Are you staying 3 nights in Cinque Terre ? We are happy to help you to organize your time in the most efficient way in order to discover, enjoy, relax and appreciate this unique part of the world.
According to your timing of arrival on the first day and your degree of tireness or shape, we advise you to check out the places where you will be able to buy food, get a coffee or an apertif, receive additional informations about the Cinque Terre Card and choose a place to have dinner, may be reaching the older part of the village and have a look at the historical center of Monterosso.
Itinerary for 3 nights (= 2 full days):
FIRST DAY
If you are not afraid to climb lots of stairs, you can start your day by hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza: be aware that you will need a Cinque Terre Card, which includes also all the trains through the day; you can purchase it at the railway station in the Cinque Terre Point.
Since the walk starts in the older part of the village, if your are fond of Italian pastries, stop first at “Bar Pasticceria Laura” in Via Vittorio Emanuele and try some of their goodies: all artinasal prepared in the laboratory just across the street of the shop: they have the best “bomboloni” ( = light fries pastry filled with yellow cream) of Italy !!! They are very famous for “Torta Monterossina” (see here below) and “chocolate bignole”.
The effort to climb the stairs will be rewarded by beautiful views and sights all the way long (see the page of hiking in Cinque Terre http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-in-cinque-terre/).
click here to open the hiking trail map
Once in Vernazza, enjoy the pictoresque square with the little bay and have a look at the nice church (Santa Maria di Antiochia) at the edge of the water. Earlier you are in Vernazza, less crowed it will be…
With this itinerary, you can possibly skip Corniglia and take a train to Manarola, which is for me, together with Vernazza, the most attractive village of Cinque Terre.
In Manarola you can reach “La Marina” (the tiny harbor) and walk up to “Nessun dorma” (http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/03/26/nessun-dorma-in-manarola/ ), a fantastic bar, located in a perfect way to appreciate Manarola in all its colors and beauty. There, you can eat and drink some local and well prepared and presented food (no warm meal though !) enjoying the famous picture of this village which you certainly have seen in many books, postcards, reviews and magazines around the world !!
From Manarola to Riomaggiore, the train takes just one minute and this is (or by ferry) the only way to reach the last village of the 5, until the very known “Via dell’Amore” will be repaired and everybody will be able to walk in 30 min from Manarola to Riomaggiore again.
The small bay of Riomaggiore is very beautiful and also all the narrow streets that connect the colorful houses which seem to make part of a painting….getting a little lost in these “carugi” and reaching the sea again allows you to discover how difficult must have been their life here in the past century’s…
Here in Riomaggiore, I advise you my favorite restaurant of Cinque Terre which is situated right in front of tha bay, “Rio Bistrot”: have a look at this page and you will quickly understand why….http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/06/24/rio-bistrot-in-r…e-dont-miss-it-3/
Take a train back to Monterosso, scroll on the sea front, may be sit on a terrasse for an aperitif, relax on the beach or just have a drink on the balcony of the property where you are staying 🙂
On this blog you find a page where many restaurants in Monterosso are well described with the pictures of the dishes as well etc…Don’t hesitate to contact me in order to get a table organized in one of your wishes…http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/restaurants/
NB: in case the hike between Monterosso and Vernazza would look too hard for you, there are some other possbilities and I will be happy to help you further !!
SECOND DAY:
Plan a boat tour ahead of time or take a ferry to discover the 5 villages from the sea: http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2019/08/03/cinque-terre-ferry-takes-you-until-portovenere-%f0%9f%9b%a5%f0%9f%9b%b3/
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/hiking-boatservices/
In the second case we advise you to have a look at our page and particularly to http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/new-entry-sea-breeze-boat-tours/ and http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/boat-food-experi…hellocinqueterre/
If you like to enjoy the sun and the warmest part of the day (of course according to the period of the year you will be in Cinque Terre), a “Day tour” would be perfect to visit the boroughes, dive, swim, snorkel and ten on the boat…..Are you a romantic person or/, you love the changing of colors at the end of the day, take pictures to eternalize the moment, a “Sunset tour” will suit you better 🙂 Most of the companies offer an aperitif on board, bring you to taste local food in one of the villages, oragnize for you a lunch on or off the boat at a restaurant they suggest.
According to the choice of your possibly boat tour, you will be also able to relax on the beach: in Monterosso there are free and private beaches and the price varies from 18-28€ according to the period of the year. The price is always for one sun umbrella and two lay chairs. ” Bagni Il Gigante” (http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/2018/04/27/breakfast-lunch-…-is-open-for-you/) and “Stella Marina” beaches have also nice dehors where you can have breakfast, lunches and aperitifs without having the need to go to far….
Time to have a shower and prepare yourself for a last unforgettable evening in Monterosso or in another village which you can easily reach by train still using the Cinque Terre Card and knowing that many trains are running until late at night 🙂
🙂
…..are you staying 4 nights ? We invite you to search on the next page: Itinerary nr 2: “Four nights in Cinque Terre”:
http://irisblog.cinqueterreblu.it/itinerary-nr-2-four-days-in-cinque-terre/
🙂