A Guide to the Villages of Cinque Terre

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/22, 10 s)

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If you’re like me, you have had the villages of Cinque Terre, Italy on your bucketlist for a while now. I remember seeing photos of the colorful cliffside villages on every travel site you can imagine and one day hoped of making the trek to see them myself. It really wasn’t until the Summer of 2021 that I was finally able to make that a reality. 

The 5 villages of Cinque Terre are (from South to North): 

• Riomaggiore

• Manarola

• Corniglia

• Vernazza

• Monterosso al Mare

The origins of Cinque Terre date back to the 11th century as Monterosso and Vernazza the first villages to be settled in the then Republic of Genoa. Fortification of the towns commenced to protect against invasions and attack from the Turks starting in the 16th century. The economic decline of the region started thereafter until transportation links La Spezia and Genoa were established. Now, the area has prospered in the face of increasing tourism. Since 1999, the Cinque Terre National Park was created to maintain and preserve the nature and historical entities that make up these villages.

Getting to these villages is rather simple:

1. Fly into Florence Peretola Airport (FLR)

2. Take the tram T2 to Firenze Santa Maria Train station

3. Take the train to La Spezia, the city that sits just South of Cinque Terre (usually requires a connection in Pisa)

4. Take the Cinque Terre Express trains from La Spezia to any village of your choosing

PROTIP: if you have some extra time, I highly suggest staying a few days in Florence as well. Check out my blog post on what to do and see in Firenze!

Initially, we wanted to rent a car to give us ultimate flexibility, however, previous trips to Italy has given me near heart attacks when it came to driving on the narrow Italian roads at the fast speeds that Italians usually do. Plus, accessibility between each town was with a train that came every 15 minutes, so getting around was easy. There are even hiking trails between the villages so you can go from one to the other using the scenic route. 

As far as how much time to spend in Cinque Terre. I recommend at least 3 days, ideally 5 so you can spend an entire day in each one, but 3 is good if you are efficient with your time. We also stayed in Vernazza, which in our opinion was one of the more gorgeous towns to be in. 

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Each town is different and should be seen in all its glory. I have prepared blog posts for each town specifically which you can access using the links throughout this post. If you’ve already been to Cinque Terre, let me know in the comments which village was your favorite and why! Our favorite happened to be Manarola.

Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/640 s)

Monterosso al Mare

(See Blog Post - A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Monterosso al Mare)

• The Northernmost town of Cinque Terre (otherwise known as Monterosso). Monterosso is known for its white wines, grapes, and olives and is the largest town of Cinque Terre. It is divided into two parts, the old and new towns, separated by a tunnel. It was briefly omitted from the Cinque Terre trail since Italian officials deemed it to be too large to be included.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 100, 96 mm, f/4, 1/1000 s)

Vernazza

(See Blog Post - A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Vernazza)

• The 2nd Northernmost town of Cinque Terre. The town was built around 1080 by the Obertenghi family from Genoa. The town served as a crucial naval base on the Ligurian coast, fortified for protection and used as a launching off point to repel frequent Saracen pirate attacks.

Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/4, 1/640 s)

Corniglia

(See Blog Post - A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Corniglia)

• The town of Corniglia is situated right in the middle of Cinque Terre, with Riomaggiore and Manarola to the South, and Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare to the North. It is the only town out of the five without direct sea access. Corniglia possesses a rich agricultural culture, evident by the sheer amount of vineyards and terraces around it and is the oldest of the five villages.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 100, 47 mm, f/5, 1/160 s)

Manarola

(See Blog Post - A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Manarola)

• The 2nd Southernmost town of Cinque Terre and arguably one of the best villages of the 5. It is the 2nd smallest town of Cinque Terre with a population of 353. The name Manarola is thought to be derived from the latin phrase “magna rota". However, the local dialect has modified this to "magna roea" meaning ‘large wheel’. This is due to the presence of a mill wheel in town.

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/22, 0.8 s)

Riomaggiore

(See Blog Post - A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore)

• The Southernmost town that comprises the villages of Cinque Terre. The village dates back to the early 13th century however according to an old legend, it was founded in the 8th century by some Greek refugees fleeing persecution in Byzantium. It is defined by its cascading levels of vineyards and colorful wharf houses that sit on the cliffside.

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