Grand Hotel Savoia

Countless artists and writers have tried to explain the appeal of Genoa. “The most winding and incoherent of cities,” said Henry James. “Indescribably beautiful, grandiose,” according to the composer Richard Wagner. “A city of marble, with gardens full of roses,” wrote Charles Flaubert, “a beauty that tears the soul.” Emphatic indeed, but the Ligurian capital deserves these kind words, and then some. It’s a grand and glittering destination, one you’ll visit and find yourself talking about for years to come. This isn’t the place to save a euro, it’s a place to live it up, to relish every bite, to order the champagne, to check into a place like the Grand Hotel Savoia. The hotel was built in 1897 by the founder and first president of the Italian Association of Hoteliers — in the years since, it’s hosted royals, politicians, and celebrities from all over Europe.

Befitting Genoa’s role as the principal Italian port on the Mediterranean Sea, the Grand Hotel Savoia takes inspiration from the grandeur and elegance of a transatlantic ocean liner. The antique furniture and heavy drapery evoke the Belle Époque: all 117 rooms and suites are individually decorated, featuring old-fashioned postcards and maps, vintage suitcases, and assorted souvenirs from faraway places, plus parquet floors and bathrooms fitted with marble fixtures and glass mosaics. Standard amenities include LCD televisions and free wi-fi — a perk you won’t find in the middle of the ocean.

You’ll be glad you’re on dry land, anyway, considering the hotel’s location. The Grand Hotel Savoia is just across the piazza from the train station: you’ll linger over breakfast, and perhaps return for a seafood dinner al fresco at Ristorante Salgari, the hotel’s signature restaurant. But in between, you’ll be out and about, reveling in the particular pleasures that great writers have long endeavored to articulate. Stop in to your suite after lunch for a well-deserved riposo — the Italian version of a siesta — or after dinner for a nightcap on the terrace. It’s not quite a garden full of roses, but with lush greenery and picturesque palm trees overhead, it might be considered the modern equivalent.