Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre, Italy: the five villages
Four of the villages come down to the water's edge; Corniglia stays up on its headland.
In the Cinque Terre, on the Italian coast between La Spezia and Levanto, five villages stand along 15 km of shore: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The slopes around them are cut into dry-stone terraces for vines and olive trees, and UNESCO has listed the area since 1997. A regional train stops at all five, the Sentiero Azzurro path links them on foot, and the day trips we sell leave from La Spezia, Florence and Milan.
Many of those terraces date from the 12th century, after the Saracen raids on the coast had stopped, and until the Genoa to La Spezia railway arrived in the 1870s the villages could barely be reached by land. The railway is still the way in: La Spezia, at the southern end, has trains from Florence and Pisa, and Monterosso, at the northern end, has direct trains from Genoa and Milan.
Map of things to do in Cinque Terre
Described on this page
Riomaggiore
Coming from La Spezia Centrale, Riomaggiore is the first stop on the regional train, seven or eight minutes away, and the southernmost of the five. It has a castle, open from October to May from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00.
The Via dell’Amore, the cliff path to Manarola, starts here, on the left as you come out of the station. You can only walk it in this direction, so Riomaggiore is where a walking day along the coast begins.
Manarola
Manarola is where the Via dell’Amore comes out, 25 minutes’ walk from Riomaggiore by the Park’s reckoning. Its houses stand partly on a rocky spur over the harbour, and it’s the village for a gelato and a swim in deep water.
From 8 December to the end of January, Manarola lights up its nativity scene.
Corniglia
Corniglia is the only one of the five that isn’t down at sea level. It sits on a high headland, with a small square and a tower, and since there’s no pier, it’s also the one the boats skip.
From the station you climb about 380 steps, or ride the Park’s bus, which runs from 7:00 to 20:00 (from 8:00 at weekends) and is free with a Cinque Terre Card. The path north to Vernazza starts in the village and is open.
Vernazza
Vernazza follows the Vernazzola stream down to a rocky spur over the sea. It’s a lively place with a small beach, and the boats stop here.
It’s also the village in the middle of the open paths: an hour and a half back to Corniglia, or two hours on to Monterosso, the longest of the four sections. Both stretches need a Cinque Terre Card.
Monterosso al Mare
The beach is at Monterosso, at the northern end: its fortified old centre sits in two small valleys facing one of the few beaches on this coast, and this one is sand. It’s also the stop for the direct trains from the north, an InterCity from Milano Centrale in about three hours or a regional from Genoa Brignole in an hour and ten minutes.
Getting around the Cinque Terre by train
The regional train between La Spezia and Levanto stops at all five villages, and it covers whatever you don’t walk. Out of season you pay the regional fare, €2.70 from La Spezia to Riomaggiore on 4 November. From 14 March to 1 November the trains switch to a Cinque Terre fare of €5, €8 or €10 a ride, depending on the day, with children aged 4 to 11 at half price, and that ticket is good for one ride of up to 75 minutes, with no stopping off.
The Park sells its Cinque Terre Card in two versions. The Trekking card, €10 a day, covers the paid paths and the Via dell’Amore; the train version adds every regional train between Levanto and La Spezia, for €17.30 a day from 2 November to 31 December. With three train rides and the paid paths, the train card comes out 80 cents ahead of a Trekking card plus three €2.70 singles, if every ride costs what La Spezia to Riomaggiore does. Our page on the Cinque Terre Card has the prices and the sums. The day trip we sell from La Spezia includes the train card for the day, with a tour leader and a limoncino tasting.
Four weekends need planning around. On 14–15 November, 19–20 December, 9–10 January and 6–7 February there are no trains between Corniglia and La Spezia for 48 hours while the rail network works on the stations at Riomaggiore and Manarola, and on those Friday and Saturday nights nothing runs between Levanto and La Spezia from 22:30 to 6:30. Riomaggiore and Manarola are off the railway on those days, and neither the railway nor the Park has said anything about replacement buses.
Walking the Sentiero Azzurro and the Via dell’Amore
The Sentiero Azzurro, the Blue Path, follows the coast from Riomaggiore to Monterosso in four sections. You can’t walk it end to end at the moment, because the section from Manarola to Corniglia is closed; you walk the southern end, take the train from Manarola to Corniglia and walk on from there.
That southern end is the Via dell’Amore, Lovers’ Lane, a path along the cliff between Riomaggiore and Manarola. A landslide closed it in 2012, and after more than €23 million of work it reopened to visitors in August 2024. You now walk it one way only, from Riomaggiore, in groups of up to 200 that set off every half hour at the time you book. Until 28 March 2027 it’s open every day from 9:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:30.
The Sentiero Azzurro section by section (walking times from the Park, status on 31 October 2026)
- Riomaggiore to Manarola, the Via dell'Amore
- 25 minutes; open daily with a booked time, one way only
- Manarola to Corniglia
- 1 hour 15; closed, no reopening date
- Corniglia to Vernazza
- 1 hour 30; open
- Vernazza to Monterosso
- 2 hours; open
The Via dell’Amore has no ticket of its own: it comes with either version of the Cinque Terre Card. You may read that the paths are free in winter, but the Park’s rules have no winter exemption, so plan on a card for them in November too. On a day with an orange or red weather warning the paths close, and the Park stops selling the card.
Cinque Terre by boat: the public ferries
The public boats call at four of the villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso, and link them with La Spezia, Levanto, Lerici and Portovenere, which shares the UNESCO listing. They run until 8 December, only when the sea allows, and the Cinque Terre Card doesn’t cover them.
Day trips to the Cinque Terre from La Spezia, Florence and Milan
Besides the day trip with the card, there’s one from La Spezia at €69 that leaves at 10:00, takes about seven hours and includes the train tickets and a tour leader.
From further away, a coach tour takes care of the journey. From Florence the train to La Spezia takes about two and a half hours, and our six tours last 12 to 13 hours, some adding Pisa or a boat ride: Cinque Terre from Florence goes through them. From Milan a direct InterCity reaches Monterosso in about three hours, and Cinque Terre from Milan has the trains and our two tours.
Tours and day trips
Cinque Terre day trips
Pick the one that fits your trip. Prices are per adult, and you choose your dates on the next page.
People also ask
Frequently asked questions
What is so special about Cinque Terre, Italy?
Its dry-stone terraces. Walls, many of them built in the 12th century, hold vines and olives on the slopes behind the five villages, from sea level up to 400 metres, and some run for 2 km. UNESCO listed the area in 1997, together with Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto.
Which one is better, Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre?
It depends on the rest of your trip. The Cinque Terre are on the railway between Genoa and La Spezia, within a day trip of Florence, Pisa or Milan, and a train and a footpath link the five villages. The Amalfi Coast is south of Naples, near Pompeii, and no railway runs along it, so you get about by bus or boat.
How long does it take to walk the 5 villages of Cinque Terre?
About 5 hours 10 minutes without stops, adding up the Park's times for the four sections of the Sentiero Azzurro: 25 minutes, 1 hour 15, 1 hour 30 and 2 hours. At the moment the section between Manarola and Corniglia is closed, so what you can walk adds up to just under 4 hours, and you take the train for the gap.
Is Cinque Terre expensive?
Here's what getting around costs from 2 November to 31 December 2026. A one-day Cinque Terre Card with the trains costs €17.30 and covers every regional train between the villages and the paid paths; the Trekking card, paths only, costs €10; a single train from La Spezia to Riomaggiore costs €2.70.
Can you visit Cinque Terre in November?
Yes. The trains run, the Via dell'Amore is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00, and the paths from Corniglia to Vernazza and on to Monterosso are open; the section from Manarola to Corniglia is closed. Public boats run until 8 December, and on 14–15 November, 19–20 December, 9–10 January and 6–7 February there are no trains between Corniglia and La Spezia. Winters are mild, but storms at sea are frequent.
