The Weekend in Cinque Terre

Saturday, August 16, we traveled to Cinque Terre! 

We had to change trains in Florence, 

and had originally planned to spend the afternoon there to see The David,

 but we had to check into our hotel in Cinque Terre by 8 p.m.

 so we didn’t have time. 

That was disappointing, 

but oh well…I guess we’ll just have to go back! 

Cinque Terre was absolutely GORGEOUS! 

I definitely recommend a visit to anyone and everyone! 

It’s a group of five villages all set along the Mediterranean coast of Italy.

 They are all adorable, one street towns set down on the water or up on cliffs! 

We stayed in Riomaggiore, 

which is the town furthest south. 

It was adorable,

 but unfortunately the town is set on a rather steep hill, 

so getting our luggage up to our room was rather painful, 

as was simply getting to our room every night. 

The marina in Riomaggiore.

The first night there we just took it easy and explored Riomaggiore. 

The next day, we decided to explore three of the five cities, Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola. 

There are hiking trails that connect all five villages that run along the coast.

 We originally wanted to hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola and then from Manarola to Corniglia, but those were both closed.

 So we took the train to Vernazza, 

explored there and then hiked to Corniglia. 

In Vernazza there was this little cave that was technically "restricted," (picture on left) but everyone was going through it, so Anna and I went on in and were stunned by the beach we happened upon! (picture on right)

View of Vernazza from the top of the town tower.

The description we read online about our hike to Corniglia said that hike was suitable for 

“lazy hikers,”

 and we thought,

 “Great! We’re lazy hikers.” 

But I would have to disagree…

that hike was about an hour and a half long, 

and most of it was climbing stairs or slopes...

not quite lazy. 

View of Corniglia, the first little peninsula, from our hike. 

But we made it to Corniglia, 

the only village that doesn’t have direct access to the sea, 

to get to the village from the train station you have to climb up 365 steps! 

One for each day of the year! 

We had a delicious lunch in Corniglia, 

enjoyed the view, 

ate some gelato,

 and did a bit of shopping before taking the train to Manarola. 

Manarola was beautiful! 

It’s probably the one you’ve seen the most on Google Images or postcards!

 It goes right down to the sea and is filled with brightly colored houses! 

Here we just found a spot on a bench overlooking the city and just chilled out for a while. 

Then we went back to Riomaggiore for dinner and then a crepe…

that was basically a waffle…and bed! 

Our second and last full day in Cinque Terre was spent mostly in Monterosso al Mare, 

the town farthest north and the one with the most beach access. 

The beach was CROWDED! 

Just to give you an idea...

There was barely anywhere to step on the public beach! 

We found a nice little spot right in front, 

but within 30 minutes we were driven from it due to rising water. 

So we sat on a bench for a while waiting for our towels to dry before heading deeper into town. 

When we went down into the actual town we found another, significantly less crowded beach! 

We found a nice sandy spot and relaxed while soaking in the sun!

 When we had gotten just enough sun, 

but not too much,

 we went into town to explore a little. 

There were lots of cool shops and restaurants. 

Then we headed back to our room to shower and clean up before having dinner at a restaurant in Vernazza that had been recommended by a friend. 

I loved Cinque Terre, 

but it kind of had a theme park feel. 

I think most of that was because we were there in August along with everyone else, 

so it was packed with tourists. 

But it still maintained its unfathomable charm!