Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Bristol Palace, Genoa
Facts in brief
Official star rating 5
Location On Via XX Settembre, a few minutes' walk from Piazza de Ferrari and San Lorenzo Cathedral.
Annual opening All year
Closest airport Genoa Cristoforo Colombo
Distance from airport 20 minutes by car
Closest railway station Genova Brignole
Distance from railway station 15 minutes by car
Hotel facilities and services
Giotto Restaurant with summer terrace, Old Fashion Bar, White Bar, 24hr reception, multilingual concierge, room service, valet parking, luggage storage, currency exchange, laundry and dry cleaning service, express check-in and check-out, and Wi-Fi.
Complimentary
Wi-Fi
Out and about nearby
Genoa's Piazza de Ferrari, with its striking 1936 bronze fountain and the neoclassical Palazzo Ducale, is an easy 10 minute walk from the hotel, as is the 12th century San Lorenzo Cathedral, whose treasury holds remarkable religious relics. Via Garibaldi — the UNESCO World Heritage-listed former "Golden Street" — is within fifteen minutes' walk, flanked by 42 aristocratic palaces including the Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Rosso, whose collections include works by Caravaggio. The mediaeval Caruggi lanes, winding between the waterfront and Piazza de Ferrari, are full of independent shops and traditional food vendors, offering a close-at-hand taste of local Genoese life. The revitalised Porto Antico, redesigned by Renzo Piano, is a short stroll from the hotel and is home to one of Europe's largest aquariums and the Galata Maritime Museum — the largest of its kind in the Mediterranean. Further afield, the former fishing village of Boccadasse, with its colourful stacked houses and pebble beach, is around 15 minutes by taxi along the Corso Italia seafront promenade, and the iconic Ligurian Riviera village of Portofino is reachable in approximately thirty minutes by car. For a full-day excursion, the five UNESCO-listed clifftop villages of the Cinque Terre can be reached by train in around an hour and a quarter.
Sports nearby
Watersports, hiking, and cycling.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code IE808
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Bristol Palace, Genoa
Opened in 1905 and designed by Italian architect Dario Carbone — who also shaped much of the surrounding Via XX Settembre boulevard — the Hotel Bristol Palace is one of Genoa's most celebrated Belle Époque buildings. The hotel's signature feature is its grand elliptical marble staircase, fitted with wrought-iron Liberty-style bannisters and crowned by a stained-glass domed skylight; frescoed ceilings, stucco walls, and Napoleon III–style drawing rooms complete a setting of considered historic elegance. The 133 rooms and suites are each individually designed, with bright white-and-yellow panelled walls, natural wood floors, and high ceilings; a number of the grander categories feature valuable antiques and whirlpool tubs. Dining centres on the Giotto Restaurant, an elegant frescoed room on the second floor serving refined Italian, Ligurian, and Mediterranean cooking at breakfast, lunch, and dinner; from April to September, the restaurant opens onto a shaded terrace. The Old Fashion Bar offers light lunches and snacks throughout the day, and the White Bar serves cocktails until midnight. The hotel sits in Genoa's San Vincenzo district, with the Palazzo Ducale, Carlo Felice Theatre, and San Lorenzo Cathedral all within comfortable walking distance.
Room descriptions
The Hotel Bristol Palace in Genoa has 133 rooms and suites, each with free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, safe, LED TV with Sky channels, desk, hairdryer, minibar, and bottled water replenished daily.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code IE808
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Bristol Palace, Genoa
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to the Hotel Bristol Palace, fly directly to Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport, which is around 20 minutes from the hotel by taxi. It is also possible to travel by train — Genova Brignole station is 15 minutes from the hotel, with direct connections from across Italy and Switzerland, and a daily Nightjet overnight service from Vienna and Munich. We can arrange transfers from the airport or station, or the hotel is an ideal starting point for a self-drive touring holiday along the Ligurian Riviera.
Additional information
Children: The Hotel Bristol Palace welcomes families, with Triple rooms, Junior Suites, and Suites accommodating multiple bed configurations; cots are available on request. Children's menus are offered at the Giotto Restaurant.
Everything was extremely well organised.Mr P, May 2025
From about
Holiday Code IE808
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to Hotel Bristol Palace, Genoa
About Ligurian Riviera
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to the Italian Riviera incorporates the stretch of coast from the French border in the west to La Spezia in the east. This region has been long famed for its gloriously mild climate, its luxuriant vegetation of vines, olives, lemons, olives, cypress, pines, bougainvillaea and roses, and its colourful fishing villages of gaily-painted shuttered houses nestling on cliff-sides and in coves. To the west of Genoa the road along the coast forms a corniche with fishing villages, resorts and fruit orchards, this part of the coast being known as the ‘Riviera dei Fiori' as its mild climate encourages abundant flowers, notably roses and carnations. To the east of Genoa the coastline of the Ligurian Riviera is more rugged with promontories such as the Portofino peninsula, renowned for its graceful beauty, sheltered coves, wide bays and larger resorts. Inland, seemingly a world removed from the coast are greenish-grey rugged mountains and hill towns, ruined castles and fast flowing streams. There are abundant chestnut woods and remote valleys, caverns and grottoes and interesting little churches. The Ligurian Riviera is a delightful holiday region where the emphasis is on stylish and tasteful rest and relaxation.
Highlights of the Ligurian Riviera
There are numerous places of interest on and around the Ligurian Riviera. Visit the resort of Nervi with the collection of clocks, fabrics, furniture and lace in the Villa Luxoro and its Galleria d'Arte Moderna. Genoa, a busy port and bustling city, also has fine palaces such as the Palazzo Reale and the Palazzo Bianco and the fascinating Steglieno Cemetery, full of elaborate tombs. The wild beauty of the Cinqueterre should be seen from the ancient footpath, the Sentiere Azzurro, which links the coastal villages. The Abbbazia di San Fruttuoso on the Portofino Peninsula can be reached by boat or on foot. In Camogli sea shells adorn the house walls and the castle contains a display of sea creatures. Flower market in Sanremo early mornings. Giardino Hanbury near Ventimiglia. Diano Marino known for its olives and sandy beaches. Visit Andora Castello, inland from Alassio, known as the finest mediaeval building on the western Riviera.
Cultural highlights of the Ligurian Riviera
The 12th Century Church of San Matteo in Genoa, with its striped black and white Gothic facade. The 16th Century Via Garibaldi in Genoa, designed by Cantone. The `Adoration of the Magi` by Joos van Cleve in the Church of San Donato in Genoa. Crucifixion by Van Dyck in the Church of San Michele di Pagana between Santa Margherita and Rapallo.
Festivals in the Ligurian Riviera
Festivals include the Blessing of the Fish in Camogli in May and the Stella Maris procession of boats to the Punta della Chiappa in August. Procession at Montallegro, above Rapallo, is held at the beginning of July. La Spezia holds a `Festa del Mare` on first Sunday in August.
Gastronomy in the Ligurian Riviera
Local cuisine is influenced by the sea in particular and the mountains to the north. Local specialities include dishes made with pesto for example Trenette al Pesto and Farinata which is a flat bread of chickpea flour and oil, thin like a pancake and eaten as a snack. Pansoti with walnut sauce is a Ligurian speciality of spinach and egg filled pasta with a sauce of nuts, garlic, herbs, ricotta and olive oil.
