The only mistake anyone can make here is not spending enough time thoroughly enjoying it. Cinque Terre is a place best enjoyed at a slow pace to be able to take it all in. We truly loved and enjoyed our three days in Cinque Terre.
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September-OctoberThe shoulder season of September to October is the best time to visit Cinque Terre.
You can walk the entire route in about six hours, if you take short breaks—although many hikers prefer to spread the route out over a few days at a strolling pace, stopping to enjoy the towns along the way. You can start from either direction (Monterosso, heading south, or Riomaggiore, heading north).
And it's not just foreign tourists who flock here: Italians love the Cinque Terre too. The result, especially when day-trippers hit, is that trains and station platforms are often mob scenes, the iconic coastal hiking trail becomes almost impassable, and the towns' tiny lanes are clogged to bursting.
La Spezia is a bit of a hidden gem as it is not as touristy as its surroundings and offers beautiful panoramas of the gulf and Apuan Alps as well as fascinating museums, a historic city centre, great markets and streets lined with lovely cafes and restaurants.
Day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence: everything you should know. A day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence is a great way to spend a day, and the opportunity to add this famous destination to your trip to Italy. It's so beautiful and unique that has been turned into a National Park in 1999.
Vernazza: Located to the north of the Cinque Terre, Vernazza is probably the most beautiful and picturesque fishing village of Cinque Terre, where its colourful houses hang above the sea level on rugged cliffs. It has a charming natural port and an old castle, built to protect the area from pirates.
Shopping and pricesThe Cinque Terre is not cheap. As everywhere in the world, tourism has raised prices. I often go to the market of La Spezia to shop for food, it's much cheaper than the stores of the villages. In restaurants, you have to expect Western European prices.
Though it does not happen every year, Liguria and the Cinque Terre, like the rest of Italy, has seen increasingly intense and frequent autumn thunderstorms, with violent wind and heavy rain.
Cost. Visiting Cinque Terre should be cheaper than the Amalfi Coast. Of course, so much depends on your choices – how you travel around, where and how long you stay, which restaurants you dine at, etc. But in general, the Amalfi Coast is a much more expensive destination than Cinque Terre.
Trains are the easiest way to get to and around Cinque Terre. Trenitalia has direct connections to La Spezia from Rome, Florence, and Pisa (the closest airport). Once in Cinque Terre, the Cinque Terre Express train runs between La Spezia and Levanto in Sestri Levante, stopping at each village.
Some portions of the trail are very easy to walk, such as the paved section connecting Riomaggiore to Manarola, and other sections climb up and over hillsides with spectacular views along the coast. It takes about 5 hours to hike the entire distance, not counting the time to explore and linger in each town.