Exploring the Cinque Terre in three days has been incredibly fun and relaxing. A much needed short break, since so far this year, work has been non-stop. Even though I just love making recipes and coming up with new lessons and worksheets, every now and then I need to unplug and chill. Over the past few years I've typically gone on longer trips - as you might have seen from my other travel blogs - but this time I could only afford a few days away from work. So, I had to do the best I could in three days.
I've visited Italy numerous times, and each time I fall in love with this beautiful country even more. I noticed quite a few people posting about the colourful tiny villages forming the Cinque Terre, and I was excited to join in! The area of the Cinque Terre is found in the northwestern part of Italy, in the picturesque region of Liguria. This region hugs the coastline, and therefore the villages forming the Cinque Terre are all by the sea. Some even have a small beach where people can enjoy a refreshing dip in the clear blue waters.
We stayed at the beautifully renovated Medieval Borgo di Codeglia in Volastra. It's one of the many alberghi diffusi found in Italy. An albergo diffuso ('dispersed hotel') is an innovative concept of hospitality. This means that the hotel is converted out of various buildings in a small community. Volastra is still quite central for visiting the main villages. At the same time, it's secluded enough to savour a nice glass of local wine in the evening while enjoying some great views.
I did want to see the villages but at the same time there is so much to see in three days! So I decided to concentrate on three out of the five: Manarola, Riomaggiore and Vernazza. Although I had seen plenty of pictures of these places, it was still breathtaking being there and seeing them for the first time. The colourful buildings are all I'd like to be living around now. To some they might seem to look all the same, but each village has its particular features. I enjoyed exploring all three, however, I've fell in love with the magnificent views of Manarola. The four other villages forming the Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. The five villages are connected by a path, with the most popular one known as Via dell'Amore that connects Riomaggiore to Manarola, which was unfortunately closed up when I was visiting. The rest of the path lets you hike through beautiful vineyards from one village to the next.
RIOMAGGIORE
Riomaggiore is the first village you'll find coming from La Spezia. The main town has a railway station, an old part of town and a wharf with a mooring and a rocky beach. It is well known for its history, nice beautiful churches, the Castle of Riomaggiore, and also delicous wine!
In fact, I did have the chance to taste some of this great wine from Bar o'netto brasserie, which I highly suggest going to if you're looking for some lively atmosphere and some great Italian music.
MANAROLA
Manarola is the next village you'll find and it's close to Riomaggiore. In fact it's only 500 metres away. The name Manarola derives from the Latin words magna rota, meaning 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel found in town. Manarola is known for its wine and fishing. Its main attraction are the bright and colourful houses, which make a spectacular romantic scene for keen photographers and couples. Additionally several shops offer all kinds of souvenirs, cooking herbs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and the nicest lemony smelling soap!
In my opinion, Manarola has also the most beautiful restaurants, cafes and bars to enjoy the typical Ligurian food. In fact, it's where I returned almost every night to have dinner. One restaurant, which has an amazing view of the sea is Ristorante Marina Piccola has some of the delicious food choices from which to choose. At this restaurant, I had a Caprese salad and one of my favourite dishes to have whenever I'm at a village by the sea; fritto misto (mixed fried fish).
On another day, I was impressed with the food but especially the dessert I had at La Scogliera; torta ligure. This cake is extremely soft and lemony. Another great place I would highly suggest is the ice cream shop; Gelateria 5 Terre. I found it on Tripadvisor and it had some of the best reviews and I definitely agree as it's one of the nicest ice creams I've had in Italy.
VERNAZZA
Vernazza has remained one of the truest fishing villages on the Italian Riviera. This tiny village ends with a port and has probably some of the most elegant houses you can find in the Cinque Terre. The name Vernazza derived from the Latin adjective verna, meaning 'native'.
If you've ever seen any photos of Vernazza before, you would most probably have seen Doria Castle as it can be seen from almost everywhere in this village. Doria Castle served as protection to the entire village. It offers a beautiful view of the village and the coast. On top, you can find the Belforte Tower, which is the symbol of Vernazza.
I only managed to spend half a day in this beautiful village but I made sure to still have some lunch. At the seafront, there's a small cute bar with tables covered with yellow umbrellas in the sun called Ananasso bar. It's very busy and everyone is trying to get a table closest to the seafront to chill and have some lunch or drinks. Once I've managed to grab a table in the sun, I had a strong cappuccino. Because the atmosphere was so cool and it was quite warm, I decided to have a very nice panino farcito al prosciutto e formaggio and an ice cold beer.
Another place I enjoyed visiting even though it's not part of the Cinque Terre is Portovenere. This place is similar to the other five villages when it comes to the colourful buildings. It has all the nice things you would want when on holiday; a seafront and nice places to eat and have aperitivi and cicchetti (small plates of snacks). In fact, in Portovenere, I had the best Aperol Spritz and snacks I've ever tasted from Bar gelateria Doria. The view was also so stunningly beautiful especially when the sun was setting and you could see all the different shades of colours in the sky.
This holiday has been one of the shortest I've been on in a while, however, I found it to be relaxing and very much enjoyable as I got to see such beautiful villages and eat some of the most delicious food Italy has to offer. As per usual, don't forget to share your experience if you've been to any of the Cinque Terre. I will surely be returning to visit the rest of these charming villages.
