Adapted from: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/planning-visit-cinque-terre
Tips:
Definitely pre-book tickets as this is a highly coveted tourist destination. The train is likely to be highly crowded.
Bring tons of water and sunscreen for hydration.
Buy Cinque Terre Card for access to the Cinque Terre Park.
The Italian Riviera is replete with rugged coastline, quaint towns and villages, but the five fishing communities of the Cinque Terre are its most popular highlight.
Tucked away in a particularly mountainous kink at the eastern end of the Italian Riviera, the villages of the Cinque Terre were shaped by their profound isolation. Set amid some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, these iridescent and vivid towns can bolster the most jaded of spirits. Sinuous paths traverse seemingly impregnable cliff sides, and a 19th-century railway line that's cut through a series of coastal tunnels moves people from village to village. Cars have been banned within the villages for more than a decade.
The five villages are no longer the isolated hamlets they once were, but there’s still a feeling of authenticity here, with few roads, perfectly preserved architecture and a network of stunning coastal and mountain trails. Additionally, it is an independent development untouched by decadent modern culture.
We explored CInque Terre from furthest to nearest to La Spezia Train Station - in the order of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
The Blue Path Trail
The ‘Sentiero Azzurro’ or the Blue Path Trail, spanning the length of all five villages, is the longest and the most renowned trails in the Cinque Terre. The Blue Path Trail provides hikers with enough room to savor the trail as well as take in the rich heritage of the villages along the path. You can head from Monterosso to Riomaggiore down south or the other way round, up north; however, first time hikers are recommended to commence from Riomaggiore and further move up so that they can choose to skip paths and hop onto trains as the difficulty level increases.
We completed the Monterosso to Vernazza trail (~3km) within 1.5 hours and it was definitely quite steep and an “intermediate” trail at parts. Lovely viewpoints along the way, but if you aren’t looking for something strenuous, you can just do the first 500m and head back to relax.
There are also tons of souvenir shops, and alleyways you can wander around, and there’s this really cool pesto place called Baico Pesto Lab which proffers a bunch of interesting sauces.
As always, thank you so much for joining me on this adventure - and I look forward to your excursion to the 5 villages. I am certain it wil take your breath away.