Cinque Terre has to be one of the most memorable parts of the world. The pastel buildings of the five fishing villages hugging the steep hills, encroaching into the pristine blue sea as seen in the photo of Manarola at dusk has to be one of the more iconic travel photos ever taken. This is great place for walkers and amateur photographers with the villages linked by a series of hiking paths and amazing scenery at every bend. The five fishing villages (hence Cinque Terre which means five lands) – Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso are in the province of Liguria and part of the area known as the Italian Riviera.
When to visit. We were here in May, an ideal time before the full on crush of the summer tourists. I suspect end September and October would also be good times to visit. Unless you plan on walking a number of trails, a 48-hour stay is probably more than enough to visit all five villages although it may not leave you enough time to savour each one equally.
Where to stay. I highly recommend staying at La Toretta in Manarola (pictures below). While there are larger hotels in towns such as La Spezia near Cinque Terre, I think it was nice to be able to savour staying in one of these villages and having some great local food and watching the sun set without worrying about catching the train or driving back. Because these are small fishing villages, finding a “hotel” or bed & breakfast with a few rooms is not easy so I recommend booking early. La Toretta is family owned boutique hotel with just seven rooms. I’d recommend picking one of the rooms in the main section although there is a larger suite available in a separate structure that is probably suitable for a family to share. The staff were really friendly and helpful (info on walks, restaurant bookings, etc.) and they serve a nice breakfast and tea; the latter is especially welcome after a long walk.
How to get here. We drove here from Tuscany – a relatively relaxed two hour drive from Florence. Just follow the signs on the autostrada toward Pisa – Livorno and then Genoa, turning off at La Spezia. This was probably the only part where we had to be a bit careful as the road leading to Cinque Terre is not as well signed as you drive through La Spezia. Cinque Terre is also relatively easy to reach from Genoa and there are train connections. When we left, we drove straight to Milan, which took us less than three hours. Most of the villages are closed to vehicle traffic but there are parking lots at the top of the village and you are allowed to enter to drop off luggage.
Getting around. The nicest way to get around without walking is by ferry. Except for Corniglia, which is the third village and has no dock, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso are well connected by the local ferries. You can also travel between each village by train. There are limited local bus services and some of these may not run in the late afternoon.
Trail conditions. Because of landslides the coastal trails may be closed from time to time and in the event of bad weather. The trail most tourists walk is the Sentiero Azzuro (trail SVA or #2) which links all five villages via a coastal road that is relatively flat. This trail can be done in one day – basically one to two hours walk between each village. However, portions of this path have been closed for some time. Because these are the shorter and easier trails, they also tend to be the most crowded. The best source of updated information on which trails are open is from the Parco Nazionale dell Cinque Terra website and specifically the Sentiero Azzuro as well good info on the villages, from the In Cinque Terre website.
Bring or buy the right shoes. The trails are quite rocky and steep in parts with uneven steps so a good pair of shoes is recommended. Gym sneakers and running shoes probably have soles that are too thin – it’ll be like having foot reflexology as you walk. As my usual group of travel buddies consist of some master shoppers, we managed to find a fantastic store in Manarola that sells some really nice hiking gear. We bought numerous pairs of Scarpa Mojito shoes at the Cinque Terre Trekking store.
Fresh seafood and great pesto. Liguria is famous for its pesto – it’s the super fresh basil and we had some great pasta with pesto in Cinque Terre. Also the seafood is amazing here with the fish cooked simply with good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
My Itinerary – Day One
15:00 – Trail #6 Manarola to Corniglia – After checking into La Torretta in Manarola, we decided to embark on our first walk. With the Sentiero Azzura path links at Manarola closed, we chose to walk what was then known as trail #6 (now known as #506) to Volastra and onto Corniglia. We knew the first part was steep – but hey…it was straight uphill for almost the first hour until we reached Volastra. For people whose ascents consist of a flight of stairs, this was a very painful but extremely rewarding walk. The views from this trek were far better than what we would see in our subsequent walks. This walk took us around two and a half hours to three hours with numerous stops for photos along the way. We took the 18:30 train back to Manarola from Corniglia.
20:00 – Dinner at Trattoria dal Billy was a highlight of our trip because the owner and his serving staff made it such a fun night for us. We left much of the dish suggestions to the restaurant and weren’t disappointed. The anchovies, sardines and grilled fish was all very fresh and just nicely cooked. You do need to book ahead because this is one of the few decent restaurants in the village. Before leaving on our walk earlier, La Torretta made the reservation for us. Billy’s is open daily for lunch and dinner. Link to Billy’s website.
Day Two – Visiting Vernazza and Monterosso Al Mare
9:30 – After breakfast at La Torretta, a peak into the nearby church and some shopping at Cinque Terre Trekking, we took the 10:50 am ferry to Vernazza. Manarola’s little harbour is quaint, set among some large rocks. The ride itself only takes 15 minutes. We spend an hour or so in Vernazza just walking around. You can climb to the top of the castle for some views of Vernazza although these aren’t as nice as the ones from the trail going to Monterosso.
12:30 – Ristorante Belforte is quite the spot to have lunch in Vernazza. The restaurant occupies an old fort which is one of the first things you’ll notice on arriving at Vernazza. Just like Billy’s, the food here consists mainly of fresh seafood and some good local pasta specialties. The trofie with pesto was good as was the mixed seafood platter. We sat at the top of the fort, and the sea gulls did pay a visit, but a nice cosy spot would be the table for two facing the sea on the “balcony” of the fort. I emailed Belforte to make my reservation ahead of time. Link to Belforte’s website. The restaurant is closed on Thursdays.
14:30 – We walked off lunch by taking the Sentiero Azzuro from Vernazza to Monterosso. Probably the best part of this walk was the portion leaving Vernazza as the trail heads into the hills providing some of the most outstanding views of the village. Since most of this walk is fairly close to the coast, and doesn’t go that high into the hills, we didn’t get the same stunning scenes compared to the Manarola-Volastra-Corniglia walk we did the prior day but this walk is also a lot easier. It’s probably around a one and a half to two hour walk.
Monterosso is the largest village in the Cinque Terre. It would be a good idea to spend the evening here and have a meal as there are more dining choices. In the summer schedule, the ferries stop running at 17:30 but the local train is available. We ended up eating at Billy’s again in Manarola – that’s how much we enjoyed it – but I’d probably dine in Monterosso on hindsight.
17:30 – Otherwise take the last ferry down to Riomaggiore to visit the last or first village (depending on which direction you start from). There are some nice spots in Riomaggiore to watch the sunset and enjoy some drinks. If you need more time in Monterosso and miss the last ferry, the train runs almost every half hour to Riomaggiore. It’s just a 14 minute ride by train.
Watch out for the trains back to Manarola as they may not be as frequent as you think for locations that are very close to each other (these are trains after all and not the subway). Also, the ticket offices are closed and trying to figure out the electronic ticket machines may take some time.
If you have extra time, there are numerous other trails to walk in the area. Also, Cinque Terre is a decent spot from which to make day trips to Portovenere or Portofino.