Is Genoa Safe in May 2026?

The narrow medieval caruggi and the crowded Mercato Orientale food market funnel tourists into tight, distracting spaces where pickpockets work in pairs or groups. One person blocks or jostles you in a doorway or stall while a partner lifts a phone or wallet. The disorienting alley layout means victims often don't notice until they have walked several lanes away.

How to avoid: Carry your phone and wallet in a zipped front pocket or money belt, not a back pocket or open tote. Wear bags across your body and keep a hand on the zip in crowds. Stay alert when someone crowds you in a narrow lane or stall and step into an open space to check your pockets.

Self-appointed 'attendants', who do not own the spaces, control much of the street parking around the Porto Antico museum district and wave drivers into spots before demanding cash. They often work in numbers and intimidate, steering you to a space and then asking for around 5 euros to 'watch' the car. Tourists who refuse have reported their cars being scratched, and police struggle to act because victims rarely file reports.

How to avoid: Use a marked municipal garage or an official pay-and-display machine and ignore anyone who waves you into a space. Pay only the machine and keep the printed receipt; do not hand cash to a person. If someone follows you for money, stay calm, refuse, and park elsewhere or in a staffed garage.

Genoa's main station, Genova Piazza Principe, has underground passageways and platform crowds where thieves target arriving travellers weighed down by luggage. They exploit the press at ticket gates, escalators and the tunnels between platforms to bump you and extract valuables. Both Principe and Genova Brignole stations are flagged as hotspots, with the underground passages at Principe singled out.

How to avoid: Keep bags zipped and in front of you on escalators and in tunnels, and loop a strap around your foot if you set luggage down. Keep your phone and tickets in a secure inner pocket, not loose in your hand. Be extra vigilant in the moments of boarding and alighting when crowds bunch up.

The stretch of old town around Via di Pre, Via della Maddalena and Via del Campo is lively and busy by day but turns into deserted, poorly lit vicoli at night frequented by drug dealers and sex workers. Tourists who wander these alleys after dark, or stray toward the seedier lanes near the waterfront, risk aggressive begging, intimidation, bag-snatching or worse. Locals consistently warn against the isolated alleys closest to the sea at night.

How to avoid: After dark stick to well-populated streets such as Via Garibaldi, Via San Lorenzo, Via Luccoli and Piazza delle Erbe, and avoid the dark side-vicoli toward Pre, Maddalena and Campo. Walk with purpose and don't explore unlit alleys alone late at night. Take a taxi or main, lit routes back to your accommodation.

Unlicensed or unmetered drivers at Cristoforo Colombo Airport and outside the main stations quote inflated flat fares or 'forget' to start the meter, especially for a short hop into the centre. Genuine taxis are white, metered, and there are fixed shared-taxi rates from the airport to Principe and Brignole stations. Riders who don't confirm the meter or fixed rate can pay well above the real price.

How to avoid: Only take white taxis from the official rank and confirm the meter is running and reset before you set off, or agree the published fixed airport rate first. Ignore drivers who approach you inside the terminal or station hall. Consider the cheap Volabus/airport shuttle to the station instead.