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If you’re spending winter in a shipyard along the Ligurian coast in Genoa, San Remo, or La Spezia, you are probably looking for some interesting things to do. Luckily for you, there are plenty of activities in the region, from ski fields to festivals where you all pelt oranges at each other; which is bound to get some crew tension resolved (surely?) Here are some ideas to keep you busy over a long European winter. Based in a shipyard in Livorno or Viareggio? Read our article about winter activities in Tuscany instead.
This two-month-long harvest festival celebrates the mighty white truffle in the hills behind Genoa. Foodies will be in their element at the Alba White Truffle World Market, an exhibition of local truffles accompanied by regional delicacies and wines. The jam-packed schedule also includes historical reenactments, cooking shows and tasting workshops, as well as cooking classes in a castle. Go for a weekend and soak up the music and festival feel.
Those based in Liguria will have several good ski fields in relatively easy reach. The closest resorts to Genoa are exclusive Limone Piemonte, with 80kms of runs and a snow park, and Courmayeur, with over 100kms of runs across two valleys at the base of Mt Blanc. Limone Piemonte is only a couple of hours from Genoa so could conceivably be done in a day trip, but we’d recommend a weekend so you can relax and really enjoy those Apres ski drinks after a thrilling day on the mountain.
In Milan, you’ll be inspired to get a bit high-brow. Dress up for an opera or classical performance at the lavish Teatro alla Scalla, and trace Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps through the city where he spent 17 of his most artistically productive years, culminating in a visit to Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, site of his ‘The Last Supper’. A visit to the exquisitely gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral is practically obligatory, as is a long, long lunch at one of Milan’s exceptional restaurants. Oh, and if you like to shop, you’ll definitely want to be in Milan for the winter sales.
The heat and crowds of the Cinque Terre evaporate in the winter months, leaving behind near-ghost towns of exceptional beauty. Wander the echoing alleys, have lunch in one of the few restaurants remaining open, and hike the stunning paths linking the five towns, glorying in the quiet paths that run along the steep coast through terraced vineyards.
If you’re there in the fall, you’ll also experience the harvest period, so look out for the wine cellars making the local sciacchetrà wine, and head on in for a tasting. The Cinque Terre in winter is an introvert’s delight —unless you go during Carnevale in February, when confetti rains through the streets above excited children running around in costumes.
Only two hours from Genoa is the pretty town of Ivrea, which is coated in a thick pile of oranges each March after its legendary orange-throwing fight. Dating back to the Middle Ages in some form, the tradition involves people pelting each other with oranges across town, and it is a great deal of fun to both watch and participate in. It can get pretty wild, and you definitely don’t want to be wearing your good clothes for this one! Way more fun than paintball.
In the hills behind San Remo, lies the Mushroom Restaurant. Not its real name, of course, that’s Ca Mea, but the Mushroom Restaurant is what it is called by all yacht crew who have found their way there over the years for Sunday lunch. This rustic taverna sitting over a rushing river is marked by the huge mushroom sculpture out the front. It’s a hint of what’s to come, as you sit down at a long wooden table in a cosy, yellow-walled room adorned with pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, and watch as the owner brings you out a seemingly endless succession of mushroom-inspired dishes.
This is life in wintertime Liguria, and it is good.
