The iconic views of ManarolaI’ll never forget the first time I saw it … I was flipping through a travel magazine and there it was, these brightly colored buildings cascading down sheer cliffs leading to incredible turquoise waters. Where is this place? How do you say it? How do I get there? I immediately began researching to find the answers.
You’ve probably seen images of Cinque Terre several times as well, you just didn’t know it. Even as I’m writing this in my living room, an image of Manarola is displayed behind “The Summer Shoe Guide” on one of the BBC News Channels. Cinque Terre is everywhere, especially during the summer months.
So, when my girlfriend decided to come visit me in Switzerland and asked, “Is there anywhere close by that you’ve been wanting to go?” (“close” meaning, reachable by train), I immediately pulled out my travel notebook. My travel notebook contains adventures that I can be ready for at anytime – broken down by: day trips, road trips, trips by train, locations best reached by plane, and of course, local Swiss adventures. I texted her a few suggestions and we landed on Cinque Terre as she had dreamed of going there for years as well.
Let the planning begin! I’ve always been incredibly organized and LOVE planning vacations, so where to start … How do we get there? Where should we stay? How many days should we go? Things to do/Where to eat? And learn how to say, Cinque Terre.
What and Where is Cinque Terre?
So, how do you say it? The literal translation from Italian means, “Five Lands” and is pronounced, CHEEN – kweh TEHR – reh (roll the R’s).
Cinque Terre is located on the northwest coast of Italy in the Liguria region and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is comprised of five small fishing villages perched high on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. The five villages from north to south include: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Each of the villages has a different personality and I’ll explain each one in detail as we explore them below.
But First, How many days do we need and how do we get there?
Length of Stay: 4 days and 3 nights, that seemed to be enough time to do everything on our “wish list.”
How to Get There: (By Train) We were taking the train from Lucerne, Switzerland. We chose the most efficient route (7 hours and 8 minutes) which for the particular day we were leaving had two connections. Lucerne > Arth-Goldau > Milan > La Spezia. Although, I much prefer direct trains, the connections helped break up the time. **If you are taking the train, make sure you reserve seats and when you are finding your seats make sure to be certain of your “cabin” number. We were approached on two separate occasions by travelers that thought we were in their assigned seats but it turns out they had the wrong “cabin” on both accounts. It gets confusing but try and confirm in advance to avoid any confusion.
Once you arrive in La Spezia Centrale, which is the main station for Cinque Terre, you will then need to switch to a Regional Train to reach the villages. La Spezia is a small station, the platform we arrived on was immediately next to the one we needed for the Regional Train.
We bought the “Cinque Terre Train Card” in advance and printed it prior to leaving Switzerland but I read that you can buy tickets and the “Train Card” at the station as well. **If you buy your ticket at the station, do not forget to validate it as they will fine you if you don’t. The “Cinque Terre Train Card” allow you to make unlimited travel on the trains between villages, access to shuttle buses and hiking trails. You have to decide if it is worth it to you for what you have planned – we knew we wanted to visit all the villages and that we didn’t want to wait in line to buy tickets every time.
(By Plane) If you’re flying in from far away, the best option is probably Milan as it’s about a 3 hour train ride to La Spezia. If you are closer, the best option is Genoa or Pisa as both are about a 1 hour train to La Spezia.
I read that the worst way to explore Cinque Terre is by car so avoid it if at all possible.
Where to Stay?
We knew we wanted to see all 5 villages during our stay but we wanted a “home base” so we weren’t hauling our bags from one hotel to the next. All villages are easily accessible by train, so no need to do that.
So where to start? First thing I always do when looking for a hotel is refer to http://TripAdvisor.com and http://Booking.com. I always reference both so that I can compare what one site claims vs. the other. Once on the site, search for the particular area you are looking for ~ be aware the filter defaults to “Best Value.” I always change it to “Traveler Rank” because although I would like the best value, I first want to see what fellow travelers thought were the best hotels in the area.
One thing you’ll notice about Cinque Terre is that there are no big name chain hotels that you would normally find in such highly trafficked areas. There are several options for hotels, just don’t expect to see the big names you typically recognize (Marriott, Hilton, etc.) Beyond the hotel option, locals rent out rooms or apartments as well so you can filter on that option on the websites above or utilize something like, http://airbnb.com.
After doing a good amount of research, we chose Monterosso al Mare as our home base. We chose this location based on the fact that it is the only village with a true stretch of long sandy beach. Monterosso also happens to be the largest of the five villages offering the most hotel options.
Be aware that hotels sell out very quickly in Cinque Terre, especially during high season. There are no massive hotel chains so the hotels are small and rooms go quick! We started our hotel search about two months in advance of our trip and most of the top ranked hotels were already sold out. Additional note, usually when researching hotels, you just plug in dates and the site tells you whether they have availability or not. For this trip, in almost every case, I had to fill out a form and the hotel would then get back to me with availability. Again, no big hotel chains.
We finally landed on a hotel directly across from the beach with air conditioning (Note: Not all hotel rooms in Europe have air conditioning) and a room for triple occupancy.
OK, now to the good stuff ... Exploring the five villages
We chose to stay in the northernmost village of Monterosso al Mare and work our way south. As a reminder, the five villages from north to south include: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The Regional train makes it incredibly efficient to travel between villages.
Monterosso al Mare
Monterosso is the largest of the five villages and the only village with a true stretch of long sandy beach. Some of the other villages have smaller beaches with gravel or pebbles but we were looking for the real thing. It was a perfect home base for us as we were looking forward to relaxing on the beach, indulging in fabulous Italian food and wine and simply exploring the colorful winding streets.
Highlights of our time in Monterosso:
* Spend a bit of time simply exploring the colorful streets of Old Town and checking out the local shops
* Sample local food and wine. Don’t miss out on trying a “Lemon Spritz” which is made with the local Limoncino which is produced in the northwest region of Italy (It is the same as Limoncello which is produced in the south of Italy) and the local Cinque Terre wines. Wine making has been a crucial part of the history of Cinque Terre and the vineyards on the cultivated terraces make this stretch of coastline so unique.
* Rent a beach chair and classic striped umbrella while soaking up the sun, staring out into the turquoise waters of the Italian Riviera. Beaches themselves are free but if you are looking for a bit more comfort, we found that two sunbeds and a beach umbrella on average was 25 euro/day.
* Enjoy a fabulous dinner with outstanding views at “Torre Aurora”. Torre Aurora was the only outstanding meal we had in Monterosso. I cannot personally recommend any others but I did read that Restaurant Miky and L’Ancora della Tortuga are excellent as well.
* Take a short walk overlooking the sea, up to the monument of San Francesco d’Assisi and the Cemetery of Monterosso
(Unfortunately, we were unable to see the famous landmark “Il Gigante” an image of Neptune as it was completely under scaffolding while being restored)
Vernazza
Vernazza, with it’s lovely harbor and pastel colored houses is considered to be the most beautiful and quaint villages in all of Cinque Terre. It has a certain charm that makes it feel more like an authentic fishing village than the others.
We were on a sunset boat tour (more on that later as it was a highlight of our trip) so we didn’t get to spend much time in Vernazza but for the time we were there, I can tell you that I loved it!
It is THE perfect place to watch the sun dance across the colorful facades in the main square. Have a meal of Ligurian specialties, grab a gelato and listen to live music in the square. Gaze up to see locals leaning on their windowsill listening to the music as the sun dips into the sea. It is a magical place to end the day.
Highlights of our time in Vernazza:
* We took a sunset boat tour that left out of Monterosso that passed by all five of the pastel colored villages, stopping in Vernazza for a light meal. It was one of the highlights of our trip, although I do wish it lasted a bit longer as our time in Vernazza felt a bit rushed. With that said, I’d still do it again.
Corniglia
Corniglia, the middle of the 5 villages … small, quiet, easygoing and has a reputation for being the hardest to get to. The ferry stops at all of the five villages except for Corniglia as it is the only one without a harbor. Don’t let that stop you, it is still easily accessible by regional train. Once you arrive, it is your choice whether you want to brave the 380 steps up to the village or take the shuttle bus. We opted for the shuttle bus as we were short on time. We visited Cinque Terre at the end of June and the shuttle bus lines were bearable but I’ve heard that in the middle of summer that the lines get quite long. You’ve been warned … I suggest going in the morning or at the end of the day when all the tourists have retreated back to their hotels for the evening.
Highlights of our time in Corniglia:
* We only spent a couple hours in Corniglia but enjoyed our time wandering through the colorful streets. We settled in to a restaurant in the main square of Piazzetta di Largo Taragi, located just below the Oratorio of Santa Caterina. There are several other very quaint restaurants but they’re tiny so they fill up quite fast.
Manarola
Manarola, one of the most romantic and charming villages in Cinque Terre. A maze of cobblestone streets, colorful houses and narrow alleyways lead down to the beautiful views of the harbor. Main street is scattered with boats that are pulled in when the sea is rough, opening up into a lovely little piazza with seafood restaurants.
Manarola, said to be the oldest village in all of Cinque Terre is probably the most well known and photographed village in all of Cinque Terre. It was the iconic photo that I’ve seen in all of the travel magazines and it was the village I was most excited to see. I am happy to report, that my experience in Manarola exceeded all my expectations!
Highlights of our time in Manarola:
* I cannot speak highly enough of the pesto making class we took at “Nessun Dorma.” From the spectacular views overlooking the colorful houses of Manarola to the passionate direction provided by the owner of the restaurant. I have an additional blog post focused solely on this experience. You can find it here.
Riomaggiore
Last stop, heading south in Cinque Terre is Riomaggiore. Riomaggiore is the closest of the five villages to La Spezia and the train station. La Spezia is the main train station you arrive in prior to swirtching to the regional train. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to visit this village but we did have a spectacular view of Riomaggiore from our sunset boat tour.
Final Thoughts ...
Italy undoubtedly has numerous spectacular sights and I’m so happy that I was able to check this one off my bucket list!
We traveled in late June and I’m very happy that we did not wait until later in the season (July, August) as the weather was already quite hot and was becoming more and more crowded as we departed on our last day.
Hands down, my two favorite activities were:
* Sunset Boat Tour https://www.seabreezeboattours.com/tours/cinque-terre-sunset-boat-tour/
* Pesto Making Class at Nessun Dorma – see separate blog post for details of this experience
https://www.nessundormacinqueterre.com/pestoexperience
* One of the most popular activities in Cinque Terre is hiking. We did not have the opportunity to do any of the hikes but I’ve provided the website for detailed information. Always check the website or ask the tourist information points (located in the train station) which trails are currently open as some are closed due to storms and unstable terrain. https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/footpaths-cinqueterre
I hope you have enjoyed reading my Cinque Terre Travel Diary!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out, if you have any comments or questions.
Cheers!
Jen
