Ciao! If you’re headed to Italy, check out Cinque Terre. It’s found in the Italian Riviera and holds Italy’s 5 iconic fishing villages. These century-old villages (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore) are along the turquoise Mediterranean coastline and the most beautiful rocky cliffs. You’ll see colorful homes, terraced vineyards, fishing boats and delicious seafood! If you are ever in northwest Italy, this is such a fantastic place to explore!
You can visit all 5 towns in a day, but if you stay awhile you’ll find plenty to do. Cinque Terre is not much of a museum or mall place, instead, there’s a lot of remote authenticities that you can experience such as coastal hiking trails, architecture, artwork, and winemaking. You can also relax on the beach, go on boat rides, scuba dive, snorkel, go paragliding, kayaking, eat local seafood specialties, attend festivals, anchovies fairs, and more. All your senses will be on fire!
Get your feet ready because you’ll be doing a lot of walking since all 5 towns are pedestrian friendly only. That’s right, no vehicles allowed! Bring lots of water and comfy shoes/sandals.
Although no driving is allowed IN the towns, you can drive a long windy road and park your car outside of each village and walk in to visit. However, it’s discouraged because of time, parking, and construction. It is not the easiest option. Another option available is to hike or bike along the coastline to each town. But if you want to skip the hiking and biking and just get to your destination, the best way of transportation is by train. Most people take this option and it is encouraged by the locals. It’s frequent, quick and easy. You can jump on and off the train all day long and see the sites in the order you prefer.
It’s also cheaper and easier to book a hotel/Airbnb outside of Cinque Terre to nearby cities, and just travel in by train when you’re ready to explore. Oh, and expect large crowds of people, since they have over 2 million tourists every year, especially in the months of May-August.
But no matter when you go, you’re guaranteed a great time! Don’t forget to try the pesto alla genovese!
P.S. For those who are new to the seafood world and want to try seafood while in Italy-just giving you a heads up-fish is usually served whole. If this freaks you out, ask the wait staff if they can debone the fish for you before ordering. Shrimp or scampi, clams (vongole) mussels (cozze), are also served in their shells.
Buon Appetito!!!
xx,
Kadi