Guide for restaurant, train, car parking, mini market, boat tour, ferries, trails.

The most comfortable and fastest way to come and move in the Cinque Terre is by train. The station is in the town center, 5 minutes from my house. Each village of the Cinque Terre is 2 minutes by train from each other. The car is the worst way, because the town is only a pedestrian zone. The cars are left outside the village about 500 meters from the houses on the sea. There is a paid municipal car park (see the photos I posted on Airbnb) or you can park for free along the road if you are lucky enough to find a place (always outside the town).

The town is full of stairs, climbs and descents, the hiking trails are full of irregular stairs, slippery climbs and descents, you need comfortable shoes, with non-slip soles and know how to walk well. For the aforementioned reasons, also, I absolutely do not recommend large suitcases !!!!!

With the Cinque Terre card you can take all trains, buses and go on all paid trails without paying and take advantage of the public wi-fi (in the areas where the signal arrives). You can buy it at the ticket office of the train station and at any park point and information office.

Especially from March to November, if you want to be sure of finding a free table, I recommend booking 4-5 days in advance if you want to go to a restaurant. In winter the restaurants close around 10pm, so if you want to have dinner I recommend going there around seven or eight in the evening.

In the small port just below my house (go down the stairs, 1 minute on foot), there is the boarding for the ferries, which at a lower price than the classic boat tours, take people to visit Vernazza, Monterosso, Riomaggiore by sea, Portovenere, La Spezia, Lerici, Portofino. Active (with exceptions) from March to October.

From November inclusive to February inclusive is winter and considered low season, therefore some restaurants are closed for holidays, ferries and boat tours are closed. The trains run normally. The two mini markets are always open. Obviously the beauty of nature and the panorama that can be seen from the terraces of my two beloved houses remain the same all year round. March, on the other hand, is a month that is considered a cross between the low season and the high season. Usually all commercial activities are open.

The high season in which all the commercial activities are open goes from April inclusive to October inclusive, therefore from spring to autumn.

From the terrace of my two beloved houses, I recommend you stay and watch the sunrise and sunset, you can admire the hill of the vineyards in front, always in front of the terrace you can look at the seafront, the marina and the whole town of Manarola, you can see in front of you the sea and its horizon, also the towns of Corniglia and Monterosso (Vernazza cannot be seen because it lies between Corniglia and Monterosso). On the terrace of my two beloved houses you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner, lie down and relax, read a good book lulled by the sound of the sea.

In Manarola I recommend visiting the panoramic road which is located right in the middle of the hill of vineyards right in front of my two beloved houses that I rent. I recommend in Manarola to attend their famous pesto course and local wine tasting at the A Pie De Campu restaurant. Even at the Niente Dorma bar they do a great pesto course. Instead, at La Cantina Dello Zio Bramante bar I recommend their famous tasting of local wines and anchovies.

I am a lover of hiking and meditation in nature. Here I suggest you take the path that goes from Manarola to Corniglia passing through the upper part of the villages. In my opinion it is the most beautiful path of the Cinque Terre and it is free. It is a very diversified and very panoramic path, which passes through vineyards, olive trees, woods and through the small village of Volastra which is located above Manarola. From Manarola to Corniglia it usually takes me two hours. When you arrive in Corniglia take the first del for Manarola (1 minute by train).

As I wrote previously, each village of the Cinque Terre is one minute by train from each other. From Manarola to Riomaggiore 1 minute by train. From Manarola to Corniglia 1 minute by train. From Manarola to Vernazza 5 minutes by train. From Manarola to Monterosso 10 minutes by train. In Monterosso I recommend going to visit the monastery of the Capuccini friars and the beautiful path that leads to Punta Mesco (where you will find the remains of an old monastery from the 1200s) and then continue on the path that will take you to Levanto in an hour and a half.

If you are good and trained hikers, with good equipment and good hiking shoes, you can take the path that connects Manarola to Corniglia (passing through the upper part of the villages) and then continue along the blue path to Vernazza and then from Vernazza continue to Monterosso. In all, from Manarola to Monterosso, on foot, it takes between 6 and 7 hours of walking. But if you are fond of trekking, you will like it. When you arrive in Monterosso, you can relax on the beach watching the sunset and then take the train back to Manarola (10 minutes).

In Italy from spring to autumn (March to November) there are many tourists. Venice is full of tourists, Lake Como is full of tourists, Florence is full of tourists. Pisa is full of tourists. Rome is full of tourists. Of course also here in the Cinque Terre. Here the greatest influx of tourists, groups, etc. on the street is from 10 am to 5 pm. Before 10 am and after 5 pm everything is very quiet here in Manarola and in the village you can only hear the sound of the sea.

The path to Riomaggiore called Beccara is a very panoramic path, but also very difficult and tiring which requires good physical preparation, trekking shoes with non-slip soles. The path starts from the upper part of Manarola, it is a long ancient staircase made of irregular and sometimes slippery stones that goes from Manarola to the top of the mountain that divides the two villages, when you get to the top from there there is another staircase always made of irregular stones that takes you up to Riomaggiore. I repeat: it is a panoramic path, but very demanding and not suitable for everyone.

If you want to avoid tourist groups and traffic, whether you are by train or by car, I recommend that you leave early, between 7 and 8 am.

From spring to autumn I advise you to sleep in my two beloved houses with the windows open, since being both right on the sea, with the windows open you will hear the sound of the sea, of the waves on the rocks and that sound is extremely relaxing for our mind while sleeping. In my two houses, being right on the sea and far from the cultivated fields, there are usually no mosquitoes. The sea breeze passes through the windows, blowing in the fresh air even in summer.

I recommend taking the ferry in the small port under my two houses that I rent and going to visit the village of Portovenere. Portovenere is a small seaside town near La Spezia and behind the Palmaria Island. It is an ancient village with medieval architecture with a church on the sea built on the ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to the goddess Venus. In the upper part of the town there is a beautiful castle from 1,300AD. There is no train station in Portovenre. With the ferry from Manarola it takes about 40 minutes.

Winter goes from November inclusive to February inclusive (low season). The climate is usually mild (around 15 degrees). The activities to do here are mainly related to trekking along the various paths that connect the five villages of the Cinque Terre. The villages are very quiet in winter, only the sound of the sea can be heard. Winter is suitable for those seeking peace, walking in nature and relaxing on the terrace. In winter some restaurants are closed for holidays and the sea water is usually cold, but you can still stay on the beach to get a tan.

I don't advise you to come to the Cinque Terre with a lot of luggage or large bags as the Cinque Terre is full of up and down stairs. At the La Spezia train station you can find a convenient luggage storage service you can leave your larger bags there and then come by train to Manarola which is about 10 minutes by train Manarola is a small village of Athena 200 souls you don't need many souls things come here with the essentials. in Manarola from spring to autumn there is a shop called Explora which offers a paid luggage storage service.