The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. "The Five Lands" comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This morning, our group hopped on the train for Cinque Terre. There are few roads into the Cinque Terre towns that are accessible by car so train is the best mode of transportation. Our first stop was Vernazza, the second town seen on the map at the bottom. It has no car traffic and remains one of the truest "fishing villages" on the Italian Riviera. It is quite small but charming.
Below is another view of Vernazza.
We also visited Manarola, 4th town on the map below. Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terra whose primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. Notice the terraces in the photo below for growing grapes. Today, Manarola and its neighboring towns have become popular destinations for tourism which is now their major industry. Hardy hikers make their way from village to village on their trail system.
Below is a map of Cinque Terra. Today, we visited the two towns circled in yellow, Vernazza and Manarola. Eleven years ago, I visited Monterossa, the first town on the left, with my daughter, Kelly and her husband, Ben.
So tonight, we are packing our bags as we leave the Italian Riviera in the morning and travel towards the Italian Alps.
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