Cinque Terre – A solo trip to the amazing five fishing villages

A solo trip to Cinque Terre.

Reading time : 15 mins

The Cinque Terre ( meaning “Five Lands”) is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy comprising of five villages:

• Monterosso al Mare
• Vernazza
• Corniglia
• Manarola (my personal favourite)
• Riomaggiore

The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How it all started for a solo trip to Cinque Terre?

It happened during my deputation in Zurich. Just before the Easter holidays while I was working, my colleague placed the yearly table calendar with a beautiful picture of ‘Manarola’. It blew me away. I enquired with a couple of my friends if they were interested to hop in for a short trip to Cinque Terre. But, since it was a last minute plan, everyone backed out. However, I booked tickets for myself from Zurich to Milano Centrale and from Milano to Cinque terre :). My second solo trip -> to Cinque Terre, first being a trip to Belgium (will write a post about that experience later).

How to get there ?

The easiest is by train. From Geneva/Zurich to La Spezia, then take the local train, Cinque Terre Express from La Spezia, in the direction of Levanto. This train stops in all of the five villages. For a walk from one end to the other, it would take around 6 hours taking short breaks. A network of paths link the villages of Cinque Terre offering the best opportunity to enjoy the unique landscape. But in case you are planning a day trip and want to spend more time in each village, you can take a train. You can start from either direction from Monterosso heading towards south or from Riomaggiore and heading north.

My plan

SInce, that was an off season, I booked a guest house in Manarola keeping in mind that I need to spend the maximum time there to capture the calendar picture. I started in the morning from Zurich and reached Milano in approximately 4 hours. While I was waiting for my next train which was after a couple of hours, I got an email from the guest house owner that there is a train strike and all the local trains are cancelled. Meaning, I might not get my train from La Spezia to Manarola. She also said I can take a taxi or can take a train later in the evening as the strike might be over after 6PM. I was perplexed but she said this was common in Cinque Terre.

However, I thought since I am halfway through, I’ll just continue. I reached La Spezia from where I had to take the local train, Cinque Terre Express. And, luckily, a train came and yes that was going to Manarola! I jumped in gleefully congratulating my luck!

I collected the local train timing-chart from the La Spezia railway station to get an idea how early to start the next day. It was almost 6:30 PM by the time I reached Manarola. After leaving my backpack in the guest house and completing all formalities, took a short walk up to the point I wanted to go for capturing the calendar picture the next day 😀. It was already too dark but I felt elated that yes, finally am here. 

Since my base was at Manarola, my plan to visit the villages was like the order below-

Manarola -> Riomaggiore -> Monterosso al Mare -> Vernazza -> Corniglia -> Manarola 🚊

The next morning..🌞

..I started at 7 and tried to get a cup of coffee and gipfeli (croissants) but no shops were open. So, I thought I would grab it on my way.

In Manarola starts the famous path Via dell’Amore or Lover’s Lane, a wonderful path known for the romantic atmosphere and amazing landscapes that leads you to Riomaggiore in only 20 minutes. But, they had to close it down due to some maintenance work.

So, I walked to the railway station. According to my plan, my first stop point would be Riomaggiore. As I wished to be back in Manarola before sunset to enjoy the best sunset in Cinque terre!

The station was empty. But the environment was amazing – the quiet railway station with the Ligurian sea (Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica) on one side. I could hear seagulls and the sound of the sea.

Maybe because it was an off season, there weren’t much tourist. See how the station of Manarola looked when I started at 7 in the morning.

I waited for the train to my first destination ->

Riomaggiore

It is one of the most peaceful and quiet villages of the Cinque Terre. It’s basically a cascade of multi-coloured houses in the typical Ligurian style, all tightly clustered around a tiny natural harbour carved out in between the rocks.

Being the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre, its situated just a few minutes by train from La Spezia. The origins of Riomaggiore date back to the 8th Century, when the inhabitants of the Vara valley, searching a milder climate to raise grapevines and olive-trees without the fear of pirate raids, moved towards the coast.

Along the main road the boats are pulled onto dry land every time the sea is rough. Although there is no real beach here, it has some of the best deep-water swimming around. The town climbs up along the ridges and overlooks the sea. It has the typical stone houses with coloured facades and slate-roofs.

Oh! and yes, I had my coffee and gipfeli from a restaurant here and was all set to hop on. Then I took a train to

Corniglia

It’s located in the middle of the five towns. Corniglia is an ancient Roman village that has a long and rich agricultural tradition. This village is built on a cliff 100 metres above sea level surrounded by vineyards and terraces on three sides. Its architecture is closer to that of a rural inland village than that of a coastal village. Meaning, its the only village located on a hill with no water access.

Corniglia is probably the most genuine town of the five and with the least amount of tourists. Lardarina (377 stairs) is a footpath that connects this tiny village to its train station.

On these stairs I had a company of a lady from Australia and her mom. The perks of being on a solo trip, you tend to easily communicate with others than when you are with a group of known people where you prefer to be in your own circle and not mingle with strangers that much! Also, climbing the stairs exercising the tongue made the ascent less strenuous. 😉 She spoke about India and that she visits quite often. Also, how much she likes wearing a saree :). It was cute.

We reached the Saint Peters church dating back to 1267 built in Gothic architecture. From there we started together to the next destination.

Vernazza

It has a natural pier with an amphitheatre shape and is classified as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Thus, making it the most photographed village of the Cinque Terre. In Vernazza there are only a few hotels to stay in but several B&Bs and private rooms for rent. The village is surrounded by very steep-terraced farms which are said to produce among the finest olive oil in the country. Vernazza was found about 1000 A.D. and was ruled by the Republic of Genoa starting in 1276. The colourful typical Ligurian houses and the charming piazza lined with good restaurants and bars surrounds the tiny port. We had our lunch here as it was almost past noon. There is also a breathtaking way to arrive in this village- by sea.

Things to visit in Vernazza

• Castello Doria – We walked up the Castello Doria.  It’s a tall tower by the side of the Mediterranean Sea. The elevation provided a nice view to the town below. The medieval castle also known as Belforte, was built in the mid-1500’s, primarily to protect the village from pirates.

• The Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia – A beautiful stone church built on the rocks overlooking the sea.

From here we bid goodbye👋 to each other as they planned to go to Manarola and myself to

Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso al Mare is located at the center of a small natural gulf, protected by a small artificial reef, to the east of Punta Mesco in the Riviera of La Spezia. It is the westernmost part of the Cinque Terre.  The tourists and locals equally use the only extensive and best sandy beach in Monterosso which is the biggest of the five coastal villages. A single tunnel that caters to pedestrians and the very few cars in the town divides the old town and the new town. The summer months attract a lot of tourists.

After arriving in Monterosso from Vernazza, I walked out to the beach and the intriguing Il Gigante caught my eye immediately. He lost his arms in a bombing but still supports the dancing terrace of  Villa Pastine on his shoulders. He is Neptune, God of the Sea, sitting 45 feet high and weighing 1700 tons.

A Jewish Italian sculptor, Arrigo Minerbi designed and fashioned out of concrete and iron in 1910. He became the symbol of the Monterosso in postcards of the era.

This village cultivates lemons, vines and olives on the hills. Its amazing beaches, beautiful reefs and the sea’s crystal clear waters make this small village one of the most hospitable of the Ligurian Riviera.

Manarola

Finally, I reached my personal favourite stop Manarola. I reached by 3 PM , so that I could grab myself a good location to enjoy the sunset and most importantly get the calendar picture. 🙂 Manarola, built on a high rock 70 metres above sea level, is one of the most charming and romantic of the Cinque Terre villages. The village is all ups and downs, with steep narrow alleys carrugi (narrow lanes with steps), leading to the sea. It has a tiny harbor with a boat ramp, picturesque multicoloured houses facing the sea and a tiny piazza with seafood restaurants.

I quickly ventured a few metres up to the top of Manarola, to check out the church. Today it serves as a religious and community meeting place, but in more ancient times, the bell tower was a post to watch for potential pirate raids. Then, I came down to one of the piazza and grabbed a glass of nice drink and bruschetta.

Soon, was the time for sunset and wow it was amazing! The ambience, the quiet time and the sunset! What a beauty, I silently wished to visit the place once again in my life!!

Soon, it was dark and I was slowly walking back to my guest house holding on to the wonderful moments of the day and letting it sink in. I also somehow felt that this place wasn’t yet much affected by tourism. Not sure if it was due to off season. It still has its authenticity.

What I like best about solo trips is the independence to choose if you want to take a walk or take a train, to eat or to not eat and talking to strangers. Though, I normally do not prefer to disclose too much of personal information and neither am I curious to know theirs. But just talk about the moment and share some wonderful ideas or thoughts and bid goodbye. Its a very short meeting but remains a part of your beautiful memories and experience!!

The next morning I took my train back to Zurich. 😊

Hope you enjoyed reading about my solo trip to Cinque Terre. I would post more such travel experiences. Keep reading and providing your feedback. Would you plan for a solo trip to Cinque Terre?

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