My stay in Florence gave rise to the revelation that one of the most enchanting places in all of Italy lay just over an hour’s drive to the west in the secluded and beautiful Cinque Terre. This is the name given to the five coastal towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso that lie slightly west of the coastal railway hub of La Spezia, with Riomaggiore being the southernmost and Monterosso (technically Monterosso al Mare) being the northernmost.
I decided to head over for a few days and as I approached I became more interested in what this place had to offer. Negotiating my way out of the intersections and traffic lights in La Spezia, I promptly found the view from the road changing – a lot of green was facing me and steep, winding roads that reminded me of driving in Switzerland greeted me for quite a while. Eventually, these gave way to the (occasional glimpse of, I still had to watch the road!) breathtaking view of seeing the Mediterranean sea off to the left as I drove the final leg of my journey northwards to Riomaggiore.
Here’s where I stumbled onto a bit of luck. I found out after driving down to Riomaggiore that there was very deliberately no tourist parking in the town as it is a protected UNESCO world heritage site. This meant that there was a little temporary parking lot I could quickly hop out and ask about accommodation from, but would otherwise have to park 4km away and walk into Riomaggiore on foot. This would not be so bad if Riomaggiore wasn’t actually on the bottom of the cliff I effectively drove over to get here, and the paths down had no pavements! I inquired about availability of accommodation and there was exactly none. The third place I asked, however, directed me to a list of potential hostels including some in the other Cinque Terre towns. After a few last-second telephone calls I found out that a hostel in Corneglia had exactly two beds left for the evening. I quickly snapped one up and drove to Corneglia as quickly as I could get away with while still being safe – but not before getting a quick glimpse at the main street heading down to the sea in Riomaggiore.
Never before had I seen a street (with the possible exception of Portobello Road in London, where the look is comparable but the atmosphere feels distinctly different!) where the buildings are quite so colourful as when I first landed in Cinque Terre. Despite looking as though it could, the town definitely did not have a ‘market vibe’ about it, as most of the people walking about were locals going about their daily business. Walking a hundred metres or so down, the road abruptly ends in a ramp that slides into the Mediterranean ocean, with several boats moored nearby. The view was beautiful (see the first photo in this blog post for a view of the bottom of the main street).
Because Manarola was also close to being by the coast, the drive to Corneglia was rather direct. Of the five towns Corneglia is the highest elevated and is situated properly on top of a cliff. Because of this, I stumbled onto my second stroke of luck: the parking lot above Corneglia is only about 200m away from the town itself and if you’re lucky there are a few road-side free parking places as well (although your hill-parking skills should definitely be up to scratch!). Of all the five towns that comprise Cinque Terre, I would recommend Corneglia if you are interested in arriving by car – the others, while possible, are a lot less accommodating of non-residential motor vehicles.
Checking into the hostel was quick and the room (up to twelve guys) was airy and quite pleasant. Moreover, we were literally about half a minute’s walk (as well as a partial view from our window!) from a nice little mini-square with a bench where the sunset could be viewed. After quickly locating a nearby gelato store, which turned out to be one of the best I had in Italy by the way, I sat down on the bench to watch the sunset for a half hour – perhaps the view accentuated the flavour of the gelato 
Cinque Terre is famous for its walking trail Sentiero Azzuro (Light blue trail) which is a walking trail that takes you from Riomaggiore through all five towns to Monterosso in the north. This is what I decided to do the next day, and went to Riomaggiore bright and early by train. I had a taste of what one of the challenges would be on the walk because Corneglia’s train station is at the bottom of the cliff it’s on – and the brick stairs going down them, while offering a beautiful view, number almost 400! This was part of the route (in reverse as I was starting in Riomaggiore and heading south). In the photo of the stairs below, Riomaggiore lies beyond the two protrusions of land in the background.
Upon arriving at Riomaggiore, I briefly stopped by the tourist office as well as took a look down the coast where I delightfully found out (expect to be able to show you are PADI qualified or equivalent!) that I could book a scuba diving expedition for the next day. The cost will not be cheap (at the time I paid 80 Euros and I suspect the price is probably higher these days) but I would found out the next day if it was worth it! In the mean time I had a lot of trail walking to do!
My plan for the day was to walk from Riomaggiore to Corneglia where I was staying, and then go to Monterosso by train and do the second half of the trail from the top down. The reason for this was simple: the trail takes five and a half hours for the average person to hike assuming they more or less do the entire thing in a single go. If I wanted to stop for photos and have a meal break etc. I could see how it could easily take an entire day, so I planned to end the walk where I was staying. This avoids me having to do part of the trail in the dark, for instance, or having to take another train at the end when I finish. As it turns out, this is unsurprisingly a more difficult way to do it (Corneglia is the highest point of the five towns so I’m basically going uphill twice!) so be warned, but it worked out quite well for me since I finished at a place where I had a hot shower and comfortable bed waiting for me.
It turns out I started off easy; the walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola is a simple one, and also conveniently wheelchair-accessible. This part of the Sentiero Azzuro is called “Via Dell’Amore”, or the Path of Love. Along the trail are innumerable pieces of graffiti left by visitors, who hope that leaving a reminder of their love somewhere on the trail will help strengthen their love life and bring them good luck. It is also tradition to leave a small lock attached to the metal railings that lined portions of the path as a symbol of ‘locking in’ one’s love and commitment for their partner. You can see many of these (lots, and lots, and loooooooots…) in the background of the photo of me below, on a ‘lovers chair’ en-route.
Strangely, the graffiti does not actually detract from the natural scenery too much. Rather than an act of vandalism, the small, respectful writings of countless people actually adds to the atmosphere of the walk – as long as you know what they are beforehand, of course! For those more interested more in natural scenery and care not for these things, don’t worry as this is the only portion of the hike where this is prevalent. However, be warned that it gets significantly harder after this!
The Via Dell’Amore walk was gentle and lasted just under an hour for me, and was generally quite pleasant. The trail from Manarola towards Corneglia is equally easy and did not prove to be much of a task. My first glimpse of Corneglia came about halfway there, and I got a nice impression of just how high up the town is from the path, as you can see from the photo underneath. What you see on the right isn’t actually settlement but the train tracks and related maintenance infrastructure. The train goes into a tunnel at the far side, above which lies Corneglia nearly four hundred steps above!
As I mentioned earlier my trip took me straight to Monterosso al Mare by train, although I did first ‘pop into the hostel to change, rest up and grab a few things’, which is another way of saying I may have climbed up 400 stairs and then down again! By that point I reasoned that the brief train ride (only ten minutes, but another fifteen waiting at the station) was worth it given how I was feeling after my impromptu Stairmaster session! I should also note that anyone wishing to walk the entire trail at Cinque Terre should buy a ticket (1-, 2-, and 7-day tickets were available when I visited, although I am reliably informed that since then the 7-day tickets are no longer available). The ticket includes unlimited train travel between the towns, which is nice because if you decide you want to break the walk up into two bits like I did, or spread it across two days, you can easily do that at no extra cost. I believe I paid around 14 euros for my 2-day pass (September 2009).
Monterosso al Mare felt most like the tourist destination of all the Cinque Terre towns. The town included a large beach which was partitioned into several sections (denoted by different coloured deck chairs) that you had to pay to get in. In fairness, given the sunshine on the day and the glorious view looking out onto the blue Mediterranean, it was easy to see why the beaches were still full even though there was a nominal cost involved!
It turns out that I picked the ‘wrong way’ to go from an easy hike point of view – with Corneglia being the highest point in Cinque Terre it only stands to reason that the paths either side of it will gradually slope downwards. By taking the train to Monterosso and walking back, I effectively guaranteed that I would be walking uphill during both halves of my trek! As it turns out this didn’t matter too much because the ‘upper trail’ between Monterosso via Vernazza to Corneglia is so full of up-and-down steep stairs and slopes that no matter which way you go, it will be an incredible challenge! Be sure to wear suitable clothing, bring plenty of water, and don’t forget your camera as some of the views are absolutely breathtaking.
The above is the view of Monterosso as I am leaving the town via the trail to walk towards Vernazza. It seems slightly more touristy than the others but make no mistake about all the natural beauty that’s still obviously there. Also note that there isn’t actually that much distance to cover the large vertical ascent I made just before snapping this photo!
While the hike is difficult, a lot of the slopes and stairs move with the landscape as you wind in and out of vineyards and around other areas of cultivation that are on the slopes all over the area. There are several crossroads where it pays to observe signage – for example, one path may lead to the entrance of a vineyard while the other is the actual path onwards! In my case, I accidentally followed a path which led down to a (very pretty!) rocky cliffside beach halfway between Monterosso and Vernazza by accident. It was beautiful and secluded but I assure you the climb back up to the correct path was not quite as enjoyable!
I don’t recall the exact hiking time to Vernazza as I was busy taking in the view, although the total trek time from Monterosso to Corneglia took me about five hours at a leisurely pace with a short walk through Vernazza. You cannot possibly miss it when walking through Cinque terre; in fact, as soon as it comes into view it will be in such a picturesque manner that you will not be able to resist snapping a few! Cameras at the ready…
As it turns out, this view of Vernazza, taken from one of the highest points on the approach from Monterosso before climbing back down into the town, is quite a famous one. A year later when I bought something completely unrelated to this trip (a European GPS/sat-nav) a photo almost identical to this one was on the back of the box! Clearly this is one of the most beautiful places you can ever see in Europe, then.
I would argue that Vernazza is the most beautiful of the five towns from the outside to look at. I quite like the more relaxed nature of Corneglia and the market-like vibe I got in Riomaggiore for example, but this view has left a lasting impression of me that I will likely never forget. Unlike Riomaggiore, the streets in Vernazza are rather claustrophobic as everything in the town is crammed into a tiny space by the harbour. There is a very noticable ‘local’ vibe that this gives off, though, and I could see why this would be a lovely place to retire.
The castle you noticed overlooking Vernazza is called the Doria castle. It was built back in the 1400′s to protect Vernazza from pirates that would roam the coastline back then. It is now still of direct benefit to the town through being a tourist attraction, where you can pay to enter and climb up to the top for what is a wonderful view beyond. If I were to go again, I would recommend bringing some food and drink – the top of the castle is actually very spacious and the view is very calming.
My brief break in Vernazza was definitely a good call because the rest of my trip back to Corneglia was the hardest part of the walk by far. As I was rushing to get back before sunset, I sadly do not have any picturesque photos of the final part of my hike. However, do be warned that going from Monterosso to Corneglia is definitely the hardest route you could take, so leave plenty of time! All in all, my journey including the train journey and stopping for photos took me just under nine and a half hours, and was one of the best days out I’ve ever had in my life! After a healthy scoop (or three, I wasn’t counting) of gelato back in Corneglia I settled my extremely sore self into bed and looked forward to the boat ride and scuba diving the next day.
I woke up bright and early on the day after my hike, still feeling exhausted. After a quick breakfast I managed to take on the stairs down to the train station (at least it was only down for now!) and went to Riomaggiore. After finding the scuba diving office and getting suited and booted we waddled down to the pier where we hopped onto a speedboat to head into the protected marine area where we would be diving. Someone had to remind me how heavy air tanks are! For goodness sake, they’re just air…
Unfortunately there was no underwater capability in the camera I brought with me to Italy, but the dive was quite fun which included spotting several fish large enough that I’d leave them well alone unless I had a sizable weapon with me! The water is some of the clearest I’ve ever seen and visibility was fantastic – I’d recommend anyone with a diving license to seriously consider stopping by here for a dive on a holiday.
From Riomaggiore afterwards, I paid a second visit to Vernazza where I went for a ferry ride to finish my trip back to Manarola. Note that because it’s on a cliff (duh), the ferry doesn’t actually stop at Corneglia, but goes from Vernazza to Manarola to Riomaggiore. I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself in the various towns without worrying too much about the hiking – I let the ferry and trains take care of that. I do, however, have two photos of Manarola from the boat before docking that I really enjoyed seeing the contrast between – by day, and then by night!
I wouldn’t recommend hiking by night as there are literally no lights anywhere other than the towns – however, the view of the towns themselves in absense of all the light pollution is breathtaking. Constellations are clearly visible through the entire sky as well, which made settling back in Corneglia on the final night (prior to the last boat trip) watching the sun set with a scoop of gelato a lovely experience.
Cinque Terre is arguably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in the world, and I really can’t wait until I am next able to go back. For anyone who wishes to head somewhere off the beaten track, I could not commend Cinque Terre enough as being the perfect place for exactly that. 
Start discussion »
Leave a Reply