Valli del genovesato.
The valleys along greater Genoa, which stretch towards the Apennines along the Scrivia, Bisagno, Polcevera, Stura and Leira streams, are dotted with villas and patrician buildings that were erected in centuries past by the city's most influential noble and bourgeois families, who loved to vacation in them. To this day, the peaceful small villages, the mild climate of these hills, and the beauty of the landscapes, attract a good deal of tourists. During the fall, the area's many forests team with mushroom and chestnut gatherers.

Several places, such as the Gorzente Lakes, the Praglia Plains, and the foothills of the Monte Antola are perfect for long strolls, bicycle or horseback excursions, and gastronomic tours, during which one may savor the excellent local cuisine and products, such as Sant'Olcese salami. Both the remote and recent history of Genoa's environs may be discovered along the old roads that formerly linked the port of Genoa to the regions of the Po Valley on the other side of the Apennine mountain range, through the Scoffera, Turchino, and Bocchetta passes.