Rick is a champion of Cinque Terre, flying open jaws (I'm doing a first rip 3/1:Rome~3/17:Milan), and staying overnight to experience a place with the locals after (tourist) hours. But Rick is oddly silent about Genoa, an obvious stop from C-T to a Milan departure flight. From what I've read (in LP, LG, RG), Geno's Old Town maze of narrow streets sounds fascinating ..BUT the guidebooks also advise tourists to stay away from parts or all of it after shops close each day (late afternoon? and Sat/Sun?) ..which sort of defeats my reason to visit.
Since our flight departs mid-Monday, that dictates a Milan hotel Sunday, which puts us in Genoa Saturday (from C-T Friday). I'd rather not flirt with the broad daylight experience my son had in a major plaza in Athens: a group of men casually approached with "you can give us your camera, or you can go to the hospital" (while locals looked the other way). He was OK, but has NO photos of a month in Greece/Turkey! If this is an issue in 'funky' Genoa, then I need to rethink my interary: skip 'Saturday' Genoa, or do C-T earlier and end at Milan from Venice side instead.