If you’ve come this far, it’s because you’re about to return to Italy – the country we love so much – or you’re in urgent need of a trip. In this article, you will find all the information you need to organise your trip to Cinque Terre.
See you soon, Italy!
📍How to get to Cinque Terre
✈ Closest Airports to Cinque Terre
The best option to reach Cinque Terre by plane is to fly to Genoa or Pisa. You can also fly to Florence or Milan – as I did.
From Milan, the journey is much longer (about 3 hours + the time it takes to get from the airport to the central station). My advice is to look for flights to Genoa and Pisa to make the most of the short trip.
🚅 Trains to La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
Direct trains are available from Genoa, Pisa, Florence and Milan to La Spezia, the best place to base yourself to explore Cinque Terre. You can check all available trains on Trenitalia
🗺 What to see and do in Cinque Terre
All the villages that make up this Italian region are beautiful.
For me, Vernazza is the most beautiful village in Cinque Terre. But it depends on one’s taste and experience on the spot. We visited this village twice, and although the first time I was a bit disappointed, the second time it managed to climb to the number 1 spot.
Manarola and Riomaggiore are the other two that are also competing for the position of the most beautiful village in Cinque Terre.
Here is a list of each of the things you cannot miss in Cinque Terre 👇
Vernazza
This is the town I enjoyed the most in Cinque Terre. Its colourful streets, its delicious ice cream and its incredible viewpoints make Vernazza an ideal destination.
You can’t miss its two viewpoints: one of them can be reached through the stairs in the square, and the other one through the stairs near the Pharmacy.
Manarola
Manarola is another of the most beautiful. This Italian village boasts a restaurant with one of the best views: Nessun Dorma. In fact, if you’ve done a bit of research, you’re sure to have heard of it.
I’ll let you in on a secret, and that’s that to enjoy those views you don’t need to be drinking anything there. Just a little further up you have a path with the same beautiful views.
Riomaggiore
As in the rest of the villages, the ideal thing to do is to get lost in the narrow streets. It’s the best way to explore them and take in the best-known sights.
In Riomaggiore I recommend a stop to try the fried fish at Il Pescato Cucitano.
Corniglia
Corniglia is very famous for its lemons. So much so that the most popular are the lemonade stands there, even the magnets have the figure of a lemon on them.
It is the only one of the villages without direct access to the sea, and to reach it from the train station there are almost 400 steps. The good news is that there are free buses with the Cinque Terre Card that go up and down this route.
Corniglia, along with the next village, is one of the smallest. So an hour or two will be enough to see the highlights.
Monterosso
This is the only place in Cinque Terre where you can take a dip in the beach. Personally I didn’t find it as beautiful as the other villages.
How many days are necessary to visit Cinque Terre?
We travelled from Milan and spent 2 full days in Cinque Terre. Two days are more than enough to visit these five villages in peace and quiet.
If you travel only one, I recommend you to visit Riomaggiore, Vernazza or Manarola only. I think they are the most beautiful. Although you can also book an excursion from Florence, Pisa or Milan if you don’t want to be crowded with trains.
Trekking routes in Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre has several trails linking the villages. We didn’t do any of them, only the Vernazza-Monterosso to go up to the Vernazza viewpoint. And with just that bit I can assure you that I’m not ready to venture to do any of these, maybe the first one.
Riomaggiore – Manarola: it is known as Via d’ell Amore.
Vernazza – Monterosso al Mare: you need a Cinque Terre Card. It has a distance of 4km.
Corniglia – Vernazza: Cinque Terre Card is required. The distance is 4km.
Manarola – Corniglia: Closed right now. Distance is 4km.
