Hello to everyone after my August break!
After the summer break, I decided to start the new Ligurian season with something different! Let’s say something really out of the beaten path!!! From the place where David Bowie stayed!
David Bowie’s fear
I am a great fan of David Bowie and I was really sad when I heard the news about his death in 2016. That’s why I was very surprised when I discovered that he spent a day in Genoa! And immediately I wanted to know something more about his visit! And his visit was connected to his fear of travelling by aeroplane 🙂
David Bowie prefered to move from the US to Europe across the ocean by a ship. And in that period the cruise between New York and Genoa was one of the most popular ways of moving between continents. So in April 1976, Dawid Bowie arrived in Genoa on board of ship Leonardo da Vinci. Genoa was only a short stop for him. Bowie in fact next day was departing to Germany where his tour “Station to station” was starting.
Hotel Columbia
That day Bowie stayed at Hotel Columbia – the most luxury hotel of Genoa in that period. It is still possible to see the pictures of Bowie’s entrance to the hotel’s hall. The journalists of that time told that Bowie was very kind to everybody and he was posing to the pictures with his fans that had been waiting for him next to the hotel entrance.
Hotel Columbia today
Nowadays Hotel Columbia doesn’t exist anymore. However, its building is still here. Now it hosts the Library of the University of Genoa and the entrance to the hall of that super luxurious, ex hotel is totally opened. So anyone can enter it and imagine that these walls saw the White Duke 🙂
But where is located ex Hotel Columbia?
Address: via Balbi 40
Opening hours: 8.00 am – 7.00 pm
It is very easy to find, cause the building is located in the front of Piazza Principe railway station! So especially if you arrive in Genoa by train and you get off on Piazza Principe it could be the first, interesting place to visit in Genoa 🙂 Especially because the building you can visit is very beautiful, richly decorated and really splendid! A nice tip to see! Enjoy! 🙂
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