Vernazza is one of the five villages of Cinque Terre, an Italian area with so much charm that it will make you want to miss your flight home.
🇮🇹 ¿Is Vernazza the most beautiful place in Cinque Terre?
There are certain areas of the planet filled with such picturesque villages that you’ll be hard pressed to choose which one is the most picturesque. Majorca, Alsace or Cinque Terre are some of the best examples.
Each village you visit will captivate you. Although, let’s not kid ourselves, there is always one that we are particularly fond of.
In my case, Vernazza was the town that stole my heart.
🗺 What to see and do in Vernazza
In Cinque Terre all the villages can be seen in a flash. You won’t need to stay a week to discover every beautiful corner of each one of them. A couple of hours for each one will be enough.
In fact, if you are planning your trip to Cinque Terre, I recommend you take a look at this Guide to Planning a Trip to Cinque Terre.
1- The most famous viewpoint of Vernazza and Cinque Terre
I had always heard, read or seen how certain people had been disappointed when they visited a place and found out that it was not like the picture…
Something similar happened to me with this viewpoint in Cinque Terre. No matter how many blogs I read, Instagram photos I saved, or stories I looped through, no one had ever told me that this viewpoint was NOT the way it really was.
I don’t know if it has changed recently, if I haven’t landed in the right places or if it’s something that is better not to know.
The views from this viewpoint in Vernazza are unbeatable. The pity is that it has a fence so you can’t cross it and take the typical photo. Besides having to pay €7.50 to access the tour (free with the Cinque Terre Card).
Like anyone who arrives and is disappointed – and whose head is easier to tear off than the idea – I decided to jump over the fence through a lower area and access the viewpoint.
WRONG!
The viewpoint is not flat, the views are high and if you add to that fear of heights, the situation is even worse.
2- The secret viewpoint of Vernazza
OK. I maybe it’s not TOP secret.
If it is nice to walk through the streets of Vernazza, it is even nicer to enjoy it from the heights. This point is ideal for those who don’t want to miss any detail – or essence – of this Italian town.
WARNING! Get ready to avoid going to the gym when you get back home, you’re going to arrive after a great booty and legs workout!
If you thought that to get to Granada’s viewpoints you had to climb hills, these won’t leave you indifferent. It’s only a 10 minute walk, but 10 minutes of stairs up.
Is it worth climbing up here? Yes, yes and yes! Absolutely yes!
3- Walking around in Vernazza
There are few things in the world that we like more than getting lost in the streets of beautiful places. And Vernazza is no exception.
Its narrow streets of colourful streets and small shops that invite you to pass by will convince you that Vernazza is the most beautiful village in Cinque Terre. And if its streets don’t do it… its ice-creams will.
4- Visit Vernazza beach
Vernazza is so photogenic that you’ll want to take pictures here, there and from any perspective you can think of. With dozens of boats behind you, with people passing by that you’ll have to Photoshop out or from this point on the beach.
5- Enjoy an italian gelato
Pizza, pasta, gelato… In Italy everything is delicious!
Here, there’s no need for excuses about keeping in shape or bikinis… Here, enjoyment, savouring and the pleasure of a good chocolate gelato are the order of the day 🍫.
And, to make it easier for you to find a good place to succumb to this guilty pleasure, I’m going to recommend 2 ice cream parlours that I had in mind:
📍Gelateria Vernazza – recommended the dark chocolate gelato.
📍Gelateria Il Porticciolo
6- Eat pasta in a family restaurant
Do you believe in coincidences?
Well, I do. I think there are certain things that are meant to happen. I think you need to be in the right place at the right time for some things to happen.
And something similar happened to us with this restaurant. Our idea was to book at Nessun Dorma or a meal with a unique view of Manarola. But when we got there we discovered that perhaps the place was not as good as we had imagined… So we headed for Vernazza to continue discovering places we had left unseen.
In search of the most beautiful viewpoint in Vernazza, we made a mistake, we went up – and paid – to enter the Doria Castle. Thanks to that confusion, we got to know this place: Ristorante Al Castello is a family restaurant, overlooking the sea and unique in the area.
The pasta is not the best in Italy, not even in Cinque Terre, but the place is worth a visit. It’s perfect for enjoying the peace and quiet; the calm that only holidays can bring.
Moreover, the restaurant is totally family-run. From the moment you walk in to the moment you leave, you’ll feel that homely atmosphere. The best is the moment to pay…. You have to go to a house opposite where an old lady invites you to limoncello and panettone while she toasts with you.
