In a nutshell
- La Spezia is often overlooked because of its proximity to Cinque Terre — but the city is actually really beautiful and well worth a visit!
- In this article you’ll find everything you need to know about things to do in La Spezia: top attractions, hotel picks, and the best day trips.
- Don’t miss the harbor promenade and the Thaon di Revel Bridge — and make sure to stroll through the old town too.
- Planning to explore Cinque Terre? La Spezia is the perfect base. We recommend La Casa dei Treni: retro-style rooms, great prices, and a central location.
What You Need to Know About La Spezia
La Spezia is one of the most important port cities in Liguria in Italy.
It’s located between several Italian highlights: Cinque Terre, the Gulf of Poets, and Tuscany are just a stone’s throw away. Because of this, the city is often overlooked — unfairly, we think.
La Spezia is no Rome, but it’s absolutely worth a stroll.
As a final destination, La Spezia isn’t ideal — there are too few sights for that. But as a day trip base, the city is great.
Or as a home base for exploring the other highlights of Liguria. Accommodations in La Spezia are comparatively affordable!
Also read our hotel tips for La Spezia
Orientation: Our Map of Attractions in La Spezia
We’ve marked all six La Spezia attractions on the map above. As you can see, they’re all clustered around the harbor — which makes getting around on foot super easy.
Our 6 Top Attractions in La Spezia
The best things to do in La Spezia are all very close to one another, so you can easily visit them all on foot within a single day.
Old Town
La Spezia’s old town sits between two streets: Via Cavour and Via del Prione. Both run parallel to each other and end at the city park, near the harbor.
You can explore the old town easily on foot. Many buildings are in the Art Nouveau style, and some corners are vaguely reminiscent of downtown Barcelona.
One standout in the old town is the Piazza del Mercato, where La Spezia’s fruit and vegetable market runs every day from 7 AM to 2 PM. Great for a morning wander.
Harbor Promenade
La Spezia’s harbor promenade is called Passeggiata Constantino Morin and runs right along the water.
It’s a lovely palm-lined boulevard with plenty of green spaces, and you stroll along it with views of the boats and ships. It’s not very long — from one end to the other takes about ten minutes — but it’s genuinely one of the nicest spots in the city.
Our tip: At the start of the promenade, you’ll find one of the best fish restaurants in La Spezia — Dai Pescatori. It’s a laid-back bistro where freshly caught fish is served every day and prepared right in front of you. Honestly, the food is delicious!
Ponte Thaon di Revel
Just a few steps past Dai Pescatori is the Thaon di Revel bridge.
It connects the waterfront promenade with the yacht marina and stretches about 160 meters. With its futuristic design, the bridge is one of La Spezia’s most photographed spots.
It makes a perfect extension of your harbor walk, and gives you a chance to admire the luxury yachts docked at the marina.
City Park
La Spezia’s city park runs parallel to the harbor promenade.
There are palm trees and cacti, benches and walking paths, and at the central square stands the equestrian statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy’s national hero.
If you come from the harbor promenade and walk through the park, you’ll find yourself right in the heart of the old town — it’s a really natural way to connect the two.
Castello San Giorgio
Castello San Giorgio is a medieval fortress perched above La Spezia.
If you don’t feel like hiking up the hill, you can take a free elevator from the old town — super convenient.
From the castle walls you get a great panorama of the city and the sea. Inside, there’s also a small archaeological museum displaying finds from the surrounding area.
Admission to the castle and museum costs €6.
Naval Museum
La Spezia’s Naval Museum is the most significant naval museum in Italy — and if you’re into maritime history or technology, it’s seriously impressive.
While the Naval Museum in Venice focuses more on naval history, the one in La Spezia leans toward the technical side. The collection includes underwater weapons, naval equipment, boat models, and old figureheads.
One heads-up: many information panels are in Italian only. But if you’re interested in technology, it’s still well worth a visit.
Admission costs €5.
Hotel Tips for La Spezia
In La Spezia you’ll find places to stay at a genuinely great price-to-value ratio.
It’s absolutely worth basing yourself here and using the city as a launchpad for Cinque Terre and the Gulf of Poets — where accommodation is many times more expensive.
Our favorite in La Spezia is La Casa dei Treni: excellent value, centrally located, and there’s a parking garage right next door.
In our La Spezia hotel tips you’ll find more great options in the city.
Day Trips Around La Spezia
There are so many great places around La Spezia, making it an ideal base for day trips.
Just around the corner, for example, are Portovenere and Cinque Terre. And Tuscany is less than 30 kilometers away.
The following destinations are easy to reach from La Spezia:
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre National Park is right around the corner and is usually the main reason visitors come to La Spezia in the first place.
The easiest way to reach the five villages is by taking the Cinque Terre Express — a little local train that departs from La Spezia’s main station every 30 minutes and stops at each village. The first stop, Riomaggiore, is just ten minutes away.
Alternatively, you can reach Cinque Terre by boat. Ferries and speedboats depart daily from La Spezia’s harbor:
Book the speedboat tour to Cinque Terre
Book the Cinque Terre boat trip with snorkeling
Lies auch:
Portovenere
Portovenere is another must-see when you’re in La Spezia.
It’s considered a kind of sixth Cinque Terre village, even though it’s not officially part of the national park. It’s at least just as beautiful, though.
From La Spezia, you can easily reach Portovenere by ferry. Line 01 departs from the harbor several times a day; the trip takes about 45 minutes. You can also get there by bus — line P11 departs from Piazza Chiodo at the harbor every 20 minutes and the ride takes about 35 minutes.
Or go all in and take a guided boat tour through the Gulf of Poets that also stops in Portovenere:
Book the boat tour through the Gulf of Poets to Portovenere
Lies auch:
Pisa
The Tuscan border is only a few kilometers from La Spezia. The first Tuscan city you reach is Pisa.
Pisa is perfect for a day trip: not too big, not too small, and about an hour away by car, bus, or train. In a single day you can comfortably see the Leaning Tower and all the other major highlights.
A bus runs daily from La Spezia to Pisa and back:
Book the round-trip transfer from La Spezia to Pisa
Florence
Florence is a good two hours from La Spezia, but it’s absolutely worth the trip.
You can see a handful of attractions in Florence in a day, but if possible, we’d really recommend spending at least one night in Florence. There’s simply too much to see to rush through it.
You can also get from La Spezia to Florence easily by bus:
