Nightlife

The Old City, some of which is sketchy in broad daylight, is especially unseemly at night. Confine late-hour prowls to the well-trafficked streets around Piazza Fontane Marose and Piazza delle Erbe, where many bars and clubs are located anyway.

Performing Arts -- Genoa has two major venues for culture: the restored Teatro Carlo Felice, Piazza de Ferrari ([tel] 010-589-329; www.carlofelice.it), which is home to Genoa’s opera company and also hosts visiting companies; and the modern Teatro della Corte ([tel] 010-534-2200; www.teatro-di-genova.it), on Piazza Borgo Pila near Stazione Brignole, which hosts concerts, dance, and other cultural programs.

Bars & Clubs -- Open all day, Brittania, at Vico Casana (just off Piazza De Ferrari), serves pints to homesick travelers from morning to night, but caters to a largely Italian crowd at night ([tel] 010-294-878). New Yorkers will recognize the name and chic ambience from the branch of I Tre Merli Antica Cantina, at Vico Dietro il Coro della Maddalena 26r ([tel] 010-247-4095; www.itremerli.it), which does a brisk business in Manhattan with a couple of restaurants. Here in Genoa, I Tre Merli operates a couple of enoteche (wine bars), and this one, with a location on a narrow street just off Via Garibaldi, is delightful, even if the surrounding alleyways are charmingly seedy. A dark stone floor and walls of brick and stone provide a cozy setting, augmented by “refined country”–style tables and chairs. You can sample the wide selection of wines from throughout Italy by the glass, and there is a full bar. The half-dozen each of primi and secondi are refined Ligurian and, along with the cheese and salami platters, make this a good spot for a late-night meal; it’s open Tuesday to Sunday 7pm to 1am.

Le Courbusier, Via San Donato 36 ([tel] 010-246-8652), opens early and closes late. This coffeehouse-cum-bar, in the Old Quarter just west of Piazza delle Erbe, is especially popular with students. The smoky room is perpetually busy, dispensing excellent coffee and sandwiches (from 3€), as well as wine and spirits.