'''Cinque Terre''' which means ''Five Lands'', is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Cinque comprise the five small coastal villages of '''Riomaggiore''', '''Manarola''', '''Corniglia''', '''Vernazza''', '''Monterosso''' located in the region of Liguria in the province of La Spezia.

Villages

  • Riomaggiore
  • Manarola, includes '''Groppo''' and '''Volastra'''
  • Corniglia, includes '''San Bernardino'''
  • Vernazza
  • Monterosso
  • Get in

    By plane

    The closest airports are at Pisa and Genova. Firenze is also a reasonable choice. Milan is about a 4 hour train ride to Genoa where one is able to change to the local train line. Milan's Malpensa International Airport serves as a major intercontinental hub for the Italian airline Alitalia. There are also good connections from North America via large hubs such as New York City, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. Delta Airlines also operates a flight from Atlanta via New York's JFK International Airport to Pisa's Galileo Galilei International Airport.

    By train

    The Cinque Terre villages are well connected by rail and each of the villages has a train station. Regular local trains from Genoa and La Spezia run with high frequency. All trains are operated by the state carrier, Trenitalia[http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html]. When traveling from La Spezia, you can buy your passes for Cinque Terre in a tourism office in a hallway off of platform 1 at the La Spezia station.

    By car

    Take the 'litoranea' road from La Spezia. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes from La Spezia to drive to Riomaggiore or Manarola. There is a good parking garage in Riomaggiore, up the hill from the train station. The roads to and between the five towns are not for the faint of heart, and why most travelers are encouraged to leave their vehicle in La Spezia and take the train to the Cinque Terre.

    Get around

    Frequent trains link all five villages with each other ( Trenitalia-run trains as well as a train service run by the park authority), La Spezia and other places towards Genova (only Trenitalia-run).

    A more expensive, but very scenic option, are the '''boats''' that run up and down this part of the coast.

    '''Walking''' is very popular, especially on the main coastal paths, which are subject to park entrance fees. It's worth exploring some of the higher paths to Volastra (above Manarola), Monte Negro (above Riomaggiore) or paths that begin outside of the park such as the trail between Levanto and Monterosso.

    Traveling by car is by far the worst way to explore the Cinque Terre, there is little parking and what there is is well outside the villages. To get from one village to the next involves driving all the way up to the high road and back down again. Better to leave the car and use the train.

    In order to '''walk along the trails between the villages, one must purchase a pass''', which is available near the train stations at any of the five villages, as well as the stations at Levanto and La Spezia. You can pay a small supplement for the pass and get unlimited travel between the villages, Levanto, and La Spezia on regional trains for the duration of the pass.

    See

    The main attraction of the Cinque Terre is the landscape. Mediterranean herbs and trees grow spontaneously from the top of the hills down to the water level. Well embedded in this magnificent natural scenery, one can admire the intense human activity of the ancestors, when the wine terraces were built. An enormous (and somehow crazy) work of transportation, carrying all the heavy stones on men's shoulders and women's heads. A work through the centuries, in fact it's estimated to have taken about 200 years to build the entire stone-wall network. Its total length has been calculated to be at least equal to the Great Wall of China.

    Tourists can enjoy the scenery described above, walk through the towns (or between them) or hiking on the paths and enjoying the local atmosphere.

    ----

    Depending on the time of the year there are some specific things to see:

  • The lightning Nativity in Manarola (Dec. 8th till late Jan.). The world biggest Lightned nativity.
  • The patron festivity of the 5 towns (all betweek late May and Aug.), a mix of religious ceremony and popular parties.
  • The pirates attack in Vernazza (mid summer), a celebration of the succesful defence of the town from a Saracen attack occurred during the middle age.
  • The harvest(early/mid Sept.) and wine making, when men's shoulders and women's heads are still used as they were hundreds of years ago.
  • The sea storms (frequent in winter), a great show of nature's power.
  • Do

    The Cinque Terre boasts some of the best coastline hiking trails in the world. The path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore (or roughly "Lovers Walk"). The beautiful trail along the shore is very easy to hike. The next hike from Manarola to Corniglia is also easy. The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza offers incredible views of shore and is only steep at certain places. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is the steepest (but not overly demanding), winding through Olive orchards and vineyards and offering dramatic ocean views.

    The walk between all the villages takes the better part of a day. For those that would rather not walk (or not walk the entire trail), a pedestrian ferry service runs seasonally to all five villages, plus Lerici. The price is reasonable, and gives a nice view of the villages from the water. The milk train that connect all the villages is also a quick way to hop among towns.

    '''Hiking Times'''

    Monterosso - Vernazza: 90 minutes.

  • Narrow trail, steep at times. Beautiful views of Vernazza.
  • Vernazza - Corniglia: 90 minutes.
  • Amazing views of Vernazza; greenest trail.
  • Corniglia - Manarola: 45 minutes.
  • Scenic low trail past a beach.
  • Manarola - also has its own beautiful vineyard walk.

    Manarola - Riomaggiore: 20 minutes.

  • The famous Via dell'Amore, paved flat trail cut into the cliff.
  • '''Swimming'''

    It is possible to swim in the sea at each of the 5 villages. Almost every year the Cinque Terre Marine Reserve vies for the top of the Blue Flag Beach list of Italy. There are two large sandy beaches at Monterosso, a small sandy beach at the harbor of Vernazza, and pebble beaches near Riomaggiore and Corniglia. Off the beaten path there are pebble beaches in Framura and Bonasola just 20 minutes away on the train. You can swim off rocks at the small harbors at Manarola (which has a very nice and deep swimming hole) and Riomaggiore.

    '''More activities'''

  • A Casa Cinque Terre, [http://www.acasa5terre.it/]is a portal that offers cooking classes, guided wine tastings, art classes, fishing excursions and language classes.
  • Eat

    When grapevines and olive trees cover the hillsides, wine and oil are a must on our tables. They prove excellent companions for the salted anchovies of Monterosso served in olive oil as well as the many specialty fish dishes, authentic gastronomic delights.

    The cuisine of the Cinque Terre almost perfectly conserves the characteristics of yesteryear; the respect for the flavors and fragrances of the primary ingredients. '''Trofie''' is a kind of pasta made from chestnut or wheat flour and is one of the forefathers of modern and more sophisticated pasta. Its condiment is still '''pesto''' sauce; an original Ligurian sauce made from basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, pine nuts, and marjoram. '''Tagliatelle''', a broad handmade pasta, is used with sauces that contain mushrooms, cabbage and potatoes, beans, chickpeas or sometimes with pesto.

    '''Vegetable pies''', 'torte di verdura' are prepared with a stuffing containing borage (borago officinalis), parsley, marjoram, other local herbs that grow wild, artichokes, swiss chard, zucchini, potatoes, and leeks are combined with egg and ricotta cheese or with stale bread soaked in milk or bechamel sauce (depending on each family's traditions), parmesan cheese. The pie crust is very thin, because flour was a very precious commodity.

    '''Rice pie''', or 'torta di riso' is a specialty of every grandma in the region. In Monterosso this rice pie was made even more delectable by adding a bit of dried mushrooms to the filling. In Manarola, the tradition is to make this dish for the feast of the patron saint Saint Lawrence on August 10th.

    Egg 'frittate', or '''flat omelettes''', are popular today as the 'frittata' has been rediscovered as a tasty antipasto. Another important dish on the tables of the Cinque Terre population was the 'cotoletta di acciuga', '''anchovies''' stuffed with a breadcrumb based filling and then fried. The 'fritelle di bianchetti', fritters made from tiny newborn anchovies or '''sardines''' were also highly appreciated. Following the seamen's gastronomic traditions, other dishes included stewed '''cuttlefish''', stuffed '''calamari''' and spiced '''octopus'''.

    '''Mussels''', another protected designation of origin product from the Gulf of La Spezia are prepared in a variety of ways: stuffed, stewed, baked.

    Manarola

  • Restaurant Il Porticciolo
  • Da Billy
  • Marina Piccola
  • Vernazza

  • Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre
  • Riomaggiore

  • La Grotta
  • Via Dell'Amore (across the railway station, their 'tourist menus' are actually quite OK)
  • La Lanterna (near the harbour, speciality: mussels and pasta)
  • Drink

    The fame of the Cinque Terre is largely due to its products, the dry white wine, simply called 'Cinque Terre' and the 'Sciacchetra', a prized dessert wine made from prime grapes dried to the point of holding only a few drops of sweet juice. A colorful addition to the Cinque Terre products is 'limoncino'; a dessert wine made from steeping lemon peels in pure alcohol and then adding sugar and water to make a fragrant and fresh liquor. The lemons, another famous product of the Cinque Terre are prominently on display in the many 'limoneti' (lemon groves) and at the annual Lemon Festival held each year in Monterosso during the season of Pentacost.

    The Sentieri dell'Uva (Grape Routes) are still as they once were with fig trees planted in strategic positions to give shade during breaks from work, agaves planted to mark boundaries, to line the footpaths along steep, stony steps and to indicate the rail terminals of the recently installed monorails which are the only vertical structures emerging from this seemingly completely, horizontal landscape. Many dry stone walls support this terraced landscape.

    The large wicker baskets of grapes (corbe) are arranged along the "pose" (little walls, as wide as tables, built solely for this purpose). These include Albarola (Trebbiana), Biancorotto, Bruciapagliaio, Piccabon (Pizzamosca). To make white table wines the following are used: Fiore di Bosco, Rappolungo, Fogiaccia, Ruspara, and Sesagra. Baskets full of Magnagra (Albarola), from which the famous Black Sciacchetra is made, are handled with extreme care and set to one side.

    The Cinque Terre grape tracks reach down to the sea. In the past, people used to anchor small fishing boats called "gozzi" immediately below the terraced vineyards. Baskets laden with grapes were then lowered from above into these small boats which then sailed round to the otherwise inaccessible village.

    Nowadays this method is nothing but a distant memory but by visiting the Cinque Terre you are still able to sample some of the most prized wines of the world that have been created by centuries of backbreaking experience.

    Sleep

  • '''Ostello Cinque Terre''' in Manarola is the largest hostel in the area.
  • '''Monastery of S. Bernardino''', above Corniglia, offers accommodation for about 60? per room.
  • '''Da Baranin B&B''', [http://www.baranin.com/]. provides rooms with B&B treatment and apartments in Manarola.
  • '''Bed&Breakfast Marisa''', [http://www.bed-and-breakfast-marisa.it/]. nice family-house B&B in Monterosso.
  • You can also easily find private rooms for rent. If you can't see signs, ask in a cafe.

    The town of Lerici, a couple of kilometers to the south, has several hotels, including the Hotel Europa and Hotel Doria.

    Campgrounds

    There are a few campgrounds where you can rent a tent with two beds and linens for very low prices. Note that none are inside the national park area but quite a few can be found just to the north of the park in the touristy but pleasant town of Levanto.

  • '''Camping Aqua Dolce''', [http://www.campingacquadolce.it/]. near the town center and about 200 meters from the beach.
  • '''Pian di Picce and Albero 'd Oro''' are situated next to each other a bit more inland, at about 1000 meters from the beach but closer to the railway station (at about 200 meters).
  • Other campsites can be found south of La Spezia and further north around Deiva Marina. Levanto is a better option though because it is serviced by the park-run train service connecting all five villages as stated earlier.

    It's advisable to try to book in advance when arriving in late June, July, August since these sites tend to fill up quickly during that period. Many hotels, including the hostel, book up in months in advance.

    Get out

    As the weather gets warmer so does the evening life at local bars and restaurants on the weekends. Italian Holidays mean the hotels, restaurants and bars will be very busy. As summer sets in there is some nightlife in almost every village.

  • '''Cantina dello Zio Bramante''', in Manarola is a the watering hole par excellence for the young locals, musicians and social minglers. The owners invite latin jazz bands or musician friends to play on weekend nights in the summertime. The tavern-like atmosphere has been known to transform itself into a late night dance party if the owner is in the mood.
  • '''Pie de Ma Wine Bar''' Perched atop a cliff on the Via Dell'Amore (closer to the Riomaggiore side) this bar offers a sample of the best wines by the glass of the region. The owners are experienced cocktail artists and this is a draw for many Cinque Terre locals and La Spezia area people as well. The seating is in the open so the bar is closed November to February. In the summer they invite DJs, bands and dance groups to perform on their terrace overlooking the sea.