Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore to Manarola

We’re in Riomaggiore—the southernmost of the five towns of the picturesque Cinque Terre, on the seacoast.

We’ve been wondering whether Liberation Day was shifted from Tuesday to Monday to allow for a long weekend, because the crowds were insane. Just a continuous line of hikers on the trail from our town to the next one to the north—Manarola.

The trail was only a few miles, but the two towns are separated by a mountain and it was a very steep climb up stone stairs and pathways, and then a corresponding descent into the village on the coast. Grapes and olives are grown on nearly every available patch of land with terracing.

Normally there is a nice flat trail between the villages, but it was destroyed in a landslide in 2012 and is still being rebuilt. The views from the top were spectacular, even with the crowds.

Getting back to Riomaggiore on the train was a complete zoo, and the group got separated and wound up taking separate trains back. We’re in an Airbnb very close to the train station, which is convenient, but a bit noisy (not too bad, though).Read more