Cinque Terre and the Riviera

Overview

The Cinque Terre ("five lands") are five fishing villages stacked into cliffs on the Ligurian coast between Genoa and La Spezia: from north to south, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Over centuries, farmers built thousands of miles of dry-stone terraces up the slopes for vines and olives. The villages, the terraces and nearby Portovenere form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the whole coast is a national park.

The appeal is obvious from any photo: painted houses above tiny harbors, a footpath linking the villages along the cliffs, and the sea everywhere. The problem is just as obvious. Millions of visitors a year squeeze into villages of a few hundred residents, along narrow lanes and a single rail line. Come with a plan, go early and late, and stay at least one night, and it's still one of the loveliest places in Europe.

The Cinque Terre are in Liguria, Italy's thin crescent of coast that also includes Portofino, the Riviera towns and the port city of Genoa. This page covers all of it. For hiking in more depth, see The outdoors.

The five villages

The Cinque Terre Card

The national park sells a pass called the Cinque Terre Card. You need it to walk the paid sections of the coastal path, and it also covers the park's shuttle buses and the public toilets at the stations. There are two versions:

• Trekking Card: paid trails, park buses, station toilets and discounted museum entry in La Spezia. No trains.
• Treno Card: all of the above plus unlimited regional trains between Levanto, the five villages and La Spezia. For most visitors who hike one stretch and ride the rest, this is the one.

2026 prices (adults, 12–69)

Children 4–11 pay roughly a third less, seniors over 70 have their own lower rate, there's a family card for two adults with children, and children under 4 are free. The Treno Card's high-season prices apply from March 14 to November 1, 2026, and each day falls into a color-coded band: low (A) for March, early April and weekdays in May and October; medium (B) for most of April, June, September and weekdays in July and August; peak (C) for public holidays and weekends in July and August. Check the park's calendar for your exact date.

1. Buy the Treno Card at the ticket offices and park info points in the stations of La Spezia, Levanto and the five villages, or online through the park's official channels. It doesn't sell out.
2. Buy the Trekking Card at the trail checkpoints or the park info points in the village stations.
3. Write your name on the card if asked, and carry it on the trails: rangers check cards at booths at each end of the paid sections.
4. If you have a paper Treno Card, validate it in a station machine before your first train.

Which trails are open

The classic walk is the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Path, trail SVA, numbered 592), linking all five villages along the coast. It's a real mountain path, not a promenade: uneven stone steps, narrow ledges and long climbs. As of late October 2026, its status is:

To walk from Corniglia to Manarola while the coastal section is closed, take the higher path through the vineyard hamlet of Volastra, whose trails are open. It's a harder climb with superb views and fewer people. Other open routes include Levanto to Monterosso over Punta Mesco (about 3 hr in total, a good first hike) and the long ridge walk from Portovenere to Riomaggiore via Telegrafo, a full day for fit hikers.

Status changes with the weather. Trails close after heavy rain and during regional weather alerts (allerta meteo), and landslides can shut a section overnight. Check the trail status page of the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre on the morning you walk.

The Via dell'Amore

The Via dell'Amore ("Lovers' Lane") is the easy cliffside path between Riomaggiore and Manarola, about 0.6 mile (900 m) long, cut into the rock above the sea. It closed after a rockslide in 2012 and reopened after 12 years of work, with nets and rock anchors overhead. To control numbers, it now runs on new rules:

• Booking required: buy a ticket for a time slot at viadellamore.info, the official site. Tickets start at €10 (about $11).
• One way only: you enter at Riomaggiore and walk north to Manarola. To go back, take the train (one stop, about 2 minutes).
• Timed and capped: entries are limited per slot and you're expected to keep moving; plan on about 30 minutes.
• Hours: daily 9 a.m.–6 p.m. (last entry 5:30 p.m.) from October 26, 2026 to March 28, 2027; in summer 2026 it stayed open until 9 p.m.
• Free: children up to 3 and visitors with disabilities, with documentation shown at the gate.

Published descriptions of the Cinque Terre Card list the Via dell'Amore among the paths it covers, but access still runs through the timed booking system, so if you hold a card, check on the official site whether you also need to reserve a slot. Sunset slots in summer sell out first.

Trains, ferries and why not to drive

The train

The regional line between Levanto and La Spezia Centrale is the backbone of the Cinque Terre. Trains stop at all five villages, which are 2–5 minutes apart, and run roughly every 15–30 minutes in season, less often in winter. Most long-distance trains skip the villages (a few Intercity trains call at Monterosso), so you usually change at La Spezia, Levanto or Sestri Levante.

• From Milan: about 3 hours to La Spezia or Monterosso, with Intercity trains or a change in Genoa.
• From Florence: about 2 hr 30 min to La Spezia, usually changing in Pisa.
• From Genoa: about 1 hr 30 min to Monterosso.
• From Rome: about 4 hours to La Spezia with a high-speed train and a change in Pisa or Florence.

Boats

A seasonal ferry service run by the local boat consortium links La Spezia, Portovenere, Lerici and four of the villages (all but Corniglia, which has no harbor), roughly from spring to early November when the sea allows. Day tickets let you hop on and off. The view of the villages from the water is the best of all, and on crowded days a boat is the most pleasant way between villages. Boats are canceled in rough seas, often without much notice.

Driving

Leave the car. The road down to each village is steep and narrow, the villages are closed to non-resident traffic, and the few parking lots fill by 9 a.m. in season and cost a lot. If you have a rental car, park it in La Spezia or Levanto and take the train. See Driving in Italy for ZTL camera fines.

Crowds and local rules

The busiest hours are roughly 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., when cruise passengers and tour groups arrive from La Spezia's cruise port and from Florence, Pisa and Milan. On those days the village train platforms and lanes are packed. Some practical rules:

• Sleep in or near the villages so you can walk at 8 a.m. and have dinner after the day crowds leave.
• Check the cruise calendar for La Spezia and plan your busiest village for a day with few or no ships.
• Avoid Saturdays, Sundays and Italian holidays from May to September, especially August.
• Don't picnic on church steps or wander villages in swimwear; residents and local rules frown on both, and some towns on the coast fine it.
• Carry out your trash; bins are few on the trails.

What to eat and drink

• Pesto genovese: Liguria's basil sauce with pine nuts, garlic, pecorino and Parmigiano, served on trofie (twisted pasta) or trenette, often with potatoes and green beans.
• Focaccia: eaten at any hour, including for breakfast. Inland from Portofino, focaccia di Recco is a thin, crisp version filled with soft cheese.
• Acciughe di Monterosso: fresh anchovies, fried, marinated in lemon or salted.
• Farinata: a thin chickpea-flour pancake baked in wood ovens, sold by the slice $.
• Muscoli ripieni: stuffed mussels, a La Spezia specialty.
• Wine: Cinque Terre DOC white, made from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grown on the terraces, and Sciacchetrà, a rare and pricey sweet wine from dried grapes.

Village restaurants are mostly $$–$$$, and seafood priced by weight (a peso, often marked "s.q." or "per 100 g") can surprise you. Ask before ordering. For a cheaper lunch, buy focaccia and farinata from a bakery and eat on the harbor. See Food.

Where to stay

Expect a nightly tourist tax at check-in. Short-term rentals in Italy must display a national ID code (CIN); see Where to stay. With luggage, pack light: you'll carry your bag up steps and along lanes no car can reach.

Portovenere and the Gulf of Poets

Portovenere sits at the tip of the peninsula south of the Cinque Terre: a line of tall painted houses along the harbor, the striped Gothic church of San Pietro on a rock above the sea, and the Doria castle above. Byron swam from here, and the cove below the church carries his name. Boats cross to Palmaria island, with trails and swimming.

Across the gulf, Lerici and Tellaro are where Shelley and other English writers spent their summers, hence "Gulf of Poets". Reach Portovenere by bus from La Spezia (about 30 minutes) or by boat from the villages.

Portofino and its rules

Portofino is a tiny, very expensive harbor village on a headland north of the Cinque Terre: yachts, colored houses, designer boutiques and a regional park of trails behind it. Most people visit as a half-day trip from Santa Margherita Ligure.

• Getting there: train to Santa Margherita Ligure (about 1 hr from Monterosso), then the local bus, a seasonal ferry, or a 3-mile (5 km) walk along the coast road past the cove of Paraggi.
• No-waiting zones: to unclog the waterfront, the town has made parts of the harbor front, around Molo Umberto I and Calata Marconi, "red zones" where you may not stop or linger, including for photos. In recent seasons the ordinance has applied daily from spring to October 15, during daytime hours, with fines of €68–275 (about $76–308). Expect it again from spring 2027, and follow the posted signs.
• Tour buses: unauthorized coaches can't drive past Santa Margherita, so group tours arrive by boat.

Climb to the Castello Brown and the lighthouse for views, then take a boat or walk the trail to the abbey of San Fruttuoso, in a cove reachable only on foot or by sea, managed by the heritage trust FAI. Camogli, on the other side of the headland, is a working fishing town with tall harbor houses and fewer crowds.

Genoa

Genoa (Genova) is a gritty, magnificent port city that most travelers skip and many regret skipping. It was one of the richest maritime republics in Europe, and its historic center is a dense maze of medieval alleys (caruggi), among the largest in Europe.

• Strade Nuove and the Palazzi dei Rolli: the noble palaces of Via Garibaldi, a UNESCO site. Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Tursi form one museum route with Van Dyck portraits and frescoed rooms.
• The Old Port: redesigned by Renzo Piano, with the Aquarium of Genoa, one of the largest in Europe.
• Boccadasse: a fishing hamlet at the end of the seafront promenade, good for gelato at sunset.
• Staglieno: a vast 19th-century cemetery full of extraordinary sculpture.

Eat pesto where it was born, and have focaccia dipped in your cappuccino for breakfast, as many Genoese do. Genoa's main stations are Piazza Principe and Brignole; from either, trains reach Monterosso in about 1 hr 30 min and Milan in about 1 hr 30 min to 2 hours. Pickpockets work the old town and the station areas, so keep valuables close; see Safety.

A four-day plan

1. Day 1

   Arrive

   Train to Monterosso or Levanto. Afternoon on the beach, dinner of anchovies and a glass of Cinque Terre white.

2. Day 2

   Hike north

   Buy a Treno Card. Walk Monterosso to Vernazza at 8 a.m., lunch in Vernazza, then on to Corniglia. Train back.

3. Day 3

   The south

   Via dell'Amore from Riomaggiore (booked slot), Manarola, a hike up to Volastra, sunset in Manarola. In season, a boat to Portovenere.

4. Day 4

   Portofino or Genoa

   Train to Santa Margherita for Portofino and San Fruttuoso, or to Genoa for the palaces and the old town. Continue to Milan, Florence or Tuscany.

When to go

May, June, September and early October are best: warm enough to swim from June, with daytime highs in the 70s°F (about 22–27°C). July and August are hot, often in the high 80s°F (30°C), humid and crowded. Late October and November bring the heaviest rain of the year, and storms can close trails and the train line; in October 2011, a flash flood buried Vernazza. Winter is quiet and mild, around 50°F (10°C), with many restaurants and rooms closed, free trails and Manarola's nativity lights. See When to go.