Cinque Terre literally means “five lands”, which is an accurate description of these five very different villages nestled in the coastline of the Italian “Riviera”. Located in an isolated area of Liguria (between Genoa and Pisa), it is only accessible by train, by boat or by hiking in. In fact, it is possible to hike to all 5 villages in about 6 hours (which was what Jo wanted to do). No cars are allowed in, except by special arrangement. It is truly an area where you are faced with “sensory overload” from such a small location.
From Lucca, we drove into La Spezia to catch the train that runs through Cinque Terre. The villages, in order of distance from La Spezia, are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Each has their own character, but since we were limited by time, we decided to start with Vernazza for our own “Tour of Cinque Terre” and see where we ended up.
Disembarking at Vernazza put us in the middle of a charming Italian fishing village. We walked along the narrow path of shops and restaurants, leading to the water’s edge. The weather turned windy and rainy, so we ducked into the first cover we found at Baia Saracena Pizzeria, which just happened to be serving one of the most mouth-watering pizzas you have ever seen. So, naturally, we ordered a few slices while we waited for the rain to let up.
When it did, we decided to have a seat near the water’s edge and order lunch from this restaurant. More pizzas for me and the girls, while Jo had a terrific bruschetta with fresh pesto. This region is well-knowned for its pesto as basil thrives in the temperate Ligurian climate. Jo was not disappointed. And while the food was good, it was still too windy and cold for us. So we headed off to explore more of the town.
One of the highlights of the day for the girls was running into a couple of cats, napping on a small boat in the village square.
We jumped back on the train and headed down south to Corniglia, the only village not on the water’s edge, but high up in the hills overlooking the jagged coastline. Some of the vistas from Corniglia are truly breathtaking!
It was here where we ran into our “old” friend Fabio (whom we met in San Gimignano). He was staying in Manarola for a few days and we ran into him after his hike through some of the many trails in the area. Besides enjoying his company, it was even more convenient to see him so that we could have him take more pictures of us! (Just kidding, Fabio!)
After the girls got some playtime in at a local playground, we took the zig-zagging trail (370 steps) down the steep hills to the train station, and headed up to Monterosso, to see the only sandy beach in the area. The girls and we had a lot of fun dodging the incoming waves and just enjoying the spectacular scenery.
After the girls got some playtime in at a local playground, we took the zig-zagging trail (370 steps) down the steep hills to the train station, and headed up to Monterosso, to see the only sandy beach in the area. The girls and we had a lot of fun dodging the incoming waves and just enjoying the spectacular scenery.
Next, we headed back down to Manarola to walk through the town and look for a place to have dinner. We decided on Trattoria Locanda il Porticciolo, mainly due to the glowing Rick Steves’ recommendation posted on its window. (If I were a restaurant owner in Europe, I would just post a sign saying “recommended by Rick Steves” and watch all the tourists come rushing in!) Jo had a fantastic baked sea bass dinner. It was made even better by the owner who de-boned the whole fish for her!
Hurrying back to make the 8pm train to La Spezia, Jo and the girls were happy that I misread the train schedule, thus giving us extra time to walk Via dell’ Amore (Lover’s walk), a 20-minute hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore which turned out to be the most strikingly beautiful coastline anywhere. Think Italian version of Big Sur, and you get the idea. With the low light in the sky and just a handful of people walking the trail at this hour, it was agreeably the best part of the day.
Hurrying back to make the 8pm train to La Spezia, Jo and the girls were happy that I misread the train schedule, thus giving us extra time to walk Via dell’ Amore (Lover’s walk), a 20-minute hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore which turned out to be the most strikingly beautiful coastline anywhere. Think Italian version of Big Sur, and you get the idea. With the low light in the sky and just a handful of people walking the trail at this hour, it was agreeably the best part of the day.
We arrived at Riomaggiore at 8:30, just in time for the train back to La Spezia. A rather full day of some breathtaking scenery! We were very happy (and quite surprised) that we made it to all 5 villages in one day. And as expected, everyone nodded off in the car for the hour and a half drive back to Lucca.
Probably the most memorable experience of Italy thus far, if we had to do it again, we would definitely spend more time in the area. It is THAT beautiful. I predict a return visit here someday, perhaps when the girls are a little older…
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