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**This post is the 1st of a 6-post series discussing what to see in Cinque Terre (You can check out the other parts in the list below, separated by each specific village (just click the village name to see the blog post. Everything is also summarized in another post here.**

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

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

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

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

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

• Cinque Terre (Summary) (Blog Post: A Guide to the Villages of Cinque Terre)

The Southernmost town that comprises the villages of Cinque Terre is Riomaggiore. 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.

Since our accommodation was in Vernazza and Riomaggiore is the first town you come across from La Spezia, we decided to start our first FULL day in Cinque Terre in Riomaggiore, and work our way North. A google map of all the places I will talk about can be seen at the end of this post (purple pins on map).

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Upon arriving at the train station, it is difficult to really see where all the colorful buildings are or how to even get to the wharf area (the water). From the train station, make your way uphill towards the East and walk up Via Telemaco Signorini. This windy road will eventually bring you to a cliffside viewpoint. From here, you could see a small BEACH and a rugged coastline with a small dock where passengers are ferried onto a boat that also takes you up and down this part of the coast. 

From the viewpoint, we climbed up a few more sets of stairs and made our way to Castello di Riomaggiore on top of the hill. It was unfortunately closed when we went but seems to be a place that is usually open to the public. The castle was built in the 13th century by the order of Lord Marquis Turcotti. The reason for this was to strengthen the defensive system of Riomaggiore which was of great interest of the Republic of Genoa at the time.

If you make your way downhill, further to the East from the Castle, you will finally get to see one of the coolest views of the city. Just imagine all the rows and layers of cliffside homes of every pastel color you can imagine. This is when you realize that you have finally made it!

If you need some respite from the summer sun, you’re in luck as you’ll eventually reach the Church of San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore (Church of St. John the Baptist). The church was founded on 8th November 1340 and was reconstructed in 1870 after collapse in the neo-gothic style façade and an extension of the entire building was also done. Parts of the original structure are still in tact as evidenced by the two gothic style entrances.

From this point, if you make your way downhill, you will hit the central thoroughfare of Riomaggiore. This is where we managed to find some delicious gelato (the first of many on our trip) among all the cafes, shops, and restaurants in the area. PROTIP: if you don’t know which gelato flavor to start with, you can rest assured that a safe bet is Lemon flavored gelato.

There is not much of a beach here in Riomaggiore, but that doesn’t stop anyone. Once you get to the water level, you can walk along the water’s edge, getting viewpoint photos with red, orange, and pink buildings as your backdrop (perfect for Portrait mode on your phone camera!). What I noticed (with other villages as well) was the protective man-made boulder wall, meant to protect the village docks from the sea. These boulders are the size of cars, big and small, and some are perfectly flat to lay on and take in the sun for a bit. 

In fact, we did this in Riomaggiore, walking along the borders as far as we could until we reached a spot that gave us the most magnificent view of the village and the turquoise waters below it.

Can you imagine the elation we felt on seeing this incredibly sight our first proper day in Cinque Terre?! It was a sign of great things to come. 

(PROTIP: Be cautious when traversing across these boulders, especially when wet. Stay low, always have three points of contact, and go slow. One wrong move and you can really hurt yourself.)

From this part of the city, you can book a kayak for a few hours or take the ferry up and down the Cinque Terre coastline, among other things. We spent about half a day in Riomaggiore and we felt that it was an appropriate amount of time to get a feel for the city.

Check out my other posts on the villages of Cinque Terre! The links are at the start of the blog post.

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