Is Monterosso the Best Base for Exploring Cinque Terre?
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You’ve seen the stunning photos of the Cinque Terre villages along the Italian Riviera. Amazing, colorful houses perch on steep hillsides overlooking the sea. To me, it looked like a fairy tale; could such a perfect place really exist? And how the heck do you decide where to stay in Cinque Terre?
Trains connect the five towns, with very short rides in between. You can use the hiking trails between the five towns to relish the incredible views. The towns are all charming and adorable. From north to south, the towns are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Monterosso is the only town cars can enter. To get to all other towns, you need to catch the train in either the northern end in Monterosso or the southern end from the port city of La Spezia.
Where to Stay in Cinque Terre
When I was finally able to make my first visit to Cinque Terre it was actually pretty easy for me to decide. Once I saw the pictures of the wide sandy beach with colorful umbrellas with attached lounge chairs lined up I knew Monterosso Al Mare was where I wanted to be. I wanted to experience the glamour of that beach setup, just like Grace Kelly in “To Catch a Thief.”
Researching which hotel stay at was a little more difficult. Usually I will check rankings on line, read blogs and look on You Tube for tours of my top hotel contenders. I found this information lacking. But based on location and a couple of reviews I went with Hotel Baia. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice!
Hotel Baia
I booked a “Double Sea View” room, which had a en suite bathroom with a shower and a little balcony with two chairs. The view of the beach was just fantastic! If you watch my hotel tour video you can hear me utter the phrase “Good Gravy” at seeing the view! 😀 I’m not sure where that came from, but it is proof that I was duly impressed.
Hotel Baia serves an included breakfast each day, and they have a row of beachfront private shaded tables guests can use at any time during their stay.
Renting a pair of Hotel Baia’s beach chairs with an umbrella costs an extra 20 Euros per day. The ocean water is so clear and blue. And while not exactly warm, it’s definatly swimmable temperature. I really felt like I was in paradise!
Beach towels were not provided by the hotel, so we picked up our own Cinque Terra souvenir beach towels.
Hotel Baia Hotel Tour
Monterosso al Mare What to See and Where to Eat
Monterosso is divided into two sections: the Old Town and the New Town. The train station is in the New Town (Hotel Baia is steps away from the train station, which is another plus). To get to Old Town, it’s an easy walk, about 10 minutes, through a hillside tunnel.
New Town Highlights
- The Beach and Train Station
- Il Gigante statue – This 45 ft statue of Neptune was created in 1910, with his strong arms holding back the waves with a giant seashell, trident in the other hand. Il Gigante became a symbol for Monterosso al Mare and was featured on postcards. Unfortunatly, it was bombed by the Allies in WW2, and poor Neptune lost his arms.
- Barabba In White Restaurant – Right on the beach, with a large menu of Italian food (what else?). We tried the Pesto Lasagna and the Meat Lasagna. Though they don’t look very exciting in the photo below, both were excellent!
- Beach Bar Stella Marina – This family run restaurant/bar has been in business since the 1980s… waaaay back then! They serve up 1-litre cocktail buckets for you to bring to the beach! We lunched there and were really impressed with how fresh the salads were.
- Bougainvillea – Gorgeous displays like this are all over!
Old Town Highlights
- The Town Itself! It was so fun to wander around in the little maze of streets packed with shops and restaurants, with random churches popping up also.
- Church of San Giovanni Battista – This 1300’s gothic style church was wild to stumble upon, like walking into a Tim Burton movie with its black and white striped decor inside and out. There is a baptismal font from 1360 preserved and still used here.
- Oratory of Death and Prayer – This church, which is right near the Church of San Giovanni Battista, blew my mind even more! It was decorated with dozens of skeletons and skull and crossbones symbols. I was not in Kansas anymore, or even in Disneyland, though it felt like it! Turns out this church is from the 1600’s and was devoted to arranging burials for the poor and caring for widows and orphans of lost sailors.
- Emy’s Way Restaurant – This place came highly recommended by locals, and it was indeed delicious. The restaurant features classic Ligurian cuisine from the area. Be sure to make a reservation and don’t miss the pesto!
- Ristorante Ciak – This was another restaurant highly recommended by the locals. Ciak prides himself in serving organic, local produce. Some of it from his farm plot right there in town. Wonderful atmosphere and food!
In Summary
In summary, because of the iconic beach Monterosso al Mare was the slam dunk choice for me. If you are not interested in that sort of beach scene, definitely check out the other 4 towns. They each have their own unique charms, and each of them has excellent restaurants and fun shops to visit!
