Itinerary of 3 stages

Best way to visit Cinque Terre

• Type: tour

• Duration: 3 days 

• Stages: 5

• Difficulty: medium

• Season: summer

Cinque Terre is an Italian wonderful place, known by all of us. But not everybody knows the best way to visit Cinque Terre!

What is Cinque Terre exactly?

It is an area in the coastline in the North of Italy, precisely in Liguria in the province of La Spezia. It can be translated in English as “five lands” because it refers to 5 wonderful villages that characterize this beautiful place: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia; Manarola and Riomaggiore. They extend along a stretch of jagged coastline of about 10 km and are set in nature in a hilly terraced area of dry stone walls with vineyards and olive groves. 

How to get to Cinque Terre

The closest airports to Cinque Terre are Genova, Pisa, Milan and Florence. Once you have arrived you can reach Cinque Terre from any of these cities, the best is by train but you can also go by bus or car. 

If you are in Rome you would take the train from Rome to La Spezia. The closest airport is in Pisa and also there you can check the train. 

How to get around Cinque Terre 

Basically you can use three ways to move from one village to another : you can walk, take the boat or the train.

- If you decide to visit Cinque Terre by boat you can rent a little private boat in order to enjoy the beautiful place and coast in privacy and quietly. Furthermore you can reach the villages by ferry that starts in March and continues until the end of October.  

- If you decide to go by train, it is really easy because each village has a train station in the center. The only little village that has the station outside the center is Corniglia, so if you want to visit it you have to take the bus that will leave you at the station and then you can visit this cute place. During the season with a lot of tourists, from March to November, the runs are added in order to allow the trip for everyone. The ticket of the train costs 5 euro and it is free if you get the “Cinque Terre card + Train”.

- There are hiking trails along the Costa connecting all the villages. It is recommended to purchase the “Cinque Terre card + Train” that gives you all the access to hiking trails with unlimited train runs.

Stages of the itinerary around Cinque Terre:

• Day 1 Monterosso

• Day 2 Vernazza 

• Day 2 Corniglia 

• Day 3 Manarola

• Day 3 Riomaggiore 

Day 1

Monterosso

Monterosso is considered the biggest and largest of the five villages of Cinque Terre. This village is in the north of the Ligurian coast and is located on hills, obviously it has amazing and beautiful beaches with a crystal sea. 

Monterosso is decided in two by the medieval tower of Aurora. One of these two parts is the medieval one and it is characterized by multicolored houses and typical streets with ruins of the castle. Monterosso is almost flat and is ideal for those who don’t want to climb a lot of stairs…so it is perfect for lazy people!

There is an interesting hiking trail to explore this spectacular coastline from Monterosso to Vernazza. The duration of this hiking trail is 2 hours. 

Day 2 (morning) 

Vernazza

You will spend the morning exploring the pretty town Vernazza that is considered the most picturesque village at Cinque Terre.

Vernazza is a one-street town with a church built on the water. The street is full of shops, tourists and restaurants. It is regarded to see the castle with the remains of the old wall protected against enemies. 

Day 2 (afternoon)

Corniglia

You can start the hiking trail from Vernazza ( one hour and 30 minutes) and you will arrive in Corniglia. This is the smallest of the five villages and also the least accessible. Corniglia is located in the center of the Cinque terre National Park, 100 meters above the sea. If you want to arrive in Corniglia you have to climb the Lardania staircase with 382 stairs or take the bus from the train station. It is a Roman village that is surrounded by vineyards and stone terraces. 

Day 3 (morning)

Manarola

With rainbow coloured houses and with street cuts right through the village, Manarola is a really cute place. This is the perfect place to spend a lazy day sunbathing and watching people jumping off the cliffs.

Day 3 (afternoon)

RiomaggioreRiomaggiore is situated just two minutes from Manarola, is the most southern village of Cinque Terre. It is characterized by the typical stone houses with coloured façades while they are climbing up along the coast. There is a little harbor filled with colorful boats and the Main Street: Via Colombo. You can finish this holiday capturing the sunset sitting on the rocks by the harbor in Riomaggiore!    

Marta Mancioli