The Cinque Terre meaning “Five Lands” is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera that comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore which are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore is the first of the five towns in The Cinque Terre. The village, dating from the early thirteenth century, is known for its historic character with colourful buildings covering the steep cliffs, and rows upon rows of vines surrounding the town. Once a fishing village, Riomaggiore is now known for it’s wine production as are the other 4 Cinque Terre towns.
Dusk in Riomaggiore is truly amazing with the sun setting over the water, whispy clouds and false horizons making for some incredible colours in the sky.
We spent hours sitting in the window of our seaside apartment, watching the locals take their boats out, tourists admiring the stunning scenery and the sky changing colour in the evenings. We cooked pasta with locally made pesto, drank Moretti’s and ate potato chips out of a cone, a local tradition.
On the eastern end of the town is a great little pebble beach which made for refreshing swims in the afternoon. Not many people were swimming at this time of year but for us Aussie’s the water was a warm and delightful 23 degrees.
Riomaggiore was our base for the next week in the Cinque Terre as we explored the other 4 towns, walking, swimming and of course eating… Part II tomorrow, the town of Manarola.
Manarola
The second town along the coast from the east is the stunning Manarola. It is considered to be the oldest of the five towns and with the most vineyards surrounding the town. It is connected to Riomaggiore by the most famous part of the Cinque Terre walking track, Via dell’Amore which translates to “Love’s Trail”. The trail unfortunately has been closed for quite sometime due to landslides, as has the Manarola to Corniglia part of the trail.
Manarola also has many walking trails that surround the town and go through the local vineyards. These tracks are well worth the hike, with stunning views and a close up look at the local wine making production. During the hotter months farmers leave small bottles of water along the trails for the tourists to refresh. Manarola is famous for its sweet Sciacchetrà wine, be sure to stop in at one of Manarola’s many restaurants for a drop of their finest.
On the western side of the town high up on the headland is the local cemetery which is truly a beautiful and peaceful place, you can also connect to the vineyard walking trails from behind the cemetery. Keep in mind to be respectful and quiet while visiting.
Just down from the cemetery heading back east is the famous Nessun Dorma – an awesome little bar and cafe with the best view of Manarola. Enjoy a local wine or spritz as well as their home made pesto. It’s to die for.
Sunset in Manarola is truly spectacular, the warm setting sun lights up the entire town in a beautiful golden glow. It’s a peaceful and surreal time of day and a must to see and photograph.
Corniglia
With the Riomaggiore – Manarola – Corniglia track closed due to a landslide we caught the train to Corniglia to start our Cinque Terre walk. The sun was shining and we were keen to get going early to make time for many swims on the way. To reach Corniglia from the train station you have to climb the Lardarina, a long brick flight of steps composed of 33 flights with 382 steps. A great way to start the walk!
Corniglia is the third town along the coast, right in the middle of the other four towns, unlike the other Cinque Terre towns, Corniglia is not directly adjacent to the sea. Instead, it sits high up on the hill side surrounded on three sides by vineyards and the fourth side descends steeply to the Mediterranean.
Vernazza
We venture onto Vernazza, walking among the vineyards, along stony tracks, up and down stairs cases, passing cacti, people and stunning panoramas of the entire coast line.
Walking into Vernazza you get the most amazing view of the entire town from way up high. The headland juts out into the sea and is surrounded by crystal clear waters. So inviting. We stop at the beach with our beer and focaccia for a rest and recharge. The wind was quite fierce so we headed to the northern side where the boats dock for an epic swim! The water was warm and inviting with the headland protecting us from the wind. Again we were the only people swimming, we couldn’t believe it.
Monterosso al Mare
We continues our Cinque Terre walk from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare, probably the hardest part of the walk but completely worth every step as it’s one of the most scenic parts of the walk – beautiful views of the coastline, vineyards and the view coming into Monterosso is just stunning.
Monterosso al Mare is divided into two parts – the old town and the new town. The two areas are divided by a single tunnel connecting pedestrians and cars to each side. It is definitely the most touristy of the five towns and I would imagine quite busy in the summer months, but on this Autumn day it was almost empty.
The beach at Monterosso runs along most of the coast line and is the only extensive sand beach in the Cinque Terre. As soon as we arrived down on the sand we jumped into the crystal clear water to cool down and soothe our tired legs. Heaven.
We returned to Monterosso the next day via the ferry that took us from Riomaggiore all the way down the coast line stopping at each Cinuqe Terre town, this is so worth doing. You get to see each town from the water which gives you a unique perspective of what you walked the day before!
This part of Italy is truly a magical and beautiful place and an absolute treasure to photograph…
