Cinque Terre, Italy

This pandemic has made me appreciate all the travels I have been able to do in the past and the beautiful countries I’ve visited. Italy is no doubt on top of the list of my favorite countries. The food, the wine, the language, the terrain, the beaches – everything is just so mesmerizing and looks like it’s right out of a  painting. It’s quite unfortunate how hard they’ve been hit and what they’re going through. My thoughts and prayers are with the country and I will definitely be making a trip to Italy to support their tourism industry once all this is over.

I visited Cinque Terre as part of my 10 day Italy trip 2 years ago. Read about my travels in Venice and Florence as well. Cinque Terre was my third stop during my Italian adventure. It’s a string of colorful seaside villages on the Italian Riviera and has 5 main villages.

1) Monterosso al Mare

We stayed at Hotel Villa Adriana in Monterosso. This is also the biggest of the 5 villages and has a bunch of restaurant and hotels. The hotel was walking distance from the beach and offered free bike rentals to explore the town.
The village also has beautiful beaches. However, unlike the beaches in the US, these are rocky. The water is crystal clear and amazing to get into after walking around in the strong Italian sun.

2) Vernazza

This is  the most beautiful of the 5 villages. We hiked here from Monterosso and had lunch here.

3) Corniglia

This is above the cliffs. You need to climb up quite a few steps to get here and the views are amazing.

 4) Manarola

This is the second most southern village, it also has 1 street and a harbor area where you can sun-bathe and swim. It has an absolutely beautiful vantage point where all the popular Cinque Terre shots are taken.

5) Riomaggiore

Southern village and has one street, a harbor a rocky beach, a castle, a church and a handful of restaurants.

We hiked the entire trail from one village to another stopping for a swim and food. It took a couple of hours. However, you can also take the train that connects all the villages and you will reach one village to another in minutes. Almost all the restaurants offer delicious food and wine and you can’t go wrong with picking a spot. We ate in a variety of small places and took in the views as we drank our wine.

Here’s to Italy and praying for a quick recovery from everything that has happened.

Stay Safe Everyone

Love,

Ankita