Cinque Terre: Complete Travel Guide

The five villages: what to expect from each one

Riomaggiore is the southernmost village and the first stop on the train from La Spezia – four minutes from the station, so easy to reach and easy to leave. The harbour is small and beautiful, but the village fills up quickly in the morning. Manarola is the most photogenic of the five: the cluster of coloured houses above the harbour is the image that ends up on every poster, and at sunset it earns it. Corniglia is the only village not directly on the sea – it sits on a headland 100 metres above the water, reached by a long staircase from the train station or a shuttle bus. Quieter than the others as a result. Vernazza has the best natural harbour on the coast and, with it, the best concentration of restaurants worth eating in. It is the village most Cinque Terre regulars return to. Monterosso al Mare is the largest and the only one with a proper sandy beach. It is the most resort-like of the five – if you want somewhere to swim without climbing down rocks, this is where to go.

Where to stay for Cinque Terre: the case for La Spezia

Staying inside the Cinque Terre villages themselves sounds appealing but comes with real costs: rooms are expensive for what they are, the alleys are steep and narrow, and you cannot drive in. La Spezia, ten minutes south by train, solves all of this. It is a proper city with a working port, good restaurants, a covered market and a lively local life that has nothing to do with tourism. From La Spezia station, every village in the Cinque Terre is reachable in under fifteen minutes by regional train – Riomaggiore in four, Monterosso in fifteen. Hotiday has five properties in La Spezia, all close to the station: Hotiday La Spezia Centrale, Hotiday La Spezia Quiet Night, Hotiday La Spezia Castello, Hotiday Relais di Gusto and Hotiday Apartments La Spezia. The train from La Spezia runs every twenty minutes or so – you can do a different village in the morning and another in the afternoon without effort.

What to do in Cinque Terre

The Sentiero Azzurro – the Blue Trail – is the most famous hiking route in the Cinque Terre, connecting all five villages along the clifftop. Parts of it require a paid pass and are subject to seasonal closures depending on weather and erosion; check the current status before you go, as not all sections are open at all times. The stretch between Vernazza and Monterosso is consistently the most spectacular and the most demanding. The boat service between the villages is an underused alternative to the train: slower, but it gives you the perspective from the water that the path used to provide. In terms of food, focaccia and pesto are the things to eat – both are Ligurian, both are made better here than almost anywhere else. The local white wine, Sciacchetrà, is sweet, amber and not easy to find outside the region.the best skiing in Lombardy.

When to go: the honest answer

April, May and early June are the best months. The paths are open, the weather is warm enough to swim from late May onwards, and the villages have not yet been overwhelmed by the summer peak. September and October are equally good – sometimes better, because the sea is still warm and the light in autumn on the Ligurian coast is exceptional. July and August are busy in a way that genuinely changes the experience: the trails are crowded, the trains are packed, the village restaurants have queues at the door. If you can only go in summer, go early in the morning and leave by midday. November through March is off-season: many places close, the boat service stops, and the weather is unpredictable – but if you hit a clear week in winter, you will have the villages almost to yourself.

La Spezia is the right base and the train makes everything simple. Explore all Hotiday hotels in La Spezia and book direct for the best available price – members save an additional 5% at checkout.

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