Cinque Terre

In 2011 while on a 2-month backpacking trip in Europe I read about this place called Cinque Terre (CT), meaning "Five Lands", in Italy.  I was planning to go to the Amalfi coast in southern Italy but I saw pictures of CT which was just as beautiful.  It fitted into our route as we travelled along the northern Mediterranean coast towards Nice and Barcelona.

However, my travel partner, who has lived in Europe for over 30 years, had never heard of CT and was not too enthused about stopping there.  "We only need a few hours there" he said.  When I saw what the place looked like I said, no way, would I stop there for only a few hours.  I wanted to spend at least a night there.  We did, but on a very hectic schedule.  I told myself I will be back someday.

On this trip I had scheduled 3 nights in CT, picking to stay in Riomaggiore because it is the most accessible and closest to Rome and Florence, where we'll be coming from and going to, respectively.  There is a non-stop train ride to La Spezia from Rome that takes about 4 hours.  The fare is very inexpensive, about 20€ each.  From La Spezia there is a regional train that runs through all five CT towns:  Riomaggiore, Maranola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterroso al Mare, and ends in Levanto.  You can buy one or multi-day passes that give you unlimited train rides between the town and also access to the hiking trails.  The trains were very crowded when we were there in late September.  Imagine what it's like in the summer months.  In 2011 it was crowded but not crazily crowded like today.

We rented a 2-bedroom apartment right above the city center of Riomaggiore from a company called RioRooms through Booking.com.  We met Cecelia our property manager on the street in front of the cafe where we were supposed to meet her.  She took us up some steep and narrow stairs and then a long and narrow "street" before coming to our apartment.  It was spacious and has a kitchen.  We were so close to the water that we could hear the waves.  Right below us are fishing boats that are parking on the street and under the deck of a restaurant.

Narrow "street" between buildings

Below our window:  boats on the street and under the restaurant

Street in Manarola

The afternoon we arrived in Riomaggiore we walked the main street of the town.  It was busy with tourists and most of the restaurants were packed.  There are restaurants that offer high-end dining and restaurants that sell simple take-out food.  The simple ones sell pizza slices, sandwiches, and snacks.   Since we did not have lunch we bought some fried snacks from a restaurant called Tutti Fritti:  fried calamari, fish, etc.  It was something that satisfied until we have dinner later.

Mixed fried seafood

We were warned by Cecelia after we checked that there was going to be a heavy thunderstorm the next day.  Most of the shops and restaurants were going to be closed.  She advised us to buy our groceries that night.  Buying groceries and cooking our own meals not only saved us time but money.  As expected, the restaurants are quite pricey one the food no better than any other Italian restaurants. The groceries are not cheap and there are not a lot of food to choose from.

Entrance to the hiking trail closed because of heavy rainfall

Paths along the coast offer beautiful views

Colorful buildings in town

More colorful buildings

On the first day we took the train to the furthest town, Monterroso, then Vernazza.  The towns are mainly one-street towns.  There are small streets that lead to residential areas up on the slope of the mountains.  In some places you can walk up the slopes where some local residents live.  Most of them have some gardens that grow grapes, citrus, vegetables and olive trees.  Since it's raining all the hiking trails were closed.  Along the main street are shops and restaurants catering to tourists.  In spite of the weather there were a lot of tourists.

On the second day we tried to go hiking but the authorities told us that the trails are still closed.  The rain did stop but I suppose the hiking trails are still wet and muddy.  We took the train to Manarola and walked up the side of the hill.  During my last visit I took a memorable photo of the houses across the water.  The pastel color houses is what makes this area unique.  The picture below entitled Vernazza is the one I shot this time.  The trails offer beautiful views of the town and the coastline.

Vernazza

Manarola

Having ran out of things to do we took the train to La Spezia, which is the starting point to CT.  Most tourists take the train here to change to the local train.  La Spezia is a much bigger town.  If I have to do it over again I might stay here and stay the train to the CT towns.  It will be cheaper and less crowded.

Main Street in La Spezia

It was nice coming back to CT.  However, the rain spoiled our plans.  Nevertheless we had a great time enjoying the 5 towns and the scenery.  Unfortunately, the area is overrun with tourists.  It is getting too popular.  I doubt I will come back here again.