If at one time La Spezia was known exclusively for its established merchant port and the largest Italian naval base, today this Ligurian city is increasingly becoming a tourist attraction thanks to its excellent geographical position that makes it perfect for exploring its surroundings. Since 2015, moreover, the La Spezia cruise port has been the object of numerous expansion and enhancement works. Below we leave you some information that could be useful if the second Ligurian city will be among your cruise stops.
Where is located the La Spezia Cruise Port
The La Spezia Cruise Port is located at Molo Garibaldi, along Viale Italia.
The Central Station of La Spezia is about 2 km and a half away.
How to reach the Port of La Spezia and how to move around
Given the proximity to the city center, reaching the La Spezia Cruise Port is not complicated.
The easiest way could be to take a cab, alternatively you can get on a bus of the lines A / C / SA / SC from the station square.
If you arrive by car, in the surroundings of the Cruise Port you will find several guarded parking lots where you can leave your car.
In case you arrive in La Spezia during a cruise and want to move around, the best solution is to reach the station and move by train: from La Spezia Centrale you can reach many places. If you decide to stay in the city, instead, you just need to walk: the center is easy to get around.
What to see and what to do around the La Spezia Cruise Port
As we mentioned at the beginning, the area around La Spezia is full of places to visit, but if time is short, do not be discouraged: even in La Spezia center there are many things to do!
Walking around the historical center of La Spezia
The historical center is small and characteristic and develops mainly along Via del Prione, the Carugio Drito, as called by the locals. This is the oldest street of the city and today is full of bars, restaurants and stores.
Another interesting stop is Piazza Verdi, designed by French architect Daniel Buren. Not far away you can visit the Cathedral of Christ the King and the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.
One of the best ways to visit the historical center of La Spezia is to take part in our Food Tour of La Spezia: thanks to a local guide you will have the opportunity to discover the most characteristic corners of the center, the best restaurants and traditional dishes not to be missed. The tour lasts about 3,5 hours and is perfect even if you have little time: you will walk through La Spezia and you will taste the sgabei (bread dough pancakes), the mesciua (a local soup), the testaroli or the panigacci, the pasta with walnut sauce, the fried squids and anchovies and the farinata.
Visit the Naval Technical Museum
After a visit to the historic center you could take advantage to visit the famous Naval Technical Museum of La Spezia, a unique itinerary through which you will discover the evolution of naval techniques, underwater weapons and assault techniques from the sea.
Climbing the Castle of San Giorgio
If the Naval Museum does not inspire you, you might be interesting to visit the Castle of San Giorgio which today houses the Archaeological Museum. Inside are housed the interesting stele statues of the Copper Age.
One of the reasons why it is worth going up here is the beautiful view of the city.
Excursions from the Port of La Spezia in a few hours
If you have enough time, instead, here are some ideas to explore the surroundings departing from the La Spezia Cruise Port.
Cinque Terre
Few hours to visit this part of Liguria are not enough (3 days in Cinque Terre are a good idea to enjoy the place at its best), but they are still a good start to discover one of the most fascinating and famous places in Italy.
Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore are the villages that follow one after the other in this particular stretch of the Ligurian coast: the villages seem set between sea and mountains like little diamonds.
To visit them you can use the regional train leaving from La Spezia Station or take advantage of the sea connections of the boats that operate during the summer.
Portovenere
Portovenere is located outside the Cinque Terre National Park, but it is still a charming and charming village: just think that it has been chosen by artists and poets from all over the world as a place of holiday and inspiration. Even Lord Byron fell in love with it.
Among the not-to-be-missed stops in Portovenere, we must absolutely mention the Church of San Pietro.
Genoa
The Ligurian capital is located 100 km from La Spezia and can be easily reached by train in an hour, an hour and a half.
There are many things to do in Genoa: you could take advantage to visit the famous Aquarium or the magnificent Strada Nuova Museums, but if time is short we suggest you to take part in one of our food tours: in this way you will have the chance to discover the city in a funny and unique way.
We suggest you 3 of them:
- The Genoa Traditional Gastronomic Tour during which you will discover the tastiest typical dishes of Genoa;
- The Genoa Gourmet Gastronomic Tour during which you will have the opportunity to taste some dishes where innovation and tradition meet;
- The Genoa Street Food Tour, the simplest and most delicious food and wine tour in Genoa.
Pisa
From the La Spezia Cruise Port you can reach in a short time also Pisa, the famous city of the Leaning Tower. A visit to this Tuscan city must absolutely start from Piazza dei Miracoli, but there are many things to see in Pisa and for this reason we recommend you to participate in a food tour in the historic center.
Thanks to our food tour in the center of Pisa live a different and fun experience and you will discover the Tuscan city from a new point of view: delicious and authentic!
Lucca
Finally we recommend one last destination: Lucca, a Tuscan city less famous than Pisa, Florence and Siena, but equally fascinating.
Lucca is just over 70 km from La Spezia and can be reached by train in a maximum of two hours. In the city we recommend you to visit the Cathedral and the curious Piazza dell’Anfiteatro where the houses were built over an ancient Roman amphitheater.
We hope that our advice on the La Spezia Cruise Port will be useful to you: we are waiting for you in many Italian and European cities to take you to discover their most authentic gastronomic tradition.
