A comprehensive guide to help you plan your trip to Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre is made up of 5 villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso Al Mare.
The best time to visit is off season or shoulder season- April/ May/ Sept/ Oct – but it’s open all year round, and they even have fireworks on 8th December – something that’s definitely on my bucketlist (along with the fireworks over Positano on the Amalfi Coast on 15 August!!).
Getting there
Cinque Terre is very accessible in comparison to Amalfi coast – you can fly to Pisa or Genoa and get the train over to the towns. Trains connect to the big cities either side (Levanto and La Spezia) and connect onwards the 5 towns. From Pisa, it’s 1 hour train ride away, from Genoa it’s 2 hour train ride away.
Driving to Cinque Terre is not advised- towns aren’t accessible by car and parking is sparse, especially in peak season (June-August). Monterosso has a parking lot in the town, whereas for the other towns, you’ll need to park up the hills – which fills quickly – or consider paying to leave your car in La Spezia in a parking lot for a few days (you really won’t use it in Cinque Terre).
Getting Around
If you are planning a mix of hikes and trains, buy a Cinque Terre Treno MS Card (€18.20 for 1 day/ €33 for 2 days/ €47 for 3 days). Alternatively, buy a Trekking Card if you only plan to hike (€7.50 1 day/ €14.50 2 day). You can purchase the passes at every train station/ Tourist Information Points in Cinque Terre, Levanto and La Spezia or online. Note that hikes are free in Winter (mid-Nov to mid-March).
My personal favs to stay are Riomaggiore or Manarola but stay in nearby city of La Spezia for cheaper accommodation rates, or Monterosso al Mare if you want to relax on a sandy beach between hikes.
Riomaggiore
This village is the closest to La Spezia/ Pisa, one one of my fav to stay in, with plenty AirBnbs on offer.
Note there is no swimming permitted in the harbour, but there’s a stony beach 5 mins walk away (pictured above) if you fancy a dip.
Eat/ drink
We loved our late lunch and aperol spritz at La Conchiglia Bar & Vini Terrace, with an upstairs terrace overlooking the famous colourful harbour and facing sunset. we just queued for a table and got lucky (I don’t think they take bookings 🙂 )
The best sunset spot is the rocks in front of the harbour/ marina, it gets busy though so go early to grab a rock!
Manarola
Manarola is great for sunrise and trendy restaurants- a good base if you’re a foodie.
Eat/ drink
La Regina di Manarola (book online),
Nessun Dorma (download the booking app, virtual queue opens at 11.30am)
Corniglia
Corniglia is the least accessible and least visited of the 5 villages, with no direct sea access. After alighting the train, visitors must hike 400 steps or get a shuttle bus (€1.50) up the hill. There are 3 buses every hour.
Eat/ drink
Sunset spot
The start of hike towards Vernazza offers an incredible sunset view, enter “Viewpoint” on Google maps (Via Fieschi 226).
Vernazza
Perhaps the most picturesque harbour of the five villages
The blue trail hike connects here and Monterosso al Mare and takes roughly 2 hours (and the hike is arguably easier from this end than from Monterosso end).
To find the famous viewpoint (middle photo above), put “Sentiero Monterosso – Vernazza” into Google Maps.
Eat/ Drink
Book Ristorante La Torre for dinner with a sunset view.
Try Pippo a Vernazza – Tradizione&StreetFood for a cheaper alternative.
Sunset spot
The harbour or the start of hike towards Corniglia (magnificent view of sunset with the town in foreground)
Monterosso Al Mare
The closest town to Genoa, Monterosso is home to the only sandy beach in Cinque Terre, “La Fegina”. There are lots of hotels located here, and (limited) parking if you plan to drive to CT.
Eat/drink:
Ristorante L’Ancora della Tortuga
Cigolini Terrace (overlooking the beach)
Sunset spot:
The walk towards the start of the hike offers good sunset views back over the village.
I strongly recommend booking a sunset boat tour with Sea Breeze 5terre (€100pp) to experience all 5 towns from a different vantage point – with drinks and nibbles provided, topped off with an amazing sunset if you’re lucky.
