Five villages, one train line, and a decision that people agonise over far more than they need to. Here’s the short version: they’re 5 to 20 minutes apart by train, you’ll see all of them regardless, and the only thing your choice really changes is what your evenings look like.
That said, the evenings are the good bit. So it’s worth getting right.
The five, in order from north to south
Monterosso al Mare — the biggest, the flattest, and the only one with a proper sandy beach. Two parts: the old village and a newer resort strip. Best for families, anyone with luggage, and anyone who wants to actually swim.
Vernazza — the prettiest. A small natural harbour, a castle, a piazza that opens straight onto the water. It’s also the most crowded per square metre and accommodation is limited and expensive.
Corniglia — the odd one out. It’s the only village not on the water, sitting on a clifftop 100 metres up, reached by 382 steps or a shuttle bus. Quietest by a distance, cheapest, and the steps are genuinely tiring with a suitcase.
Manarola — the postcard. That stack of coloured houses on a rock is Manarola, and the sunset view from the Nessun Dorma terrace is the shot everyone comes for. No beach, but a swimming spot off the rocks.
Riomaggiore — the southernmost and the easiest to reach from La Spezia. Steep main street, good nightlife by Cinque Terre standards, popular with younger travellers.
One thing that surprises people: the villages are much smaller than the photos suggest. Vernazza has about 800 residents. Corniglia has around 150. You can walk the length of any of them in under ten minutes, which is why the choice matters less than you’d think and why five villages in one day is genuinely possible even though it sounds mad.
So which one should you stay in?
- First visit, want the classic experience — Vernazza, if you book early enough.
- Travelling with kids or want a beach — Monterosso, no contest.
- Want quiet and value — Corniglia. Just be honest about the steps.
- Photographers — Manarola, for sunrise and sunset access without a train.
- Arriving late or leaving early — Riomaggiore, closest to La Spezia.
IMO Monterosso is the most underrated choice. People dismiss it as the least charming, but it’s the only one where you can arrive with a wheeled suitcase without hating your life, and it has the most restaurants that aren’t rammed.
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Or don’t stay in the villages at all
Controversial but worth considering. La Spezia is 10 minutes by train from Riomaggiore, has far more accommodation at maybe half the price, and is a real working city rather than a village that empties of locals.
Levanto, four minutes north of Monterosso, is the better version of this idea — a proper seaside town with a long beach, good food, and prices that aren’t set by day-trippers.
You lose the early-morning-and-late-evening magic of sleeping in the villages, which is real. But you save a lot of money and you get somewhere to eat that isn’t full.
There’s a middle option too, which is staying in one of the villages but booking well outside the summer window. A room in Vernazza in early May or late September costs roughly what a room in La Spezia costs in August, and you get the village to yourself for half the day. If your dates are flexible at all, moving them is worth more than moving your base.
The train is the whole system
The regional train runs the length of the coast, stopping at all five villages plus Levanto and La Spezia. Journeys between adjacent villages are 3 to 5 minutes.
The Cinque Terre Card comes in two versions: a trekking card covering the trails, and a train card covering trails plus unlimited regional trains between Levanto and La Spezia. The train version is around €20 a day and pays for itself in about four journeys.
Trains run roughly every 20 to 30 minutes and are packed in summer. Validate paper tickets before boarding or you’ll get fined; the card doesn’t need validating each time.
The hiking is better than the trains
The famous coastal path, the Sentiero Azzurro, connects all five villages. Reality check: the Manarola–Riomaggiore section (the Via dell’Amore) has been closed and partially reopened repeatedly over the years, and the Corniglia–Manarola section has had long closures too.
What’s reliably open: Monterosso to Vernazza (about 2 hours, the hardest and best) and Vernazza to Corniglia (about 1.5 hours). Both need the trekking card and proper shoes.
Check current trail status before you plan a day around it. Closures happen with little warning after rain.
The higher inland trails are free, far emptier and arguably better — the Sanctuary trails climb through the vineyards above the villages.
Eating
This is Liguria, so: pesto (invented here), focaccia, anchovies from Monterosso, and seafood. The white wine is Cinque Terre DOC, dry and mineral, made on those terraces you’re looking at.
Get a paper cone of fried seafood from a friggitoria for €8 and eat it on the harbour wall. It’s the best-value meal on the coast.
Restaurants with sea views charge for them. Walk up one street.
The terraces you’ll see everywhere on the hillsides are worth a moment’s attention, too. Those dry-stone walls run to something like 7,000 kilometres in total, built by hand over roughly a thousand years to make vertical rock farmable. They’re crumbling in places now because almost nobody works them any more, and the landslides that keep closing the coastal path are partly a consequence of that. The view is beautiful and it’s also a maintenance problem nobody has solved.
Timing
Day-trippers arrive around 10am and leave around 6pm. The villages are yours before and after, which is the single strongest argument for staying overnight.
May, June, September and early October are the sweet spot. July and August are extremely busy and hot. November to March, much is closed and the sea is rough, but it’s beautiful and nearly empty.
Two nights is the minimum to make it worth the journey. Three is better.
FAQ
Can I drive? Technically, but don’t. The villages are effectively closed to non-resident traffic, parking is scarce and expensive, and the roads are narrow and steep. Take the train.
How do I get there? Train to La Spezia or Levanto, then the local line. From Florence it’s about 2.5 hours, from Milan 3, from Pisa 1.5.
Is one day enough? You can see all five in a day, but it’s a conveyor belt. Two nights transforms it.
Are the villages accessible? Monterosso mostly yes. The others involve significant steps and steep streets. Corniglia is very difficult.
Where’s the best sunset? Manarola, from the path towards Corniglia. Get there 45 minutes early in summer.
Is it worth it if I’ve been to Positano? Yes, they’re quite different — Cinque Terre is smaller, poorer historically, and more walkable. Less glamour, more village.
