44.425° N, 8.817° E
Complete guide
Pegli beach: beach guide
What the beach is like
Pegli beach lies in the municipality of Genoa (Genova), in Liguria, and faces the Ligurian Sea. The Pegli district faces the sea with a stretch of beach and with some of the infrastructure of the port of Genoa, the oil port and part of the port of Pra'. In an ordinance dated 30 April 2026, the Comune di Genova designates the Lungomare Pegli bathing area, 706 metres long. This stretch of coast is a gravel and pebble beach in front of the road and the densely populated built-up area of Genova Pegli.
The Pegli shoreline is made up of pebbles of various sizes, while there are rocky outcrops in the western part. Among the rocky outcrops is the Pria Pula, formed by three rocks that break the surface not far from the shore, named after its shape, which recalls a young hen, pula in Ligurian. The Pria Pula nearly disappeared when the breakwater of the port of Pra' was built and now lies inside the harbour basin. Unlike other parts of western Genoa, central Pegli has kept its view of the sea, with its seafront and its beach. After the Second World War, harbour infrastructure took over the district's shoreline on both sides, leaving only a stretch of beach of about 1.5 km in front of the central area, between the mouth of the Varenna and the castello Vianson.
The castello Vianson, built in 1907, is a neo-Gothic building rising sheer above the rocks at the western end of the seafront. The castello Chiozza is a neo-Gothic villa with a tower on the beach, built around 1880 on the remains of the Lomellini fort. In the centre of the district, piazza Porticciolo looks onto the beach, with a large marble statue of Garibaldi unveiled in 1908. The large dome of the church of S. Maria Immacolata is a defining feature of the view along the seafront.
According to Wikipedia, the railway helped make Pegli the first Ligurian resort of international renown. From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War, wealthy families from northern Italy came to Pegli in summer for sea bathing. At the end of the nineties, ahead of the 2001 G8 summit, the seafront promenade was partly rebuilt and lined with ornamental palms.
Getting there
As the crow flies, the centre of Pegli is 0.3 km north-west of the beach and the centre of Genoa 9.5 km to the east. In August 2007 Genoa's public transport company (AMT) reintroduced the Navebus, a sea service that in about 30 minutes links the Pegli promenade, at the molo Archetti, with Genoa's Porto Antico. In its 2026 sheets on the inclusive beaches, the municipality gives the Genova Pegli railway station as 160-170 m from the entrances and lists bus lines 1, 96, 188, 190, 192, 193, 199 and n2. The same 2026 sheets mention car parks in largo Calasetta and at the molo Archetti, including spaces reserved for people with disabilities holding the European disability badge.
When to go
Judging from the orientation of the coast, the beach faces south. With the scirocco, the ostro and the libeccio, the wind blows in from the sea and the beach is exposed to waves. With the tramontana, the grecale and the maestrale, the wind blows from land and the beach is sheltered, with calmer water close to shore. The levante and the ponente strike it from the side. This is an indication, not a forecast.
The municipal ordinance set the 2026 bathing season in Genoa from 1 May to 30 September. In 2026 the inclusive beaches on the seafront were open from 15 June to 13 September.
Seabed and sea
The beach is made of pebbles. In the 2025 season the European Environment Agency rated the bathing water quality as sufficient. The municipal ordinance of 2026 also gives the Lungomare Pegli area the class sufficient. In the 2024 season the area had 3 bathing bans, for a total of 10 days. The municipality's information sheet, with data from the 2024 season, warned that bathing was not safe because there was no dedicated lifeguard service, and that neither the limit of safe waters nor that of waters closed to navigation was marked. When the sea is rough, it is best to stay on the shore.
Facilities and free beach
The English Wikipedia describes Pegli as a resort with a seafront promenade, hotels, a campsite and bathing establishments. In 2026 the municipality lists on the seafront the Spiaggia di Pegli 2, at number 19: a free, unequipped sunbathing beach of sand and pebbles, where swimming is allowed, with a walkway down to the shoreline. It is reached from the seafront by a fixed ramp, and places cannot be booked. At number 16 is the Easy Beach, equipped for people with motor disabilities, frail people, the elderly and mothers with children, with 12 places in the 2026 season. The 2026 sheet lists for the Easy Beach umbrellas, raised sunloungers, a changing room, toilets including one for disabled people, a cold shower and a token-operated hot shower. Swimming is shared with the Last Beach, which the Easy Beach adjoins with no real separation between the two areas.
Rules and protected areas
The municipality's information sheet points out that on the strip of beach 3 metres wide from the shoreline only passing through is allowed, and that leaving any object that gets in the way, including beach towels, is forbidden. The same sheet warns that occupying the maritime state property without a concession or authorisation is a criminal offence. In 2026 the municipal ordinance provides for penalties for anyone who breaks the bathing bans.
With children
Among those the Easy Beach is meant for, the municipality's 2026 sheets also include mothers with children. In the 2026 season the lifeguard service at the Easy Beach was scheduled from 4 July to 23 August, from 10.00 to 19.00.
Nearby
The nearest beach is the Spiaggia di Pontile Alfa, 0.6 km to the east, while the Spiaggia di Voltri is 4.9 km to the west. The 2026 ordinance also designates the Multedo bathing area, 263 metres long, from the left bank of the Varenna to the rio Rostan. In the Multedo area, beyond the mouth of the Varenna, only a short stretch of beach has survived, affected by the oil port and the runway of Cristoforo Colombo airport. Wikivoyage suggests the public park of Villa Pallavicini to visitors arriving in Pegli on the Navebus.
Sources
- QualeSpiaggia — open data spiagge (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia (it) — Pegli
- www.comune.genova.it — ORD-163-2026_timbrato.pdf
- www.comune.genova.it — PEGLI_2025.pdf
- OpenStreetMap
- www.comune.genova.it — 4%20Genova%20Sea%20Inclusion_Pegli%202%202026_.pdf
- www.comune.genova.it — 3%20Genova%20Sea%20Inclusion_Easy%20Beach%202026__.pdf
- EEA — Bathing water quality 2025 (IT007010025041)
- Wikipedia (en) — Pegli
- Wikivoyage (it) — Genova