The ultimate travel guide to Liguria: Things to do in La Spezia, Italy

La Spezia is a lively city from the region of Liguria, in northern Italy. This city is known because of the importance of its maritime port, with an essential role for the Ligurian Sea, concentrating all the economic activity of this region. La Spezia is close to and surrounded by the most famous areas of the Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso) and famous villages as well such as Lerici, Arcola, Vezzano or Portovenere, where you can go to by car. The best period to visit this city and, when you will have more things to do in La Spezia, is between May and September. 

Here, we can give you a guide of La Spezia on what to do in three-day trip.

Visiting Cinque Terre

The first day, once you arrive and leave your luggage at our NH La Spezia, we suggest you visit the surroundings of La Spezia to know the area. The Cinque Terre is composed of five beautiful territories, each of which had a fortress in the past to protect each village. However, you can also have an overview of La Spezia if you take a boat to see the coastline.

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre has spectacular colorful streets to walk by in every village, although each of them is different in its own way: 

Riomaggiore 

Riomaggiore is one the most picturesque villages in La Spezia. The colorful houses of this city are on top of steep hills that you can see spread from the heights until the seashore, and it has a lovely dock. 

Manarola 

Riomaggiore is not as lively as Manarola, the next village you can go to if you want to be enveloped in a romantic and charming environment. Here, you will see the view of a picture full of colors that contrast with the blue water of the sea. Manarola has majestic and rocky walls on which the village is built and is considered World Heritage by UNESCO. 

Corniglia 

After Manarola, drive to Corniglia, which is the smallest town of the Cinque Terre and the only one with no direct access to the sea. This village is the most center-located village of the Cinque Terre territories, between Manarola and Vernazza, surrounded by vineyards and built along the main street (Via Fieschi) to finish in a little square called Largo Taragio. 

Vernazza and Monterosso 

Continue the route of things to do in La Spezia, Italy, by driving to Vernazza, widely known as one of the most beautiful villages of the Cinque Terre and a treasure in the sea with a unique landscape, also recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO. You can even get to this village through a beautiful hiking trail from Monterosso or Corniglia, since it isn’t far away, and arrive at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Reggio (Santuario di Nostra Signiora di Reggio). The last village of the Cinque Terre is Monterosso, where you can do some of the favorite activities in its “Carruggi '' streets like wine tasting the typical “Sciaccetrá '' or getting lost in the Historic Center.

Other options in your first day: coastline boat trip

If you don't know what to do in La Spezia, you have a chill personality and prefer to enjoy the sun, the breeze and the smell of the sea, we also suggest you a second option: take a relaxing trip by the coastline on a boat. 

Boats usually set off from La Spezia or Portovenere, going stop by stop to each and every village of the Cinque Terre but for Corniglia, since it is the only village with no access from the sea. 

If you set off from Portovenere, the starting point of the coastline and located in the Gulf of the Poets (Il Golfo dei Poeti), you will see an awe-inspiring place. Portovenere is a place that goes together with its virgin islands of Palamaria, Tino and Tinetto with wild nature. The city itself will not disappoint you, as is considered, as well, the entrance to the Cinque Terre with crystal-clear water, where you will be able to make plans like buying the traditional ice-cream or walking by the shore of the beach. However, this place is worth an in-depth visit to have breathtaking views of the astonishing architectural jewel of St.Peter’s Church (Chiesa di San Pietro) or see the medieval streets lined with stores leading up to the hill of the village, from the ancient gate of the castle. 

You can go on a boat trip to Portovenere and its three islands, or set off in Portovenere and tour the Cinque Terre by boat. Ferries are usually available from March to November (approximately) and tickets are around 30€ for adults and 15€ for children. Another option is to hire the service of a personal and private boat to go sailing on your own and visit the monuments you like the most.

Day 2: things to do in La Spezia, Italy, on your second day

Once you explore the outskirts and the beautiful surrounding villages, you can go from the coastline and its exceptional turquoise-water beaches to the landmarks of the city you’ll be staying in.

Naval History of La Spezia

The Naval Technical Museum of La Spezia is a tribute to the maritime tradition keeping record of the Italian marine tradition in its expositions. Visitors can see a wide collection of nautical instruments, boat replicas and historical artifacts. Once you finish, you can go to visit other landmarks walking along the Passeggiata Costiera.

Castello di San Giorgio

As a second option, you can go and visit the medieval St. George’s Castle (Castello di San Giorgio), one of the most representative landmarks of the Middle Ages’ military architecture. Right in front of this castle, you will see the entrance to the Historic Center of La Spezia. Walk around the Old Town starting by the Staircase of La Spezia turning to the left in the Castle’s entrance and continue by the spectacular Le Clarisse garden (Parco delle Clarisse) until you arrive at one of the most central locations, Piazzetta del Bastione square. Continue your walk in the same direction to see the Civic Theater or the Abbey Church of Santa Maria Assunta (Chiesa Abbaziale di Santa Maria Assunta).

La Spezia: what to do on your last day of trip

Seeing the monuments and the streets of the city is fundamental to know the place. However, you would never get to know the place fully if you do not investigate its history. We can offer you a couple of options to choose between digging into history, if it is interesting for you, or getting to know the geography of the place.

Option 1: visit some art and architecture

One of the most amazing things to do in La Spezia is visiting the Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Chiesa di Nostra Signora della Neve). Its breathtaking church whose architecture takes us back to the Byzantine Era includes an alternating horizontal facade, interiors full of varied marble, pillars, pictures and frescos. In addition, to see the city’s religious heritage, you can complete this visit with the Church of San Pietro (Chiesa di San Pietro), which was a little chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. Later, this chapel had a remodeling and became the main Parish Church until 1971. 

To finish with, the last landmark worth a visit is the Post Office Building of La Spezia (Palazzo delle Poste), a post office designed by the architect Angiolo Mazzoni with huge artistic value, where you can see the contrast between exposed bricks and polychrome marble in its interior. 

For some art, you can visit the Amadeo Lia Civic Museum (Museo Civico Amedeo Lia), opened in 1996. This museum offers exhibitions of several pieces of work of art from the Classical Era, through the Late Antiquity and the Middle Age until the 18th Century: paintings, miniatures, bronze sculptures and other artistic artifacts that can document Italian and European artistic culture. In this Museum you can find art from important authors like Tiziano, Tintoretto or Raffaello. Another highly recommendable museum is the Palazzine delle Arti and Museum of Seals (Palazzina delle Arti e Museo Del Sigillo), opened in the year 2000, with a collection of more than one thousand five hundred seals to show the history of the evolution of civilization from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical Eras.

Option 2: go into the wildlife

If you are coming to Italy, don’t know what to do in La Spezia, but would like some nature, try going hiking by its trails due to the impressive, picturesque trails that lead you to explore the natural beauty and landscapes. The Regional Nature Park of Montemarcello-Magra (Parco Naturale Regionale di Montemarcello-Magra) is located in the Ligurian area (starting in Lerici), between the Gulf of La Spezia and the open sea on one side, and the mouth of the Magra River on the other side. This park was created as a unique entity to join the Magra Park (Parco fluviale Magra) and the protected area of Montemarcello. Inside the park, in the Montemarcello area you can find the preserved botanical garden (Orto Botanico di Montemarcello) and the coast spreading along the park, where you can find the beautiful Punta Corvo beach (spiaggia di Punta Corvo). 

Similarly, you can find the hill Monte della Castellana, that has privileged views of the city because of its strategic defensive-and-surveillance position, that has played an important role for the city. Moreover, another option to do some hiking is the Green-Blue Trail (Sentiero Verde Azzurro), starting in La Spezia until the end of Monterosso. 

To finish with, you may be interested in the Portofino Natural Park (Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino) if you want to go a little further than La Spezia, and drive around an hour to see this amazing place. This park has an exceptional landscape with several species of flora and fauna, that you can see in tour guides that people usually take and last around six hours.

Things to do in La Spezia, Italy, for a relaxing day

For a perfect trip, you need to relax as well. Nighttime and breaks during the day can give you some time to do great activities that you will enjoy. We can recommend you the following ones.

Local cuisine: Mercato Centrale Ligurian specialties

If you want to try some of the local products, you can go to the Central Market (Mercato Centrale) in La Spezia, located in the Historic Center’s square of Cavour (Piazza Cavour). This market has turned into a reference for those lovers of Italian Cuisine as they can try the best and highest quality products, offering a new sensorial experience in every stall with food usually brought from the farms.

La Spezia: what to do at night

At night we recommend you have dinner outside and then have fun in a show. You can start by going to La Taverna del Metallo restaurant with a cozy environment, dim light and a candle on every table. For a more luxurious experience, you can try a Michelin restaurant, as there are many around this area, like Osteria della Corte where you can eat on an open terrace for summer dining. Here, the best dishes are spaghetti with seafood and Tournedos Rossini. Another option is the Michelin restaurant Pescarino-Sapori di Terra e di Mare, to enjoy the dishes made with seafood of the top-quality influenced by the Lingurian traditional cuisine. Then, some of the things to do in La Spezia (Italy) to be entertained is to go to the Civic Theatre (Teatro Civico), where there are many theatrical plays or concerts of classical music.

Shopping and Souvenirs

To shop you can go to Le Terrazze shopping center where you will find many food shops, bars and restaurants to eat as well as clothing or souvenir shops. You can also go to a hairdresser if needed since you can find it in the same shopping mall. This place is usually crowded, so it is recommendable if you want to buy some souvenirs, but to eat you also have the Food Market in Piazza Cavour that we recommended in the lines above.

More questions about La Spezia

What are the main things to do in La Spezia, Italy?

There are so many things to do in La Spezia: you can gain artistical and historical knowledge about La Spezia by visiting museums like the Naval Technical Museum. Landmarks are outstanding, like the St. George’s Castle (Castello di San Giorgio) with astonishing architecture or the Church of San Pietro (Chiesa di San Pietro). La Spezia also offers you the possibility to go into nature with the natural parks of The Regional Nature Park of Montemarcello-Magra (Parco Naturale Regionale di Montemarcello-Magra) or the Magra Park (Parco fluviale Magra).

Why is La Spezia famous?

La Spezia is famous for its busy port, which many people visit as they pass by to get to the Cinque Terre. It has been the main point of the economic activity of the city and it used to be the main naval base.

Are there enough things to do in La Spezia, Italy, worth a visit?

La Spezia is worth a visit since there are breath-taking landscapes that you can walk through, either into nature or in the same city. You can also get to the famous Cinque Terre easily by boat, driving or even taking a train. The route that you can follow is: La Spezia, Portovenere, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.

La Spezia: what to do by walk

La Spezia is very walkable since it is relatively small. However, there are so many museums and landmarks to get entertained. However, if you are interested in visiting some other parts of the city or even going a bit outskirt, you can follow the impressive hiking trails that you can find in the several natural parks of La Spezia. The most recommendable trail is the Green-Blue Trail (Sentiero Verde Azzurro), which you can either walk partially or follow all the way to Monterosso al Mare.