Liguria, Cinque Terre

The five coastal villages making up the Cinque Terre have become incredibly well known over the past 15 years since being made famous by the travel writer, Steve Ricks. Clinging precipitously to steep cliffs and joined by spectacular and at times challenging footpaths the five villages are wonderfully unique. Fortunately they are now well connected by an underground railway and ferry services making them incredibly accessible and comfortable to visit.

We've scoured the area for the best accommodation and have selected a group of villas and apartments to suit most requirements. We've extended the definition of the Cinque Terre to include the village of Levanto at the northern end of the villages which has similar characteristics to the other villages with the added advantages of reasonable car access and a better selection of accommodation. We've also added the beautiful seaside village of Porto Venere at the southern end of the towns. Accessible by footpath, ferry from the other villages or train from La Spezia, it is an integral part of the area.

For those challenged by the Cinque Terra footpaths the complete walk stretches from Levanto to Porto Venere. The villages from north to south are as follows:

Walking distances and times are approximately as follows

Levanto - Monterosso - 5km - 2hr (said to be the most pleasant of all the walks)
Monterosso - Vernazza - 3km - 2hr
Vernazza - Corniglia - 4km - 1.5hr
Corniglia - Manarola - 2km - 1hr
Manarola - Riomaggiore - (Via dell'Amore) - 1km - 30mins
Riomaggiore - Portovenere  - 14km - 4hrs (challenging and starts with uphill to 350m - max 529m)

Locality Links

Levanto

Monterosso

Vernazza

Corniglia

Manarola

Riomaggiore

Portovenere

La Spezia

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