Cinque Terre, Italy - August 17th to 22nd, 2025

Cinque Terre is a national park along the western coast of Italy in the north. The park protects the natural coastal landscape along with the history and culture of five small fishing villages, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riamaggiore. One of the main attractions of the park, besides the five villages themselves, are the historic walking paths connecting the villages, high along the cliffside, running along terraces held back by historic walls made from dry-stacked stones as the paths passed through the vineyards and olive groves high up on the hills. We stayed almost a week in Vernazza, and explored the area from there.

Sunday, we woke up to our alarms at 5 am, got dressed, went to the bathroom, brushed our teeth, finished packing, and were leaving our room before 5:30 am. We managed to get out the door of the hotel, push the button to unlock the gate, and managed not to get trapped between the door of the hotel and the gate.

It was a ten minute walk up the road to reach the bus stop. We were the first ones there. The bus wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 6:06 am. Half a dozen other people showed up before the bus arrived. We had a lovely chat with a family of four from Pennsylvania and Colorado.

It was a long day of train travel, but not as bad as getting to Varenna. We had one bus and four trains. The bus got us to Lecco. A Trenord train took us from Lecco to Milano Centrale. From Milan, we took a regional Trenitalia train to Torino Porta Nuova. An intercity Trenitalia train brought us from Torino to Sestri Levante. From there it was another regional train to reach Vernazza.

For the most part, things went pretty smoothly. We had about half an hour in Milan, which gave us enough time to purchase a couple of Cokes. Albergo Milano had given us a bag of chestnut cookies (Biscotti di Castagne) the night before when we checked out. So the cookies and Cokes were our breakfast.

The train leaving Torino was posted to leave ten minutes earlier than the scheduled time on our train reservation, but luckily we still had plenty of time to catch it. Our train car was very warm. After the first stop, a conductor came around and reassigned us from coach 4 to coach 7. Apparently the air conditioning was not working in coach 4. We’re guessing they added coach 7 to the train at the first stop. The AC was working fine in coach 7, yay!

Ann walked back to coach 3 to buy another round of Cokes for lunch. Coach 3 had vending machines for drinks. Unfortunately, the Cokes were warm, but they still quenched our thirst. Our lunch was our leftover trail food, consisting of granola bars, meat sticks, cashews, and a cereal bar.

Despite leaving Torino ten minutes early, it looked like we had gotten behind schedule as we went along. However, by the time we reached Sestri Levante, we were back on time again. Our connecting train in Sestri was about 7 minutes late arriving, but it was a short train ride and it was our last train, so we had no worries about missing a connection.

We arrived in Vernazza a little after 2 pm. The little town was packed full of people, from the train station, all the way down the street through town, and to the little sandy beach and marina.

On the way, we stopped at the ATM. Our accommodations, Francomaria rooms, wanted cash. We first tried getting out the full amount, over 1000 euros, but it said that exceeded our limit. Of course, it didn’t say what that limit was, so we made three more attempts, lowering the amount each time, until it said our card was no longer usable. Out of fear it would eat our card, we tried a different bank ATM card and managed to withdraw a total of 500 euros in 250 euro increments before it refused to give us any more.

Even though we didn’t have enough cash yet, we went to check in anyway. They allowed us to check in without paying them, but they held on to one of our drivers licenses until we could pay them the full amount. We were staying six nights, so we shouldn’t have any issues getting out enough cash by then.

After checking in, we sat in our room, enjoying the air conditioning to cool back off. Keith took a nap.

After feeling revived, we wandered the streets of town. The town is pretty small, so it didn’t take us long. Since there are not many places to stay overnight inside Vernazza, the crowds that we saw in the afternoon had dwindled down in the evening to a more manageable size.

The majority of the shops, bars, and restaurants line the major street through town. The train station is at one end of the street and the beach is at the other end. People were lying out on the beach, swimming in the water, sitting alongside the marina, or taking boats in and out of the small harbor.

From the street, there are walkways between the buildings that lead up stairs to various homes and rooms on the hillside. Our room was up one of those walkways. Inside the main door, we went up two more flights of stairs, through another common door, before reaching the door to our room. It was a basic room, but it had a small refrigerator.

No meals came with the room, so we walked over to the coop in town to pick up some groceries for breakfast. The coop was pretty small, with not much selection. We managed to find a container of raspberry yogurt, a bag of granola, and a bag of cookies. That should hold us for a little while.

For dinner, we walked up a long walkway to Ristorante al Castel. It was up near Castello Doria, with a view down over the town and harbor. Keith ordered the prosciutto e melone with a veal steak. Ann had the veal cutlet with penne al Castello. For dessert, we both had the lemon sorbet. We enjoyed our delicious meals as we watched the people jumping off the rocks below us into the water and the sun setting over the hill beyond the harbor.

Monday we hiked part of the Blue Trail in the Cinque Terre National Park and explored a couple more of the five villages.

We took our time getting ready in the morning. After eating our breakfast of yogurt and granola, donning our sun block, and grabbing our daypacks with full water bottles, we hit the trail.

We headed southeast on the Blue Trail from Vernazza towards Corniglia, the next little village. Ann got on the MyPass app that she downloaded months earlier to purchase our Cinque Terre tickets for the day (tickets can also be purchased directly from https://card.parconazionale5terre.it/). They were 17.44 euros for the two of us, which included a booking fee. Tickets are required for some of the trails. Not long after we started ascending out of Vernazza on the trail, we came across a park checkpoint, where they checked our tickets. There was another checkpoint just before reaching Corniglia, where they checked our tickets again.

The trail is steep, consisting mostly of rocky steps, with dry-stacked stone walls usually lining the trail. About half way to Corniglia, we came across a little drink stand selling slushees, so we stopped for a drink. We both got a lemon slushee with pomegranate juice which came with a slice of watermelon. They were very refreshing on a hot day. Soon after leaving the stand, we came across a couple of more places as we passed by a couple of buildings containing a Farm Shop and a bar.

Some of the trail is exposed to the hot sun, but, thankfully, other parts of the trail are shaded by trees. The first half of the trail was an ascent while the second half was a descent down into the village of Corniglia. It was about 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) with an elevation gain of 250 meters (820 feet), which took us about two hours and twenty minutes, including our stop for drinks.

Corniglia is the only Cinque Terre village without a harbor. However, there were stairs down to a little area where people were swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Like Vernazza, there is one street that winds through town. It led to a terrace, with views out over the sea.

We stopped at a little place called La Scuna bar for lunch. They had a small terrace with a view. Keith ordered the bruschetta with anchovies along with the smoked swordfish. Ann had a stuffed focaccia sandwich with ham, mozzarella and grilled vegetables.

As we sat there enjoying our meal, we looked up the weather forecast. There were heavy thunderstorms predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. We originally were going to hike back to Vernazza from Corniglia, but decided to continue hiking over to Manarola while the weather was good. We can take the train back from there.

The trail from Corniglia to Manarola goes up and through Volastra. We believe a Cinque Terre ticket is also required for this trail, but there were no checkpoints to check our tickets.

The trail passed through vineyards and olive tree groves. It passed over or under several permanent mechanical devices that looked like they were for hauling goods up and down the hillside. We were hoping to stop for a drink in Volastra, but we didn’t pass any place that looked like it was open. Instead, we refilled our water bottles at the potable water fountain in town.

Again, the trail was a steep ascent for the first half and a steep descent for the second half. For most of the downhill, the steps were nicely spaced so we could get into a nice rhythm. But it was rather hard on the knees. We wish we would have brought one or two of our trekking poles to take the pressure off our knees.

By the time we reached Manarola, we had covered an additional 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) with an elevation gain of 379 meters (1243 feet) which took us two hours and forty minutes to complete. So our totals for the day were 10.3 kilometers (6.7 miles) with an elevation gain of 629 meters (2063 feet) in five hours. We counted the combination as hike number 49 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.

We walked the main road through Manarola down to the harbor. Along the way, we stopped for a couple of Cokes, then again for gelato. The town was packed with people. In the lower section of town, boats were stored along the street next to the buildings. People were swimming in the harbor and jumping off rocks into the water.

The train tracks along the coast stay within tunnels for most of the way. So, even though the trains run frequently, we didn’t see nor hear the trains much, which was nice. However, taking a crowded train back to Vernazza through all of the tunnels didn’t sound very enjoyable, so we opted to take a boat back. There was one leaving in fifteen minutes and it only cost 15 euros per person. That sounded much better.

It wasn’t a very long boat ride, but there were nice views of Manarola, Corniglia, and Vernazza from the water. The boat was pretty full, but we could sit outside in the fresh air, instead of being stuffed inside a train. We were happy with our choice.

When we returned to Vernazza, we took refreshing showers. We were both pretty sweaty and sticky. Ann’s blister on her foot, which was close to fully healing, had filled back up with fluid. However, the skin had thickened and she didn’t feel any pain. However, she did get some chaffing from her hiking pants. Thankfully, that had not happened while we were on the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB Days 1 & 2: Le Brévent to Refuge du Fioux - July 20th to 21st, 2025), hiking everyday. Ann applied some zinc oxide, hoping the chaffing would heal by morning.

Keith was not very hungry for dinner, since his lunch was more filling than he expected. So we just got take away for dinner. Ann picked up a salad with chicken, while Keith got a salami sandwich along with a beer. We enjoyed our meal sitting along the wall next to the harbor. We’re not sure what the open container laws are in Italy, but we hoped that someone would tell us if we were violating any rules. We spent about an hour sitting there, eating our dinner, and watching all of the people.

Tuesday, we explored Riomaggiore. We had a timed entry reservation for Via dell’Amore for 2 pm, which starts in Riomaggiore.

After our breakfast of yogurt and granola in the room, Ann walked over to the ATM to make another couple of 250 euro withdrawals so we can eventually pay our room bill. Then we hopped on a train to reach Riomaggiore.

The train station in Riomaggiore is not in the center of town, but is right next to the entrance of the Via dell’Amore. To reach the center of the village, you can either walk through the tunnel which runs next to the train tracks, or take the road up and around the point, just below the castle. Our Via dell’Amore tickets included the entrance to the castle, so we took the road.

Instead of going straight to the castle, we followed the road around to the Church of San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore. After taking a peek inside the church, we headed up to the castle.

There isn’t much to see in the castle, but there is a display on the history of the area which includes the making of the terraces, establishing the vineyards, and the development of wine making in the area.

From the castle, we wound our way down through the center of the village. This is where most of the shops, restaurants and bars are located. As we got closer to the harbor, we noticed boats stored along the street next to the buildings. Scuba diving seemed to be popular here, as we saw a diving shop and several people in wet suits carrying their tanks down to the harbor.

Continuing along the path past the harbor and around the bend, there is a small rocky beach. The beach was packed full of people, both on the beach and in the water.

To get back to the Via dell’Amore, we didn’t go back the way we came. Instead, we started climbing stairs between the buildings near the harbor. We kept climbing until we reached the path that went around the point, just below the castle.

For lunch, we went to Bar Stazione, right next to the train station. We both had a stuffed faccocia sandwich, a cup of mixed fruit, and a couple of drinks. It wasn’t the best food in the world, but it kept us from going hungry.

We then had over an hour before our scheduled time on the Via dell’Amore. We bought another couple of drinks and sat in the shade, people watching while we waited.

Via dell’Amore is a paved trail that runs from Riomaggiore to Manarola. It is only 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long and pretty flat. It is a nice alternative to the hiking trails from town to town, especially if you are unable or unwilling to hike the rough and steep trails.

Via dell’Amore was originally opened in the 1930’s. A landslide in 2012 closed the path for twelve years before it was restored and reopened in 2024. In addition to the Cinque Terre park tickets, you also need an additional Via dell’Amore ticket. It seemed like there were still tickets available while we were there. When we reserved our time slot, it said the path was one way, from Riomaggiore to Manarola, but we’re not sure that was still in effect or enforced. The path did not seem crowded at all.

It is pretty along the path, but we enjoyed the hiking trails better. Was it worth the extra cost? The cost isn’t much and we’re glad we experienced it, but we didn’t find it overwhelmingly spectacular.

The path ends right at the Manarola train station. So we hopped on the next train to get back to Vernazza. During the day, there are two to three trains every hour. We’re not sure all of them stop at all of the towns, so we made sure the electronic board said that the train we got on was stopping at Vernazza. We double-checked that with Google Maps. It was only about a ten minute train ride, through the tunnels. We just wanted to make sure we didn’t end up in Sestri Levante and have to back track to Vernazza.

When we returned to Vernazza, Ann got a gelato from Gelato Vernazza. Keith didn’t want any. Ann really liked their extra dark chocolate. Then we made one more stop at the ATM for another 250 euros. Now we should have enough to pay our lodging bill.

Back at our room, we took refreshing showers and did some hand laundry. For dinner, we headed down to Gianni Franzi. We both started out with the spaghetti all scarpara which had a little spice to it. Then Keith had the breaded veal cutlet while Ann had the Paillard di Vitello (thin, grilled veal). We both preferred the grilled veal over the breaded one, but both were good. For dessert, Ann got the chocolate mousse while Keith had the creme caramel.

While we were enjoying our delicious meal, we had front row seats watching a group of men haul boats out of the harbor and store them in the town square. They were preparing for the storms that were predicted for the next two days. They pulled them out of the water and up the ramp using a winch, then put them on a small wheeled trolly and pushed the boats over to their resting place in the square. It was quite an operation, as it took most of our meal for them to get about a dozen boats out of the water. When they finished, there were still over a dozen boats still in the harbor. We’re not sure why they were not hauled out as well.

Wednesday, we hung out in Vernazza, waiting for the storms to pass through. After a relaxing morning in the room, we ventured out around 10 am, since it was not raining yet. The village was much quieter in the morning, before the tourists started arriving around 11 am. We walked down along the pier. A family was dropping pieces of bread in the water for some schools of fish to eat. The rocks around the harbor looked volcanic, with interesting patterns, colors, and textures.

We paid our room bill, in cash, then wandered the walkways and stairs on the opposite side of the street. We poked our heads inside Chiesa di Santa Margherita di Antiochia (Church of St. Margaret of Antioch). We bought a couple of peach teas, then sat along the wall by the harbor, watching all the tourists arrive.

As we strolled along the street through town, we looked for a place to eat lunch. Unfortunately, most of the places didn’t open until noon for food. It wasn’t quite noon yet and it looked like it might start raining, so we opted for a takeaway place, called Panificio Focacceria. Keith got a little pizza while Ann had the torta di verdure (vegetable pie filled with spinach). We found an open bench to sit on while we enjoyed our food.

As we finished, it started to lightly rain, so we went back to our room. However, the storm passed over and didn’t do much. So around 3 pm, we ventured back out for gelato. We went to a new place, called Gelateria II Porticiolo. Ann had chocolate and raspberry while Keith had vanilla and melon. It was tasty, but not our favorite gelato.

Again, it looked like it was going to rain, so back to our room we went. The violent storm didn’t hit until almost 5 pm. Some of the thunder was loud and sounded pretty close. This time it actually rained pretty hard.

The storm only lasted about an hour. Around 6:30 pm, we ventured back out to have dinner. There was a place that opened at 6:30 pm, called 5 Terre Bistrot. It was a small place, with only about half a dozen tables inside. Their menu was also small, but the food was exceptional.

For the first course, Ann ordered the lasagna al pesto while Keith had the ravioli al ragu (a meat sauce). For our main, we both ate the Guancia di vitello (veal cheek). The veal was tender and rich, in a wine sauce surrounded by a potato cream. Very tasty.

Somehow we managed to also eat dessert, even though our first two courses were very filling. Keith had the tiramisu while Ann ordered the panna cotta. We both liked the panda cotta better. It was served with a salted caramel sauce with chips of dark chocolate on top. It was probably the sweetest dessert we’ve had in a while, but it was delicious.

Thursday, we relaxed in Vernazza again, waiting for more thunderstorms to pass through. The weather was actually nice until about 4 pm.

We were out of yogurt, so we went out for breakfast. We tried to buy more yogurt from the Coop, but it was closed both on Tuesday and Wednesday. We think it normally closes on Tuesdays and there was a little hand-written sign on the door on Wednesday that it was closed due to the storm.

Right next to the Francamaria reception, there was a little place with a breakfast buffet. It was the buffet for a local hotel, the Albergo Barbara. However, the general public can participate for 12 euros per person. The buffet was decent, with yogurt, cereal, bread, butter, jam, hard-boiled eggs, cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes, and juice. There were items that looked like croissants, but they had fillings inside them and the dough wasn’t as flaky as a croissant. One drink was included, but Keith paid for a second cappuccino.

For lunch, we got takeaway from the little window at Ristorante Luca. We weren’t very hungry, so Keith just got French fries while Ann had the trofie al pesto. Trofie al pesto is a classic dish from the Liguria region of Italy, which the Cinque Terre is a part of. Trofie is a short, round pasta that is twisted. Some trofie is made with potatoes, similar to gnocchi.

It was still sunny in the afternoon, so we walked up to the Castello Doria and paid our 2 euros each to take in the views from atop the castle tower. There were narrow, spiral stairs inside the tower to reach the top. Traffic was in both directions and it was a little tight to squeeze past someone coming the other direction. Our timing was pretty good, as there was a long line of people heading up the stairs to the castle as we were leaving.

Then, of course, it was time for gelato. This time we tried Gelateria Dal 1968. Ann had the dark chocolate and mint while Keith had the chocolate chip and caramel. So far, this was our favorite gelato in Vernazza.

The Coop store was open on Thursday, so we picked up some more yogurt. This should last us for breakfast until we leave on Saturday.

At 4 pm, there was a lot of rumbling of thunder, but not much rain fell. At 7 pm, we ventured out to find dinner. Very dark clouds were rolling in, the seas were getting rough, and the wind was picking up. We tried to get a table at Ristorante Belforte, but all of their inside tables were reserved. Unfortunately, most of the restaurant seating in Vernazza is outside, so there weren’t many options when the weather is bad. So we went back to Vergusto for takeaway. Ann picked up a chicken sandwich while Keith opted for a ham sandwich. A mixed fruit cup that we shared rounded out our dinner. Keith also grabbed a beer. We took our loot back to our room and ate there. It wasn’t the dinner we were hoping for, but at least we didn’t go hungry.

It was stormy the rest of the evening. It was at this point that we were wishing we had gotten a room with a view. Our room had frosted windows that faced a walkway between the buildings, so we couldn’t see anything out our windows. But we survived just fine.

Friday was a sunny day with no rain. However, the sea was still a little rough, but it made for some dramatic scenery as the waves crashed along the shore.

After breakfast in our room, we hiked the Blue Trail over to Monterosso. It was the last of the five villages that we hadn’t visited yet. We’re not sure why they call it the Blue Trail in English, because it is officially the Sentiero Verde Azzuro, which directly translates to the green-blue path. We’re assuming the green refers to the vegetation on the land with the blue referring to the blue sea and the blue sky.

The trail was crowded. It might have been because it was a Friday instead of mid-week, or that it was the first day after two days of predicted storms, or it is the most popular trail, or a combination of those factors. There were times when we had to wait for a long line of hikers going by in the opposite direction. It did seem like more people were going from Monterosso to Vernazza rather than from Vernazza to Monterosso. Since it was morning, the sun was at our backs, which was better than facing the sun.

The 3.9 kilometers (2.4 miles) had an elevation gain of 230 meters (755 feet) which took us an hour and fifty minutes to complete. It was a little cooler than our previous hikes in the Cinque Terre, with temperatures in the mid 20’s Celsius (70’s Fahrenheit), but the humidity seemed higher, so we worked up a pretty good sweat.

When we first arrived in Monterosso, we bought a couple of Cokes and found a bench in some partial shade to relax and cool off. Then we wandered the town.

Monterosso is the largest of the Cinque Terre villages, with the most shops, bars, restaurants and beaches. It is in two sections, with the old town center and a small beach in one section, and another section that felt more like a beach resort along with the train station. Most of the beach was taken up with private umbrellas and lounge chairs that you could rent. There were a couple of small public sections where people could claim their own spot with their towels and umbrellas. Almost every inch of beach was claimed.

We stopped at Lapo’s Pizzeria for lunch. There were views of the harbor from our outside table. Ann ordered the Andrea pizza which came with onion, bell peppers, sausage, and spicy salami. Keith had the Nikolas with spicy salami, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. They were both very tasty.

To work off those calories, we strolled up and down the beach area of town, then went back to the old town area and wandered the streets there. Even though Monterosso is larger, with more people, the old town area was not crowded with tourists like the other villages. It seemed like most of the people there were on the beach. We ducked into a couple of the markets to pick up some food to take with us on the train the following day.

Then we parted ways. Keith, who didn’t find the trail between Vernazza and Monterosso all that exciting, wanted to take the train back. He would have preferred taking another boat ride, but the boat docks at Vernazza and Manarola were closed that day due to rough seas. Ann, who finally had her full strength back after being sick the previous month, right before tackling the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) long distance trail, wanted to get more steps in after spending two days just hanging out in Vernazza, so she wanted to walk the trail back.

To get back to the train station, Keith walked through the pedestrian tunnel to reach the other part of town. We had avoided the tunnel before, because we thought it would be more scenic to take the path around the point. Earlier, Keith had jokingly responded to Ann that there could be art along the tunnel, you never know. Well, now we do know. And yes, there is art along the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Ann enjoyed her walk back to Vernazza. There were less people on the trail, so it seemed more enjoyable. And now that it was afternoon, the sun was again at her back. It felt good to get her heart pumping again and not feel worn out, struggling to breathe, like she did on the uphill climbs of the TMB.

By the time Ann reached Vernazza, she had gone another 3.9 kilometers (2.4 miles) with an additional elevation gain of 226 meters (741 feet) which only took her one and a half hours to complete. So Ann’s totals for the day were 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) and an elevation gain of 456 meters (1496 feet) in three and a half hours. She counted it as hike number 50 of our 52 Hike Challenge for 2025.

Upon returning to Vernazza, Ann bought a peach iced tea and found a bench in the shade to cool down. Keith was already back and finished his shower. He let Ann back into the room when she was done with her refreshment so she could get her shower (we only had one room key).

For dinner, we chose Il Gambero Rosso (The Red Shrimp). It was a sunny evening, so we had no problems getting a table outside in the piazza (plaza), where we could look out over the harbor and watch the sun set. For starters, Ann ordered the trofie al pesto while Keith had the lasagna con ragu (with meat sauce). We’ve noticed that the lasagna we’ve had in Italy is a much thinner noodle with a lot more layers than the lasagna we’ve had in the States.

For our main dishes, Ann had the Cotoletta, a breaded veal cutlet, served with a small salad, while Keith had the Pesce in forno alla ligure (fish baked Ligurian style) which was served with vegetables. Keith enjoyed his fish, but Ann thought her veal was just OK.

For dessert, Keith had panna cotta with caramel sauce while Ann tried the Buccellato alla vaniglia con vino passito. Buccellato is a local cake which was served with a sweet wine. The cake was somewhat similar to a pound cake. Ann wasn’t sure if she should dip the cake in the wine, but she did anyway. When eaten with the cake, the wine tasted really strong, almost like a schnapps. But when she sipped the wine separately, it didn’t taste strong at all. Interesting.

Despite a couple of days of bad weather, that didn’t turn out to be as bad as forecasted, we still managed to explore all five villages and the paths in between them. If we had a couple more days, Ann probably would have gone swimming and snorkeling, perhaps taking a boat tour. Keith is not a water person, so he didn’t mind missing those activities.

Check out our related video: Cinque Terre, Italy

(Ann)