The Cinque Terre
This spectacular section of Italian coast, Unesco world heritage site comprises breathtaking views, charming coloured fisherman towns and crystal clear water. Enjoy its best together with great seafood and the local specialties: wine, focaccia and Pesto sauce.
The Cinque Terre is a national park and UNESCO world heritage site that also includes five small fisherman towns that give the name to the area (“cinque” is “five”, “terre” is “lands”, in this case intended as towns). The area is 2 hours away by car from Florence, 1 from Pisa and 2 and half from Siena. The best way of visiting the towns, however, is by boat and train. Our solution is to reach the area by car, reaching the first or second of the five towns geographically, Riomaggiore, the least touristic, or Manarola, charming but busier. We can have a stroll through one of these two towns and then you catch the local train that passes frequently through the cliffs to reach Monterosso, the last and only one that has a beach. Meanwhile, we will be driving the car to Vernazza, where we will be meeting later. In Monterosso, on your own, you can visit the charming town and enjoy the beach. We will provide you maps and timetables for the trains. For lunch you can either stay in Monterosso or head back to Vernazza, fourth of the five and most beautiful of all, which has the best restaurant of the whole area: “Belforte”. After lunch we will meet in Vernazza to drive on the road that follows the whole park passing over the villages, with amazing views of the coast and the towns down below.
Possible alternatives are: visiting the beautiful town of Portovenere before reaching the Cinque Terre and therefore shortening the visit, or add Corniglia, third village of the Five, skipping Riomaggiore and starting from Monterosso. For the brave who want to experience the amazing trails of the area (be aware, some may be closed due to rock slides or bad weather), we can drive to your starting point and pick you up at the next town. This obviously shortens your visit to the actual towns. Make sure you have the right equipment and that your trail is open:http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php