My Whirlwind Journey Through the Beautiful Cinque Terre Villages

You’re planning out your European vacation, then realize you’ve only allotted two days for a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cinque Terre! What will you do? What WILL you do? Have no fear; Sojourns With Sue is here!

When I was planning my last trip to Europe (that sounds so snooty!) I wanted to build in a “vacation from the vacation.” Between the heavy-duty tourism planned for Rome and Florence, I decided to look for something beachy and relaxing.

As I researched Italy’s beach options, I realized the Cinque Terre was not too far out of the way on the journey from Rome to Florence. I ended up booking 3 nights in order to really get some solid sitting on the beach time (covered from head to toe, of course, I am Irish). But that only left one full day to see the sights.

Since the goal was not to be a “heavy-duty tourist” on this vacation from the vacation, I figured I would make a quick one-day visit to the Cinque Terra villages my goal. Read on for the exciting tale of the day my famous pal Mo and I took a whirlwind journey through the beautiful Cinque Terre villages!

Riomaggiore

We started in our home base of Monterosso al Mare and took the approximately 15 minute train ride to Riomaggiore. Because we arrived so early many of the shops weren’t open yet, so we just browsed the streets and took in the amazing views.

Manarola

From Riomaggiore to Manarola the train ride is about 2 minutes! You could also walk the 1.3 miles to get there.

Next to Monterosso, Manarola ended up being my favorite Cinque Terre village. I think it may have just been timing. We found a fantastic spot to take in the views, our favorite restaurant of the whole trip, and a delightful shop full of lemon-covered merchandise! What more could you ask for?

We walked up the steep street Via Antonio Discovolo, following the signs to see the church at the top, Church of San Lorenzo. The Ligurian Gothic style church was built in 1338.

There ended up being a bell tower right across from the church with beautiful views of the town. I’m not sure what the deal is with the bell tower’s clock being off center… maybe a late addition that they were just determined to fit in?

On the way back down the hill we noticed Cantina Burasca, and gave it a try. This ended up being our favorite restaurant of a trip of pretty dang good restaurants! It wasn’t just the food, though the food was excellent. It was also the setting and mood. Just one of those “man, I am so lucky to be here right now” precious stand-out highlights of travel that you can never really predict!

After the fab lunch we continued back down the road and dropped into Limun, a handmade ceramics store with adorable lemon motifs on every item. We went souvenir wild! I think buying lemon-covered items in Cinque Terre must be like getting Mickey Mouse-covered oven mitts and clothing when you visit Disneyland!

I bought a pitcher and plate as my biggest personal souvenir from the trip. It wasn’t cheap, mainly because I had it shipped home to California, which cost more than the pottery itself. But it arrived in one piece, thank goodness!

Corniglia

We decided to skip Coniglia on this trip. After visiting the first two towns above and knowing we wanted to check out Vernazza still, this is where we drew a line in our itinerary sand. A big part of this decision was based on reading that to get from the train station to the town, you need to climb 382 steps from the train station! And then back down to leave obviously. Apparently there is a shuttle bus available too, but we had already dramatically made up our minds. 😉

Corniglia does have many wonderful qualities and I know it’s the favorite Cinque Terre town for many.

Corniglia Pros:

• It is high up and not close to the ocean so it provides wonderful, panoramic views you won’t get from the other towns.
• It’s small size (150 population) make it feel particularly cozy and safe, especially as a solo female traveller.
• Because of the small size, and lack of beach it is not generally as crowded with tourists as the other towns.
• It’s in the middle of the 5 towns, so makes it easy to split your time between the two to your north and the two to your south. Especially if you are hiking between the towns this would be a big benefit.
• If you are seeking calm, peace and quiet, this will be a dream location!
• The abundance of stairs will give you a great workout!

Vernazza

From Manarolo to Vernazza, the train ride is 7 minutes. We arrived here around 2PM and the tourist visitors were in full swing. Still it was fun to browse in the many shops. Our old pal Rick Steves has declared Vernazza the prettiest Cinque Terra town, and I can’t really object. They are all darned pretty and charming, though.

There is a famous restaurant in Vernazza with incredible views to check out, Ristorante La Torre. One of my favorite You Tubers, Dana Berez visited this restaurant in this video, and it looks just amazing! Next time for me!

Monterosso al Mare

The train ride from Vernazza to Monterosso is just 3 minutes. Monterosso is the northernmost Cinque Terra town, and it is also the largest (pop. 1,314 in 2024). This is the town I decided to stay in. You can read in excruciating detail all about why I decided to stay there, and all about Monterosso in this post.

I hope this post gave you an idea of how doable a quick taste of the Cinque Terre towns is. It is such a gorgeous place though, I recommend trying to stay a little longer if you can! Please let me know any of your favorite Cinque Terre tips in the comments below. Ciao!