Cinque Terre, a group of five colorful villages along the shimmering Italian Riviera, is about all things merry. During our trip, we were coming to Cinque Terre from Florence. The chance of being on a beach and hiking was a welcome prospect for our minds overwhelmed by taking in all the art and architecture in Florence and Rome.
The entire Cinque Terre region – the coastline, the villages, and the hills are all part of a national park and the most popular trail is a 12 km route along the coast that goes through all five villages. Due to the weather forecast, parts of the trail were closed on the day we were hiking and we ended up only hiking between Monterosso to Vernazza. It took us about two hours with many stops for catching our breath and taking pictures. The vistas on the hike consist of the sea, of course; and the hills with terraced slopes, vineyards, lemon trees and colorful houses tumbling down the cliffs. Check out these pictures!
View of Monterosso al mare from the trail to Vernazza
While each village is charming in its own right, Vernazza was, hands down, our favorite! I can say that I had the best pasta and focaccia of my entire Italy trip here.
Beautiful view of Vernazza as you approach it from the trail
View of Vernazza from the harbor
A charming yellow house amidst all that brick
We spent so much time in Vernazza that we decided to skip visiting the next village, Corniglia and took a train to Manarola and then from there to Riomaggiore. By train, the trip from any one village to the next is not more than five minutes.
View of Manarola from the trail to Corniglia
That’s the trail to Corniglia and Manarola in the background
Which color do you fancy? Take your pick!
Riomaggiore and its harbor
Cute fruit store in Riomaggiore
Pretty windows and peeling paint – I don’t know why that is appealing!
Taking in the view
Want to read about more colorful towns in Europe? You might also enjoy reading about Burano.
Getting to Cinque Terre from Florence
We arrived at La Spezia, the nearest railway junction, from Florence on an early morning direct train (~1.5 hours). This train leaves from Florence’s Campo di Marte railway station. At the time of writing this post, there is only one direct train every day so you want to make sure to get on that one. If not, you will have to change trains at Pisa and it will considerably add to the travel time. You can look for train options and make your reservations here.
Irrespective of where you are coming from, your first stop is going to be La Spezia. Once you get here, you can purchase your hiking passes at the information booth in the train station. For an additional price, you can also buy an unlimited access pass for the train. It is a good idea to get it in case you do not plan on hiking the entire trail but still want to visit each village. The pass also gives you access to the public restrooms and wifi on the train stations.
Other tips
- If you are only on a day trip – start from Monterroso and come back to Riomaggiore as the day progresses via hike or train. That way you will be just 5 minutes away from La Spezia at the end of the day for your train to your destination.
- Carry sufficient water on your hike. It gets HOT!
- Remember the focaccia!
If you have a couple of days to spare in Northern Italy, definitely consider a trip!
