Genoa

Genoa doesn't get the attention it deserves. I had a bright morning down on the seafront, a promenade above the rocks with a pale church and bell tower behind and the water flat and blue out to a headland. The real thing though is the old town behind it, one of the biggest medieval quarters in Europe, all caruggi - alleys so narrow and tall you lose the sky - and then you pop out into a marble palazzo square. Eat the focaccia, it's a religion here, and this is the region pesto comes from. Would go back and give it longer.