Genoa is a safe city for tourists. Safer than Rome , actually. Every Italian city I have visited has visible street prostitution, including some of the smaller art cities like Parma , Arezzo and -- gasp! It's also true that around the expensive hotels of Paris and New York , etc. A great many tourists actually don't realize what they are looking at when they pass by prostitutes, but perhaps in the narrow dark alleyways of Genoa, people tend to be much more observant of their surroundings. It depresses me to see prostitution, but I'm not sure what area of Genova to recommend to people who will be very upset to encounter it.
Then I apologize. I must lead a very sheltered life. I never knew prostitution is legal in Italy , and I've lived here for decades. Every now and then we read of round-ups of prostitutes in Rome , and I believe even their clients can be fined if caught kerb crawling. If it's legal something doesn't add up. Anyway, you learn something new every day. You are not going to tell me drugs are legal as well? Because I know they aren't, not even "soft" drugs.
Actually, since NYC has been so sanitized within an inch of its life , you really will not see prostitutes around the hotels any longer. There are a few pockets where you will find them, but no where near where tourists go - which is sadly usually Times Square for the most part.
Times Square barely has any these days either and it used to be one of the meccas of it. I haven't really noticed them in Rome - or actually anywhere else I've been in Italy - not obvious to me anyway but then I've usually got my rose colored glasses on whenever I'm in Italy.
Happy: I am curious though about the comment that Genoa is safer than Rome for tourists - in what way exactly? I don't consider Rome dangerous for tourists apart from the pickpocketing. To what are you referring when you say this? What do you make of this? Are they kidding me?
