wine and olive oil, all important parts of the region’s modern economy.

Continue to the Sanremo city page.

Visit Bordighera near the French border

Bordighera lies near the western edge of Liguria, close to the French border. Its narrated places include Villa Regina Margherita, Villa Mariani, the Pallanca exotic gardens and the Immacolata Concezione.

The town is part of the Riviera that stretches along nearly 350 kilometres of Ligurian shoreline. This western section shows how the region’s coastal settlements continue along a narrow strip between the sea and the mountains.

Explore Bordighera with the Bordighera guide.

See Levanto’s churches and castle

Levanto brings together several historic sites, including the Castle of Levanto, Clarisse, the Santissima Annunziata Church and the Church of St. Andrew. These places reflect the historical and artistic interest found not only in Liguria’s major cities but also in its smaller towns and villages.

Levanto is also a useful point from which to appreciate the region’s geography: Liguria’s mountain chains cross the region, and some peaks rise above 2,000 metres even though the coast is never far away.

Read the Levanto guide for more narrated places.

Discover Sestri Levante

Sestri Levante has a selection of artistic and historic sites that includes Galleria Rizzi, Villa Sertorio, the Annunziata Convent and Santa Caterina Oratory. Like many Ligurian towns, it is shaped by the close relationship between the coast and the hills behind it.

Small settlements such as Sestri Levante are an important part of Liguria’s identity. Tourism here extends beyond the largest cities, with villages valued for their history, art and setting.

Visit the Sestri Levante page.

Taste Liguria through its food

Pesto is Liguria’s best-known contribution to Italian cooking. The traditional combination uses fresh basil, pine kernels, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. These ingredients express the region’s Mediterranean setting and its agricultural traditions.

Seafood is equally central. Ciuppin is a fish soup made with leftovers, stale bread, white wine, onion and garlic. It reflects a practical cooking tradition in which modest ingredients are carefully used rather than wasted.

Vegetables and pulses also play an important role. Mesciua combines beans, olive oil and farro, an old kind of wheat that includes emmer. Together, these dishes tell the story of a region where the sea, farms and mountain landscapes meet at the table.

Understand Liguria’s landscape and history

Liguria is a narrow region held between the Ligurian Sea and the Alps and Apennines. Monte Saccarello is its highest point. This compressed geography has influenced nearly every part of life here, from transport and agriculture to settlement and trade.

The region takes its name from the ancient Ligures, whose territory once extended across north-western Italy and into south-eastern France. Human presence reaches deep into prehistory, with traces of huts used by nomadic hunters near the port of Nice dating from around 300,000 years ago.

During the First Punic War, Ligurian communities supported different sides. Some backed Carthage, while others, including the people of Stalia—later Genoa—sided with Rome. Under Augustus, Liguria became a Roman region stretching from the coast to the Po River. Later periods brought Byzantine, Lombard and Frankish rule, as well as Saracen and Norman raids. French and Milanese powers also controlled the area at different times.

Liguria was briefly independent in 1814 before being annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia. Its history remains visible in a landscape of ports, railways, fortified towns, villages and cities closely connected by the coast.

Explore Liguria with Neywo’s free audio guide

Neywo has free audio guides for 8 cities in Liguria, covering 307 narrated places in total through 21 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Choose a city, follow a walking tour and listen as the landmarks appear around you—whether you are exploring Genoa, the Riviera, Cinque Terre or the towns of eastern Liguria.