Cinque Terre is known for it’s beautiful beaches, colorful seaside villages, steep vineyards and fishing boats. There are 5 towns in Cinque Terre which you can access via train, boat, or hiking. We enjoyed exploring village to village by hiking and utilizing the train. This was such a unique spot to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. We planned for 2 nights here and only wish we had more time – there is so much to do, see and explore. This just might be our favorite place in Italy so far!
Where We Stayed:
We stayed in the village of Monterosso, the largest village in Cinque Terre, at L’Antica Terrazza. Monterosso has two sides – old and new. Since we wanted to be in the original part of the village, we stayed in the old part of town. L’Antica Terrazza was the perfect home base for us as we explored the villages. Upon arrival, we instantly felt welcomed by the owner who gave us a tour of our room and the upper terrace, which has great views of the village below. The owner was so sweet and gave us a bottle of wine and an appetizer to enjoy on the terrace to celebrate our anniversary. If you are looking to stay in the heart of old town, this is a great spot!
Adventures:
Exploring the Villages
As soon as we arrived in Cinque Terre, we hit the ground running, ready to explore these absolutely beautiful villages. We were in awe of the scenery around us. Although we were advised not to take a hike at 3pm in the afternoon, we wound up taking a train from Monterosso to Vernazza because we really wanted to explore! Once we arrived in Vernazza, we started our hike to Corniglia. The hike took us about 1.5 hours and was not an easy hike, especially in the heat in July (at 3pm). There were many steps and steep hills, but the hike was SO worth it. We had awesome views of the water, cliffs and villages.
After we arrived in Corniglia, we took the train to get to Manarola, the next village. This village is quite popular and known for amazing views of the colorful houses and cliffs. The best spot to see the houses is from around the cemetery. We followed the crowds of people and found ourselves amazed at the views. Incredible!
Beach in Monterosso
The beach in Monterosso runs along the coastline and is the only extensive sand beach in Cinque Terre. This brings many locals and tourists to the area to enjoy the beautiful water. We loved relaxing on lounge chairs that we reserved by 9am. Many people got turned away after 10am because the beaches were full, so get there early to pick your spot!
Culture & Food:
Winery Buranco
While exploring the village of Monterosso, we found ourselves climbing up a steep hill. We felt like it was going to have some great views of the town, so we continued walking. After about 5 minutes, we saw a winery, Winery Buranco! We were pleasantly surprised and needed to check it out. We each got a glass of wine and thought it was tasty. There were many vineyards along the hike, so it wasn’t a complete shock that there was a winery right in Monterosso. The views were worth the climb and the wine was an extra bonus.
Restaurants
Cinque Terre is known for it’s delicious pesto – we gave it two thumbs up. It was so good, we had to bring some home! In addition, the seafood is also a popular choice. We had so many wonderful meals here and had a few favorite restaurants.
Da Eraldo was steps away from our hotel with both indoor and outdoor seating. We did not make reservations here, so we were able to get on a wait list. How it works is at the beginning of each hour, if guests are either late or don’t show up for their reservation, they gave their spots to those on the wait list. We waited and were lucky to get a table. It was a wonderful meal and the prices were reasonable $$. The waiter was helpful in guiding us towards a wine to pair with both of our meals. We had a great experience here!
For our anniversary we ate at L’Ancora della Tortuga where we made reservations far in advance. We walked about 10 minutes from our hotel to get there. This was our last evening in Italy, as well as our anniversary, so we chose a special place. The restaurant is located right on a cliff near the water. We were lucky to get our table by the wall and we had the best views. It was beautiful and the food was our best meal in Cinque Terre.
Traveling around Northern Italy was an amazing trip and we can’t wait to go back one day to explore Southern Italy!