If ever there was a place that seduced you with just photos of it , this would be Cinque Terre. This place does NOT need to try very hard to look picturesque, it just is. And because of darn said pictures, it made me really, really want to go and see it, and so I did.

The five lovely villages are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. This area is very popular among Americans especially during spring break. I found this out when I was visiting in May several years ago. Do expect large crowds of people eager to enjoy the beautiful sights during the peak seasons.

 

 Setting up Base

Before going, it is prudent to check where to stay as your base town and that depends on whether you have the car with you. The five lovely lands are mainly cliff top villages and therefore car-free zones. As with all Italian towns with car-free-zones , you can expect parking to be expensive and very limited as well.

If you are travelling with the car, I would suggest that you stay at lodgings not in the five villages itself but for example in Levanto  – a nice quieter spot with no problems whatsoever getting to the five villages  by train, ferry or hike. Accomodations are often cheaper too. Best is to check with your hotel for a recommendation where to park.

 

Getting there

Closest airports are in Pisa and Genoa. A bit farther are Florence and Milan. Onward journeys are usually by train.

By train

If you are coming in from Florence trains normally transits in Pisa and takes about 3 hours. Check out the link  http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en  – type in where you are coming from and the To is the city you will be staying at but in case you don’t know yet just put in Riomaggiore which is the first of the five lands.

 

Seeing Cinque Terre

The villages themselves are a major attraction. Who doesn’t appreciate the colourful buildings built upon cliffs and the pretty ocean view from the lovely Italian Riviera out onto the blue Mediterranean waters ?

There are multiple ways to get from village to village , normally people use a combination of  hiking, train and also potentially boats. The latest transportation option is the bus.

What we did was travel from Levanto to Riomaggiore and then made our way from one village to another until we arrived back.

 

By Train:

There are frequent trains going from village to village – you just need to check the train schedules individually to see if it stops at the stop you want to be at. In general the trains run year round which is a real-plus. Some train stations are located at  different height levels of the city itself , which may be a problem for people with mobility issues.  Luckily there are also shuttles that can be taken to get to the city. In general it is not needed if you are reasonably fit.

 

By Boat/Ferry:

I can imagine a boat trip along the Ligurian coast seeing the villages from the sea must be breath-taking. I have not done it due to a lack of time. Its possible to stop in any of the villages except Corniglia which has no beach access. A useful link I found is in this website. Do check the current schedules a lot of the ferry services do not run during the winter months.

Here is the link of a company providing ferry services to the villages – www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it

 

On Foot (Hiking):

With your own two feet and by God’s Grace you shall arrive. There are some lovely paths and foothills with too-beautiful-to-be-described views  along them. Do be aware though some are pretty tough for the not-so-fit. For example I was secretly glad that they closed the Corniglia paths due to land slide.

 

Money saving Passes:

Depending on what you wish to do, it is always a good idea to check out passes that usually provides savings. You can get the passes online or it is also not a problem to get them from tourist information centers available in all villages or train stations. Here is the link for the Cinque terre National Park pass

Bus:

The latest way to get to and from the villages is the Bus. I have never used it before because it started in July 2016 – after my visit : However i can imagine its a good way to see the sights. Here you can check out the bus options

 

The Villages:

Riomaggiore is a charming colourful village – it is a beautiful sight when approached from the sea. This village is the closest to La Spezia but the farthest away from Levanto – and so we started from here and made our way back.

 

 

Don’t miss the Via dell’Amore (The Walk of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola. The path winds by the cliff with the Mediteranean sea view accompanying you throughout the walk. Very unfortunately , this beautiful path is now closed until the projected date of 2021 due to a rock slide incident in 2012.

 

Manarola is the other end of the Via dell’Amore and is as charming as Riomaggiore. On the “beach”, there are plenty of rocks where during the summer months is full of people sun-tanning on the rocks and swimming in its crystal clear waters.  There are also some spots where you can dive into the deep water from the cliffs.

I was completely surprised by the size of anchovies sold here…

 

Corniglia was the only village I missed out on seeing – due to a landslide that prevented the hike. It is the only one of the five without beach access and is perched high atop a cliff. It is also the smallest of the five villages.There is a long flight of stairs up from the train station.

Apparently many visitors also decides to give Corniglia a miss , which makes it quieter than the other villages which is a definite plus for visiting.

Vernazza has two beaches and a nice big square where lots of folks hang out.

 

Monterosso was our last stop and it has the widest stretch of beach of all the 5 villages.

Monterosso

 

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