Why La Spezia Italy is a Must See

          The city of La Spezia, Italy is beautiful and underrated, in my eyes.  My husband an I recently stayed there while visiting Cinque Terre.  We spent the first full day in that region in La Spezia.  We were originally planning to go to one of the Cinque Terre villages but later decided to just see La Spezia for the first day because as soon as we arrived, it looked so unexpectedly amazing.  If you are visiting Cinque Terre, La Spezia is a really good place to stay.  It has more affordable hotel options and more food nearby.  Businesses stay open later and you can take a super convenient and short train ride to the villages.  

Beautiful Architecture

          The most amazing aspect of La Spezia is the architecture.  It’s full of super colorful buildings.  Some of them feel like they have a Parisian feel, others are multicolored.  Some have stripes and some are painted intricately.  La Spezia kind of feels like a big sister or parent city to the Cinque Terre villages, which totally makes sense. 

Our hotel

Food

          Like almost everywhere in Italy, you can find great food in La Spezia.  I didn’t buy a ton of food in this city but I did get this amazing Gelato, fried seafood, and take-out pizza.  All of them were pretty great.  Back to the take-out pizza, it was surprising to find that in Italy.  It was super convenient after a long day in Cinque Terre, being able to walk one block from the hotel and bringing the pizza back to the room.  

Historical Structures

          This 14th century castle is one example of a historical site that you can find here.  Castello San Giorgio has been turned into a museum and you can tour it.  We didn’t get a chance to do that but we did see it from the outside.  La Spezia is a super old city so a good portion of the buildings are historical, like much of Europe.  You can find dozens of old churches as well.  

Mountain Views

          La Spezia is in a region with lots of little mountains, right near the sea.  All of the colorful buildings, sprinkled across the hills is such a beautiful site.  If you are wanting to find the perfect lookout spot, here it is. You can take stairs up to the top of this hill or you can take the free cable car.  I definitely recommend the cable car.  It’s free, super convenient, and fun! First you take an elevator up one level, then you can get on the cable car.  There was hardly anybody there when we went, so you don’t have to worry about crowds either.  

Sea Views

          This city is right on the sea and there are tons of boats and marinas that add to the ambiance.  I love marinas so that is a big plus for me.   La Spezia is also a major Italian navy base so that is a big part of why boats are such a significant aspect of this city.  You can take ferries from La Spezia and do other types of boat tours and excursions.