I think the images of the five colourful little towns of Cinque Terre are some of the most well-known in all of Italy. The pillbox houses built into the cliffs along the Liguria coastline evoke daydreams of idyllic small town wanderings.
I spent three nights based in Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five towns of Cinque Terre. The five towns are connected by a hop-on-off train and by the famous footpath that starts in Riomaggiore in the south, or Monterosso in the north, and winds its way along the coast via all five towns.
The five towns are:
- Riomaggiore
- Manarola
- Corniglia
- Vernazza
- Monterosso
On our final day, we rode the train from Riomaggiore to Monterosso which takes about 15 minutes and costs €8 per person, each way.
However, on our second day, we tackled the Cinque Terre hiking trail. Right off the bat, let me tell you, this is not an easy hike. In fact, many people opt to do it in a few sections - I would recommend doing it across two days and doing Riomaggiore to Corniglia, then Corniglia to Monterosso another day. Doing the entire stretch in one day, including time to stop and explore the cute little towns, is tiring and time-consuming... but SO rewarding and worth it once you complete it!
It was seriously gorgeous. Every turn of the trail was so beautiful, either with perfect views overlooking the towns, or coming across sweet little orange, yellow and red toned buildings as we wandered through the five, or panoramic viewpoints looking out to the bright blue ocean. I can highly recommend the Cinque Terre hike, but please do be properly prepared with good hiking shoes, plenty of water and plenty of time. There are many, many stairs on this hike and it might not be enjoyable for those of you with bad knees and joints.
Access to the sections between Corniglia to Vernazza to Monterosso require payment. You can either purchase a Cinque Terre card in advance at the info centres in each town, which also includes train access, or you can simply give cash on the trail when you get to that section.
