Tours feature the best places to visit in the Cinque Terre and are accompanied by a guide who knows the area, its history, and where to find the best views. You can make the trip to the Cinque Terre from Florence by train, but a far more convenient way if you have only a limited time to spend is to join a full-day tour to the Cinque Terre that includes direct transportation by bus or van. You can choose from a single or double kayak and learn about the history of this coast from your guide.

Or explore the coast under your own power on a Paddle along the Cinque Terre kayak tour with a guide. You can bask in the coast's legendary sunsets on a Cinque Terre Sunset Boat Tour from Monterosso, sailing under the soaring cliffs and photographing these coastal villages from the sea. The Ligurian Sea offers more things to do than swim and sun. Remember that these rocks can be very slippery and are no place for flip-flops. Manarola is one of these, especially popular for local youths who delight in jumping off the rocks into the sea, and there's a small rocky beach in Riomaggiore. While Monterosso al Mare has the only sand beaches, apart from a tiny one at Vernazza, you can join the locals at their favorite spots to sun on the smooth rocks at the old harbors, where you can spread a towel and go for a refreshing swim in the marinas. Not known for beaches, it nonetheless has several good places to swim or catch the sun. While most tourists concentrate on seeing the villages and walking the trails, the Cinque Terre offers a lot of things to do in the sea.

You can buy these at the information desks at every train station in Cinque Terre, Levanto and La Spezia, or online in advance.ДЄccommodation: Where to Stay in Cinque Terre The Cinque Terre Trekking Card gives you access to the paths, while the Cinque Terre Train Card allows you to use the hiking trails with unlimited travel on the Cinque Terre trains. To walk any section of the trail, you will need to buy at pass. The trail is often very narrow and skirts the face of vertical cliffs with no barriers between hikers and the sea crashing far below. The prime experience is to hike the entire 12-kilometer Sentiero Azzurro from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, but only for those in good condition with proper boots and no fear of heights. It is also essential to stop there to check the condition of trails and to understand that any or all of them may be closed due to weather or damage. Maps are available in park offices (at train stations) where you need to buy an entrance ticket to use the trails. Note that the Via dell'Amore has been closed for repairs, and is expected to reopen in 2023. It's also the most crowded, so if you visit in high season and seek more solitude, walk another section. The shortest and widest of these connects Riomaggiore and Manarola, called, in typical Italian fashion, Via dell'Amore (Path of Love). If you possibly can, walk at least one portion of the path carved in the cliffs between the villages. It's often named one of the best hikes in the world. Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues. If you have time to see only a few, Vernazza and Riomaggiore are the most photo-worthy and atmospheric and perhaps the best places to visit in the Cinque Terre. Trains and boats (in good weather) connect the five towns and run frequently. Even today, a car is more of a liability than an asset when visiting the five towns of the Cinque Terre and seeing the coast's attractions. Until the 1960s, these five towns in the cliffs of the Riviera di Levante, between La Spezia and Levanto on the Gulf of La Spezia, were virtually unknown to tourists and difficult to reach, except by boat. Popular things to do include walking the breathtaking paths along the cliffs, pausing over gelato in a cafГ© surrounded by candy-colored houses, cooling off with a swim, capturing pictures of some of Italy's best views, and just absorbing the Old World charm.

Instead, the ambience and natural beauty are the attractions. Perhaps what travelers like best is its almost complete lack of traditional must-see sights such as important artworks, churches, palaces, museums, and castles. Vernazza and coastline on the Cinque TerreДЇew places in Italy are as memorable as the Cinque Terre, a land and culture so unique that it has been protected as a national park and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We may earn a commission from affiliate links ( )

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