Cinque Terre, meaning “five lands,” is a stretch of rugged coastline in the northern Liguria region. Considered to be the Italian Riviera, it is composed of five, colorful centuries-old cliffside villages; Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. All five of these villages are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are connected by train or hiking trails that are open year-round.
Read below to learn more about the 5 treasures of the Italian Riviera:
Monterosso
Monterosso is the largest of the five towns, and also the most accessible by car. It is the only of the five towns with a proper stretch of sandy beach, which makes it an ideal pick for those looking for a beachside getaway. The town is known for its lemon trees, olives, and anchovies.
Vernazza
This small fishing village is probably the most picturesque and famous of the quintet. Composed of colorful houses clustered around a small marina freckled with fishing boats, Vernazza is considered to be one of the most beautiful towns in Italy.
Corniglia
Corniglia is the smallest and least accessible of the five villages. It is also the only one not to have been directly built on the sea – rather, it clings to a cliff roughly 100 meters above sea level. Its hard-to-reach location makes Corniglia the most authentic village out of the five.
Manarola
Alongside Vernazza and Riomaggiore, Manarola is one of the most famous villages along the Cinque Terre coastline. Its crowning jewel is its quaint harbor with boat ramp and pastel-colored houses clustered around a sea-facing piazza. It’s customary to sunbathe on and jump from the large rocks that frame the harbor.
Riomaggiore
Considered to be the most romantic of the Cinque Terre towns, Riommagiore is similar to Vernazza and Manarola in that colored houses cling to the hillside and face a small harbor peppered with fishing boats. After Manarola, it is the largest and liveliest town on the coastline.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.