I visited Cinque Terra on a tour of Italy with friends from the Carolinas. We had planned only one day to visit the five villages.
It was a glorious, overcast day filled with stops at the beach, shopping, and gawking at villagers and tourists. Because of bad weather a few days earlier, there was a landslide in one of the villages, so there was no passage by rail, and no tourist boats were sailing to another. So we explored three of the “five villages” — Riomaggiore, Corniglia, and Monterosso.
Your tour guide won’t tell you that one day in Cinque Terra isn’t enough. I would have liked more time, and we only saw three villages.
Riomaggiore
After leaving the chartered bus in La Spezia, my friends and I boarded a train for Riomaggiore. Getting to the village on a foggy, excellent day was disappointing. We were hoping for sunny skies. However, the beauty of the quaint hillside town more than made up for the clouds and sprinkles of rain.
Corniglia
By the time we reached Corniglia by train, the clouds had lifted, and the sun came out to give us an excuse to head for the beach. This was the ideal village for lounging at a seaside cafe and watching people, my favorite pastime.
Monterossa
Nothing prepared me for Monterossa. From the multi-colored houses to the dramatic coastal cliffs, this village is one to underline in the memory book. Interestingly, now that I only have photos to remind me, it’s hard to believe these came from my camera. It is genuine.
See what I mean? It’s pretty spectacular.
I hear the villages we didn’t see–Vernazza and Manarola– may be the most beautiful and exciting of all. If I can get there again, I’ll do more research on visiting Cinque Terra. Perhaps a hike from one village to another is in my future.
Stay tuned.
