Italy’s Cinque Terre – “Five Lands”
February 1st, 2010 by Jani Burde
Flight Centre’s Jani Burden from Halifax travels to Italy for a holiday in Europe and visits the towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterrosso. Jani blogs about vacation experiences including amazing scenic hikes, stunning landscape, and local restaurants and fresh produce. Let’s turn this over to Jani –
My trip to the Cinque Terre had been a dream of mine for quite some time. I headed there near the end of my driving tour of Italy in May 2009.
The five towns on the north-west coast of Italy consist of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterrosso. I stayed at the most southern of all of the towns, Riomaggiore, one of the smaller towns. We had to park our rental car at the entrance to the town as only authorized vehicles such as buses and delivery trucks are permitted to enter. We decided to put the car into a paid parking lot as we had seen several accidents with cars parked on the narrow roads leading to the town. The parking cost was about $40CAD a day but was well worth it knowing the rental car would be safe!
After collecting our bags we made our way down the hill to find the office for our hostel, the Cinque Terre Holidays. This unique hostel has different apartment style rooms all through the town. We ended up staying right down on the little harbour in a 2 bedroom apartment with full bath and a view of the harbour. It cost about $25CAD a night per person and was well worth it.
The biggest draw of this area, besides the stunning landscape, is that you can hike between the towns along beautiful and sometimes very steep trails. We decided to take a water taxi from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, which is the most northern town, and then hike back to our little harbour town, a trip which took about 5 hours.
The view of the towns from the boat as it made its way north in the morning were magical. Most are on the water, with only one, Corniglia, being on the hill. You can also take trains between the towns if you aren’t a big hiker. The trains run all the time and only cost a few Euros.
Taking some time to wonder around the beautiful waterfront of Monterrosso is well worth it before taking off on the amazing scenic hike. The view from the cliffs down at Vernazza is stunning, the town is a very quaint little seaside town with shops and waterfront restaurants. Corniglia, although not on the water, has beautiful old streets to wander and an ancient fort to explore.
Heading south towards Manarola is not as scenic as the first parts of the trip but between Manarola and Riomaggiore is the “Via dell’Amore” (Lovers Lane) which is an easy 20 minute walk between the two towns with no steep hills. There is part that is carved out of the rock where lovers have been writing things on the walls for generations!
Some of the best things about staying in Riomaggiore were the small restaurants and fresh produce from the little markets. This isn’t a very busy “tourist” town so you really get a feel for the people and the relaxed lifestyle. I recommend getting a bottle of Cinque Terre wine, sitting out on the rocks in the little harbour and watching the sun as it sets into the Mediterranean Sea.
Vernazza, Italy is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.
Photo Hike on to Vernazza by Alex.T from Flickr.
Looking for more information on traveling to Italy and visiting the towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterrosso? Contact Jani Burden, an International Travel Consultant with Flight Centre based at Darmouth, Nova Scotia who can be reached at 1 866 662 6530.
Categories: Destinations
