Discover five picturesque villages on the cliffs in the Cinque Terre
An unforgettable destination during your road trip in Italy: the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is a beautiful natural Mediterranean area on the coastal strip, which is 10 kilometers long. The area includes five ancient fishing villages with breathtaking sea views: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Due to the popularity of the destination in high season, I have some great tips to get as much as possible out of your visit in the Cinque Terre!
The five fishing villages of the Cinque Terre
The five fishing villages are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. I will describe below what is unique about each village! Depending on the length of your visit, you could visit all the villages. With a high travel pace, it should be possible to see all the villages within one day. However, I would definitely not recommend this! We stayed one night in Riomaggiore and visited a total of three villages (Vernazza, Corniglia and Riomaggiore). Of course, it was also possible to visit all five villages, but we decided to take it slow. Manarola was definitely on our list, but because of the heat and the huge hordes of tourists, we decided to head back to our campsite near La Spezia on day two!
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Riomaggiore is the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre, the first stop by train from La Spezia. The village is characterized by characteristic narrow streets and towering cliffs. Admire the beautifully colorful buildings and enjoy the sunset from the rocks located in the sea. This is an unforgettable experience!
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Manarola, perhaps the most photographed village, is unique in that the houses almost seem to hang against the cliffs. Walk along the official footpaths connecting the villages to a beautiful viewpoint for a breathtaking view of Manarola.
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Corniglia is located at the top a cliff and is surrounded by vineyards. The village is unique in that there is no direct access to the sea. The village offers a very nice view of the coastline! Once you arrive in the village, I would recommend walking a bit out of the village to enjoy a nice view from the vineyards (to do this, walk slightly past Terra Rossa wine&food wine bar to enter the vineyards here). To visit Corniglia, you have to climb 382 steps. Fortunately, there is also a shuttle bus that can take you up, as we found this climb really too tough in the enormous heat.
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Vernazza is a charming village known for its picturesque harbor and pastel-colored houses built against the rocks. To the right of Vernazza runs the hiking trail to Monterosso. Walk a bit in this direction for a great view of Vernazza! Only a small proportion of tourists are sporty enough to walk up that steep hill for a while, but it is well worth it!
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Monterosso al Mare is the largest village of the Cinque Terre. This village is ideal for a nice afternoon or day at the beach due to its beautiful sandy beaches. In the other villages in the Cinque Terre, it is only possible to swim from the cliffs or rocks. I would skip this village if you only have one or two days to visit the Cinque Terre.
The ideal two-day schedule to see the most of the Cinque Terre!
First of all, it is important to choose which village you want to stay in. We chose Riomaggiore because of the Airbnb we had found with a beautiful view. In addition, it is good to know that all the villages can be reached very quickly and easily by train. The trains leave with great regularity (at least 4/5 times per hour) in the summer. It is also possible for sports enthusiasts to reach the villages via hiking trails. This makes for a beautiful and unique experience, as only a handful of tourists walk these trails.
Here is an ideal schedule with a clear map of the villages in the Cinque Terre.
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Take the train from La Spezia toward the Cinque Terre. Try to leave as early as possible to get a little ahead of the biggest crowds. We stayed at a campground near La Spezia. We were expecting a lot of crowds, but not such a huge chaos. So we spent a lot of time finding a parking spot in La Spezia for our car.
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Get off immediately in Riomaggiore to bring your bags/coffers to your hotel/airbnb here or take advantage of the opportunity to have your belongings stored at a storage facility next to the train station for a fee. This option is not available in all villages, so find out well in advance!
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Take the train to Corniglia before you can check into your hotel or Airbnb. Climb the 400 steps or take the shuttle bus up. The shuttle bus is only available to tourists with a Cinque Terre Train card (see below for more information). On the train ride back towards Riomaggiore, you can still choose to get off at Manarola (depending on time).
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In Riomaggiore, enjoy the beautiful sunset from the rocks in the sea. It takes some climbing and clambering, but the view is well worth it! After dark it gets a lot quieter in all the villages in the Cinque Terre. Most of the tourists have left by then by train. We got up at 7 o'clock in the morning to go and enjoy Riomaggiore in peace and quiet. We really found it a great added value to spend the night in the Cinque Terre in high season to be able to enjoy the beautiful villages in silence as well!
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Check out and leave your bags / suitcases back at the hotel or at the paid storage at the train station. Then take the train to Vernazza. This is where you end your visit to the Cinque Terre! If you have not visited Manarola on day one, it is also possible to stop here before picking up your belongings in Riomaggiore and traveling back to La Spezia. We wanted to do the hiking trail between Manarola and Riomaggiore, but unfortunately the trail was closed due to maintenance. This does seem to be the most beautiful walking route in the Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre Card
Basically, visiting the Cinque Terre is free. You only pay money for using the train or walking on the official hiking trails. Before visiting the Cinque Terre, buy your tickets online to avoid the huge lines at La Spezia for train tickets. A one-way train ticket between two villages costs €5 for adults. So it is soon more economical to purchase a Cinque Terre Card. The Cinque Terre Trekking Card gives access to all walking trails (€7.50 for one day and €14.50 for two days. The Cinque Terre Train card gives access to the hiking trails and unlimited travel on the Cinque Terre Express trains on the Levanto - Cinque Terre - La Spezia line (€18.20 for one day and €33 for two days). You can purchase the tickets through this website. The card also offers other benefits, such as discounts and free toilet visits.
How to get to the Cinque Terre?
Pack fromLa Spezia or Levanto take the train to the Cinque Terre. La Spezia is about a four-hour drive from Lake Como. In addition, the Cinque Terre is also easily accessible by train from Milan (3.5 hours), Genoa or Pisa (less than one hour) or even Florence (two hours). Italy has an excellent train network, making the Cinque Terre easy to reach from several places.
Stay overnight
We stayed at Camping River near La Spezia. A great campsite, but very old sanitary facilities. In Riomaggiore we stay in onebeautiful Airbnb with phenomenal views!
Continue your journey
From La Spezia you continue your road trip viaPisa to the beautifulFlorence!
