Two days in Cinque Terre

At the end of July my friend Julie and I went on a 2 day trip to Cinque Terre, a series of five fishing villages connected by a little train and several hiking routes. It was short but intense and we definitely made the most of it! The five villages that compose the Cinque Terre are all little spots of heaven on earth!

On a Tuesday morning, we left Milan with our cutie navy blue Skoda Fabia and drove down to the Cinque Terre. It took us 5 hours to get there as we made a stop to Genoa for a quick visit and we also took a bit more time than expected towards the end of the journey as the roads in the mountains were extremely steep and narrow... but that’s part of the adventure isn't it! We had no definite plan for this trip except that we wanted to explore all the five villages.

GENOA

We based ourselves in Corniglia, the village right in the middle of the Cinque Terre. We booked a room there because it was where it was the cheapest. Corniglia is small and quaint and a bit less touristic than the other villages - it was my favourite one, it looked more authentic plus we had a room with a view on the sea which was magical!

VIEW FROM CORNIGLIA

After a long morning of sitting down and driving we decided to go swimming in the warm mediterranean sea before heading to Vernazza by car to have dinner and spend the evening there. Vernazza was a bit more touristic than Corniglia but just as colourful and pretty. When we arrived there and sat down at the port I just thought this place was an Italian cliché. It couldn't look more Italian indeed with that rugged scenery, the sunshine, people sipping prosecco waiting for their seafood pasta and little boats floating on the calm sea and all those colours. It was beautiful.

VERNAZZA

On day two we woke up early and decided to drive to Manarola where we didn't stay long – as it was very warm we just wanted to enjoy the beach that morning and the one in Manarola was not really easy to access. So after a quick visit of the village and a ristretto for Julie we joined Riomaggiore by train (just 2 mins away) as the beach seemed more sheltered and easier to access.

Riomaggiore was bigger than the other villages and is built on sheer rock faces of the coastline (well, like the other villages apparently but we see it more obviously in Riomaggiore). We stayed all morning until after lunch there, swimming, wandering around and eating the tastiest pizzas.

RIOMAGGIORE

Our last stop then was Monterosso al mare which is the seaside resort of the Cinque Terre. It is where you find the biggest and most expensive hotels and most of the beaches are private so have an entrance fee. It looked a bit different than the four other villages but it was still pretty.

MONTEROSSO AL MARE

We went there at the end of July so it’s obviously not the best period for going because of the heat and the crowds as the Cinque has become a very popular touristic destination in the past two years. I’d recommend you to go in May, June or September when the temperatures are milder and before or after the crowds reach their peak.

I'd also recommend you NOT to rent a car like we did for many reasons... First, the roads, as I was saying, were a pain to drive on plus car parks can be very expensive (20€ per day in Manarola) and there's never much parking space (unless you arrive there very early or late). On the other hand train in the Cinque Terre is very handy and one way is only 4€.