Cinque Terre from LaSpezia

[agnesd]

We will be touring CT on our own by train from the port of La Spezia (tendering) which docks from 8am to 6pm. What towns should we not miss in this small time span? We would rather linger and enjoy a couple rather than dashing between all five.

Which town would be the best for lunch? Should we go to the furthest and work our way back?

[slidergirl]

Everyone will have their favorite CT town. Me - I liked Vernazza. I stayed there a few days back in May this year. For some reason, it seemed less "touristy" than the others. It had a wonderful grocery where I was able to get some fantastic cheese, salumi, and veggies for lunches and light dinners. A good bakery was next door. If you want to buy lunch there, I'll recommend Vulnetia. It is on the harbor. My friend and I split a seafood risotto that was marvelous. A ton of seafood in it, and it just tasted fresh out of the sea. Her husband had the trofie with pesto and said it was the best he had eaten in CT.

 

After Vernazza, I'd say Monterosso al Mare makes my list. But, any of the towns you visit would be good. It's a no more than probably 10 minutes on the train between each town and the trains are pretty frequent. Have a good time!

[JLC@SD]

We were in CT last June, during a four day stay at Rapallo.

 

Since you have one day, I would do Vernazza, Manarola and Riomaggiore as they are the most scenic. Monterosso al Mare is a beach resort and not as scenic.

 

Corniglia is up on a hill and difficult to get to if you have to walk up. They have a bus that will be crowded and runs sporadically. Do not waste your time at Corniglia.

 

I would take the train to Vernazza, spend time there and then take the train to Corniglia if you want to walk the trail to Manarola. The train station at Corniglia is down at ocean level. Then I would definately walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore which is the easiet walk and the most scenic.

 

You have buy a one day pass to walk the trails. Each town has a ticket office, just ask where when yuo get there.

 

We did the Corniglia to Manarola walk in 1 1/2 hours and the Manarola to Riomaggiore walk in less than an hour. Both walks are worth doing.

 

If you want to end up at Vernazza, whcih we did, do everything in reverse.

[JLC@SD]

This is what you do not want to miss:

 

 

 

[JLC@SD]

Some of the views if you do the walks between the towns

 

 

[JLC@SD]

A great place to eat at Vernazza is at the restaurant at the square shaped stone tower with flat roof on the right side of this photo. You walk up the steps that start behind the blue umbrellas. They had fantastic fish and a great view overlooking the harbor.

 

[agnesd]

Thanks for all the input. Now I can made an educated decision.

[Adsmama]

is it easy to find the walking trails between the towns? Is it easy to find the train stations at each town if you did walk between two of them?

[grandbanksguy]

Which town would be the best for lunch?

 

Our best meal in C-T was at Ciak http://www.ristoranteciak.it/index_eng.html in Monterosso. Probably our best meal in all of italy.

[Eileen G]

is it easy to find the walking trails between the towns? Is it easy to find the train stations at each town if you did walk between two of them?

 

Yes it is easy to find the trails and train stations. When you get off the train in Riomaggorie you need to go to the right, through a pedestrian tunnel to get to the town. Don't go to the Villa de Amore first or you will miss the town. At the far end of the Villa del Amore, Manarolla, you will see the train station. Again you need to walk through a tunnel to get to the town.

[painfree]

Hi..

 

In 2007 The Emerald Princess was diverted from Livorno to La Spezia..We had planned a private tour of the Cinque Terra but ended up cancelling do to a major increase in cost...We opted for a DIY...

 

We took a cab from La Spezia to Riomaggorie..Cost: 8€ per person

Park Pass...Cost 5€

Train Ticket..Cost 1.1€

 

We did the Via Del Amore from Riomaggorie to Manorola..hiked up the hill and then found out the 'bus' which transports people up and down the mountain was included in our park pass..From Manorola we took the train to each village..spending the longest time in Vernazza as we enjoyed lunch high up on the hill..We finished our day in Monterossa and returned via train to LaSpezia..interestingly..we had the same cabby take us back to the tender site..Despite the occassional rain drops we enjoyed this area and would love to return in the future..

Carol