Steps. More steps. Panoramic views. Then a few more steps. A few hills. Even more majestic views. And delicious food and wine to finish off a day of climbing among the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre. Those were the themes of our few days spent in this area.

From North to South: the 5 towns are Montorosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore.

Since the towns of Cinque Terre are small and somewhat difficult and time consuming to reach by car we left our car in the nearby port town of La Spezia and took the train to the town of Vernazza where we were staying. The train travels along the edge of the coast with the tracks built right into the hills and passing through various tunnels before popping out in each of the five towns with views of the cliffs and the coasts along the side. One of the charming things about Cinque Terre is that since it is a protected UNESCO world heritage site, there is not a lot of development (i.e. big hotels) allowed and most of the places to stay are tiny guest houses. We stayed in a quaint little apartment just above the main street of Vernazza and arrived just in time to drop our bags and head down to the harbor for beautiful sunset views over the sea.

The next day we decided to hike between the town of Vernazza, where we were staying, and the next town to the north called Montorosso. However instead of taking the main trail which connects the two towns and takes about 60-90 minutes to walk we decided to go for a more challenging hike high into the hills high above the two cities. We set off under beautiful clear skies and made our ascent up and over the city, stoping for a picnic lunch along the way with panoramic views of vineyards, hills, and the sea at every turn. Finally we reached the town of Montorosso and after a glass of local Ligurian wine at a sea side cafe, we made our way back to Vernazza by way of the shorter path along the sea.

On Wednesday, we woke to cloudy skies and rain in the forecast and decided it would be our day to head south and visit the other three cities (by train this time) so that we could get a feel for all of the towns of the Cinque Terre. With raincoats on, we arrived to Corniglia and climbed the 300+ stairs from the train station to the town. Corniglia is the smallest town of the five and the only one located up in the hills and not directly on the sea. While we saw mostly fog and rain, on a sunny day you can see far into the sea and to neighboring towns. Corniglia was by far the least crowded and had its own unique charm.

After Corniglia, we skipped ahead to the southern most town of Riomaggiore as dusk and darker skies were setting in (and still rain). We climbed to the castle at the top of the town and saw the sunset peeking out from the clouds in the distance over the sea, and had a view of the town which feels very much set into the valley. Finally, we went to Manorola, the last of the towns where we had a dinner of delicious seafood pasta at a restaurant up in the hills above the town (Trattoria dal Billy). Although we didn’t get much daylight in this town, we enjoyed our walk to the top among small streets and steep staircases. We caught the last train back just before midnight to Vernazza and bellies full and legs well exercised we headed to bed.

Although full of people at times, the towns of Cinque Terre were some of the more unique places we have seen with their tiny streets, buildings built right into the cliffs, and picturesque nature. Each town has its own personality and feel to it. But the highlight for us by far was getting high above the towns and looking out all the scenery the region has to offer.

We left Cinque Terre and headed towards Tuscany and after a stop in the medieval hill town of San Gimignano arrived at our Agriturismo in Montepulciano this afternoon, ready for a few days of relaxation. More on that to come but first time for a home cooked dinner from Chef Fred and glass of wine from the winery just outside the estate house where we are staying!