Liguria · Italy
Costa's home port, with the old town of the popes across a footbridge.
Savona's old town faces the cruise terminal: the Duomo and its Sistine Chapel, the Priamar fortress and the Brandale towers. Fornaci beach holds a 2026 Blue Flag, and Genoa is about an hour by train.
See Cathedral
Piazza del Duomo, 0.3 mile
Pope Sixtus IV, who built Rome's Sistine Chapel, began this one in 1481 as his parents' funeral chapel. Weekends are walk-in (10 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 3:30–6 p.m.); weekdays need a group booking three days ahead.
See the Sistine Chapel (opens a new tab)Unwind Beach
Fornaci, 1.2 miles west
Fornaci holds a 2026 Blue Flag. Visit Savona suggests an afternoon on the town's sandy beaches.
See the Blue Flag List (opens a new tab)Taste Local Food
Old town lanes (caruggi)
Farinata is a chickpea flatbread, and Visit Savona says its smell drifts through the old town's lanes. For local produce, the civic market is on Corso Mazzini.
Read About Savona Food (opens a new tab)Explore Museums
Old town
Visit Savona says the Pinacoteca Civica holds the oldest oil on canvas in Italy, plus altarpieces made for Savona's Renaissance popes. The terminal's art walk pairs it with the Brandale towers.
See Visit Savona's Cruise Page (opens a new tab)Costa ships dock at the Palacrociere terminal on Calata delle Vele, opposite the old town, so most visitors walk.
Savona has no airport. Genoa's airport is on the train line to Savona; Albenga's is about 28 miles west.
Parking Savona is the only car park inside the terminal area. A car costs €14 a day (€9 with a disabled badge) and a camper €22, paid on arrival (prices on 22 October 2026). Spaces are limited and booking is required. Staff take your car and keys at the terminal (check that all your bags are out first), and no shuttle is needed. Spaces are open-air.
If you do one thing here
The Genoese built the Priamar in 1542, and it still dominates the old town, about 0.4 mile from the terminal. Visit Savona calls it the city's undisputed symbol; it now hosts events and exhibitions.
Visit Savona's family walk, about 1.5 miles long, links the gardens, the seafront and the fortress.
Savona province records less street crime than Italy as a whole, and the old town is a short walk from the ship.
Crime: Istat, BES dei territori 2025 (Liguria, Table 7), reports per 100,000 residents, 2023; percentages are our sums. Weather: ISPRA normals, Albenga (Aeronautica Militare station) 1981–2010 and Savona Istituto Nautico rainfall 1951–1980. Distances: OpenStreetMap coordinates, straight lines.
Make it part of your voyage
Savona is Costa's home port: find a cruise that sails from here or calls on the way.
At the Palacrociere terminal on Calata delle Vele, run by Costa Crociere. The main quay has two berths and a second quay has one.
Yes. The terminal faces the old town, and the main sights are 5 to 10 minutes away on foot over a pedestrian bridge.
The terminal calls it a flat walk of 20 to 25 minutes. Bus lines 7, 7/ and 30 also link the station and the terminal, and taxis wait at the station exit.
By train to Genova Piazza Principe, about 23 miles away. On the 5 November 2026 sample day, trains took 32 to 63 minutes and cost €6.20 (regional) or €9.50 (Intercity).
Parking Savona, inside the terminal area, charges €14 a day for a car and €22 for a camper, paid on arrival. Booking is required and spaces are limited.
Istat's 2023 figures put pickpocketing reports in Savona province 8% below the Italian rate and robbery reports 19% below it.
The Duomo and Sistine Chapel, the Priamar fortress and the Pinacoteca Civica are all in the old town, 5 to 10 minutes on foot from the terminal. Fornaci beach is about 1.2 miles west.
Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m., no booking needed. On weekdays it opens at the same times for groups of 10 or more who book three days ahead.
Yes. Fornaci holds a 2026 Blue Flag and is about 1.2 miles west of the terminal.
Mild. At Albenga, the nearest official station, highs average 29°C (85°F) in July and August and 12°C (54°F) in January. October is Savona's wettest month.
Savona has none. Genoa's airport station is 27 to 44 minutes from Savona by train, and Albenga airport is about 28 miles west.
Almost only Costa, which runs the terminal: its ships make 554 of the 557 upcoming calls in our schedule. Regent Seven Seas, Marella Cruises and Carnival have one call each.
