View of Vernazza from the trail through the vineyards above the town.
We started our 4th day with a much more successful walk to the train station than on day 1. We didn’t take any wrong turns and it only took us 30min instead of 90min. Although we left for the train station at about 8:30am, a much cooler time of day, we were both still dripping sweat by the time we got to Roma Termini. This was our first time traveling by train and it really went as smooth as could be. We had a ~4hr trip from Rome to La Spezia, and then changed trains to get on a small regional train that connected La Spezia with the 5 coastal villages comprising Cinque Terre. Our trip went by fast as we sat with another couple about our age that were visiting from Canada, so we were able to talk with them for most of the trip.
Train through the Cinque Terre. Most of the train tracks are located in tunnels between the villages.
Once we got off the train in Vernazza, we immediately realized we were in a much different place than Rome. The town is incredibly small – there are only 25 children in the one school (grades up to high school) – and there is really only one street (and that street doesn’t have cars). All the other “streets” are really just incredibly steep stairways zig-zagging their way between the buildings and up the side of the cliffs that the town is built on. All of the Cinque Terre is built on the coast of a very rugged coastline – similar to the Pacific Coast in California that we visited last summer. Each of the five villages is separated from the adjacent village by only a couple of minutes on the train.
I think this picture is from Manarola.
The other thing we noticed as soon as we got off the train was how many tourists (particularly American) were crowding the town. This really took us back as we were not expecting it, and was honestly somewhat of a turn-off at first; but as the day turned to night many of the tourist left and the town became much quieter and more of what we were expecting.
We stayed in a third-floor apartment right off the main street belonging to Rosa Vitali. The apartment was only 85€/night and was really a fantastic deal. It gave us a ton of space and we were able to do some laundry (in the sink) as all of the windows lining the street have clotheslines with clothes hanging from them.
Much of our time in the Cinque Terre was spent lazily wondering around Vernazza, looking in some of the shops, eating dinners overlooking the Ligurian Sea, and watching people jump off the rocks and swim along the shoreline of the town’s harbor. We actually got in the water briefly, which was a very comfortable temperature, but there were so many rocks and slippery/slimy things lurking beneath the surface that Amanda freaked out a little bit so we ended up just sitting/laying on a large rock out in the water.
Map of Cinque Terre
On our second day in the Cinque Terre we got up early and took the train to Monterosso al Mare, the fifth town in the Cinque Terre. The towns are laid out as follows: Riomaggiore is located closest to La Spezia, followed by Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and finally Monterosso. After we got off the train in Monterosso, we walked through the town before beginning our coastal hike connecting each town. There are wonderful trails all along the coast, some much more difficult than others; but the views were wonderful and it was really nice just to get out in the middle of the vineyards and see each of the towns on foot rather than by the train. If we were able to do the entire hike from Monterosso to Riomaggiore we would have covered 7 miles, but a small section of the trail between Corniglia and Manarola was closed so we took the train between those two towns. As you’ll see from our pictures, the view from the hike was beautiful. We were in eye and/or ear-shot of the coast the entire time and descending or ascending as we approached each town was really neat.
The beach of Monterosso al Mare. This is the most resort-like town of the Cinque Terre and the only one with a "real" beach.
View from between Monterosso and Vernazza looking towards the remaining villages of the Cinque Terre. This picture was taken very close to the beginning of our hike. Vernazza is the town that you see at the forefront of the picture.
Hiking through vineyards.
In the middle of our hike we stopped at Corniglia to eat lunch before catching the train to Manarola. This actually was probably our favorite town as it was the quietest and felt the most authentic (less overrun by tourist). It’s also the only town without a beach as it’s located at the top of a cliff. Our lunch consisted of build-your-own sandwiches from the incredibly fresh meat and vegetables from the local gardens.
Corniglia with Manarola in the background
The trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore was much different than the rest of the hike as it is more of a leisurely walk – one you could even push a stroller along. This walk is known as the Via dell’Amore and is significant in changing the culture of the Cinque Terre. Until the Via dell’Amore was built, each village was pretty much separated from the others and people only married within their own small village. With the construction of this connection between Manarola and Riomaggiore, young couples from each town could meet in the middle and, for the first time, marry outside of their hometown. All along this walk there is graffiti, locks and bows, some old and some new representing bonds between the couples that have met along or shared this walk together. Usually the closed locks are found at bridges along the walk and we actually saw locks like this in places outside of the Cinque Terre.
Locks along the Via dell'Amore
Amanda made sure to mark that we had walked the Via dell'Amore
We finished our hike in the early afternoon and took the train back from Riomaggiore to Vernazza. As I mentioned before, most of our time here was spent being lazy (which we really needed) and eating. The food here was amazing – I thought so especially. I was able to eat some fresh seafood and try pasta with the local pesto. This region is actually the home to pesto and the lasagna al pesto I had our first night in Vernazza was amazing.
View from the vineyards above Vernazza at night. Thanks to the tree for holding the camera still enough to take this picture.
All in all the Cinque Terre was really great. I think we both set our expectations a little too high from all we read and heard, but traveling to the Cinque Terre was still absolutely worth it. The hiking was spectacular and it was great to relax and eat delicious food. I think visiting a different time of year without all of the tourist would really be a fantastic time.
