CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

AN OVERNIGHT TRIP FROM FLORENCE

5 JANUARY 2020 - 6 JANUARY 2020

Having been surrounded by so much history and culture in Rome and then again in Florence, we decided to escape the city and take an overnight seachange from Florence to the Cinque Terre.

The Cinque Terre comprises of five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The train from Florence goes to La Spezia and from there you change to the regional railway which stops at all of the five towns.

We stayed in at La Vista di Marina, Riomaggiore. Arriving just after lunch, the smell of the ocean on the 14 °C day was so refreshing, we felt automatically energised.

The Cinque Terre is known for its hiking trails and there is a lot of information on the web regarding distances, conditions, opening times etc. With a cone of fried squid, we headed out along the hiking trail from Riomaggiore to Coniglia. Unfortunately, due to a recent landslide, the easy trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola was closed so we opted for the more difficult hike, skipping Manarola and taking the 1200 stairs up to Volastra.

The stairs up to the Castello should have been an
indication of the hike we had ahead of us

Castello di Riomaggiore

Looking over Manarola

Are we there yet?

Lucky for us there was a bar in Volastra which served ice cold beer (and water). The waiter was very chatty and had no problem letting us know that we were half way to Corniglia, however the second half was a much easier hike.

The hike took us just under two hours in total, however it was winter, so there weren't many people on the trail. In some sections you have to wait for others to pass as the path is very narrow and I can only imagine that during the busier months, this could extend your time.

The hike is picturesque and breathtaking. At times you are hiking through private vineyards and past the backdoor of houses dotted along the hillside. Just as we made Corniglia, the sun was setting over the ocean and it was starting to get very cold, very quickly.

Hillside vineyards

The stairs down to Corniglia Station

Back in Riomaggiore just on dark, the lights were on and the town sparkled.

We had a really simple meal at Rio Bistro.

For ease of visiting the five villages, travellers can purchase a Cinque Terre Card. The card includes several services and can be purchased online or at any of the train stations.

We caught the train to Monterosso al Mare. The town is divided into the old part and the new part by a tunnel, with the new part having the only beach on the Cinque Terre. The old part, however houses the bakery/cafe which serves Torta Monterossina. This torte is to die for, made of a pastry base, with jam, sponge, custard and chocolate.

From Monterosso we travelled back to Corniglia as we missed the town the evening prior in our rush to catch the train. Corniglia is home to 120 residence and over 1000 during the summer six months. We soaked up the sunshine, some wine and excellent food at Cecio Ristorante Camere.