Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a cluster of 5 villages spread along the coast and they are now part of a national park. They can be accessed by train, boat, walking, or by a small car (not recommended!). We took the train from La Spezia and were at the first village Riomaggiore in about 20 mins. We were heading to the second village Manarola which was 10 mins further.

This is a very cute village built on a very steep slope. The hills are terraced and grow olives, grapes and lemons. We walked out to a headland and the views of the town and the sea were beautiful.

We then hopped back on the train, skipped the next town Corniglia, and went to Vernazza. Once again very cute with a breakwater protecting a small marina. Some people were swimming and while the water was very clear the beach wasn’t really up to Australian standards. By this time it was getting very crowded with large groups coming through. We had a great lunch at one of the restaurants on the piazza.

Our final town was Monterosso. This is the largest of the towns and the one with the biggest beach - mostly pebbles with some sand.

We walked around town and stopped for a spritz and a beer before catching a boat back to La Spezia. The views along the coast were sensational.

While you can walk between the villages it would be very difficult and would take a few days. The hills are very steep and you could see a number of landslides had happened.

Tomorrow we are off to Pisa and Florence. Czytaj więcej