Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hadn't been abolished in 1946. Decor is elegant but old world and rooms sizes vary (ask
for one with a mural behind the bed). It's next to Stazione Porta Principe.
Hotel Cristoforo Colombo
( 010 251 36 43;
www.hotelcolombo.it
;
Via di Porta Soprana 27; s €88-160, d €110-170; )
A
rather charming family-run hotel ideally situated near Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, Cristo-
foro Colombo has 18 colour-accented rooms with postmodern furnishings. Breakfast is
served on an inviting 6th-floor rooftop terrace.
HOTEL
€€
Hotel della Posta Nuova
HOTEL
€€
( 010 25 29 29;
www.albergopostagenova.com
;
Via Balbi 24; s €40-115, d €60-130; )
No real
surprises at this reliable hotel 150m from Stazione Principe, though it's clean, safe and re-
latively friendly for such a transient quarter. Rooms are smallish and simple but admit
plenty of natural light. The ones on the top floor have a terrace overlooking Via Balbi.
Eating
It's practically impossible to leave town without tasting
pesto genovese
- the famous
sauce that appears on menus everywhere. Ubiquitous local specialities focaccia (espe-
cially topped with cheese) and
farinata
(flat bread made from chickpea flour) make cheap
takeaway snacks. Nail a place with a visible oven and dive in when you see the baker
stocking his display cases with a fresh round.
Torta pasqualina
(spinach, ricotta cheese
and egg tart),
pansotti
(spinach-filled ravioli with a thick, creamy hazelnut sauce) and
freshly caught seafood are also good.
Trattoria Da Maria
TRATTORIA
€
( 010 58 10 80; Vico Testadoro 14R; €12; 11.45am-3pm Mon-Sat, 7-10.30pm Thu & Fri)
Pesto is
essentially a poor man's cuisine that employs basic ingredients and you'll pay poor man's
prices at this no-frills trattoria stuck up a shadowy Genovese alley that opens daily for
lunch (and dinner on Thursday and Friday). Tables are shared and the food arrives with
the speed and subtlety of an invading Napoleonic army.
The barely legible handwritten menu is essentially whatever's in the pot. Pesto domin-
ates.
