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Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a coastal region in northwestern Italy made up of five small villages built along steep cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea. The villages—Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore—are connected by trains and hiking trails. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for its colorful buildings, dramatic coastline, and scenic hiking routes.

Quick Hits

Vibe:

Lively coastal villages, hiking and swimming, relaxed feel

Known for:

Pesto, seafood, pastel cliffside houses, dramatic coastal views

Things to do:

Sunset by the sea, hike on coastal trails, swim, soak in the views!

Getting to Cinque Terre

By Plane:

Cinque Terre is a small coastal region that is not accessible by plane.

By Train:

The easiest way to reach Cinque Terre is by train. Most visitors travel through La Spezia Centrale, then take a regional train that stops in each village.

By Car:

Not recommended. Driving into the villages is difficult and parking is very limited. If driving, it's a good idea to leave your car in La Spezia and take the train into the villages.

Getting Around Cinque Terre

The train is the easiest way to move between the villages, usually running about every 15 minutes and stopping in each town. The train ride between each village is less than 5 minutes on average. Hiking trails also connect several of the villages and offer some of the best coastal views in the region.

Where to Stay in Cinque Terre

Monterosso:

By far the easiest to traverse of the five villages. It's mostly flat, with fewer stairs than the other villages. Monterosso is the largest city of the five, and is known for having the best beaches.

Vernazza:

Often cited as being the most picturesque of the five villages, Vernazza has a beautiful harbor and is only slightly more difficult to traverse than Monterosso. We didn't encounter many stairs when we were here, but the whole city is on a slight incline.

Corniglia:

The only city of the five that is not directly on the water. It's the least touristy, but also the hardest to reach. You have to climb almost 400 stairs to reach the city from the train station.

Manarola:

A smaller city that is known for having beautiful sunset views. It's easy to reach from the train station, but most of the city is on a fairly steep incline. Manarola also closes up very early. We visited in the off-season, but when we arrived there at around 8pm, almost everything was already closed.

Riomaggiore:

We stayed here on our visit. This village is known for having the most active nightlife, with places generally staying open much later than in the other villages. Riomaggiore is also easy to access from the train station, but it is the steepest village, with pretty much constant slopes and lots of stairs.

Below is our personal list of places we've been and want to go in Cinque Terre!

Expand the sidebar in the top-left for a map legend.

Lainey ♥ Jacob