Home in Cinque Terre

Some keep their holiday souvenirs in an album, other publish their travel experiences on a blog, we choose for a website : a combination of pictures and comments, that can arouse your interest to explore this beautiful spot on earth, called Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre is not well known. It's a only small piece of the Italian coastline, it is difficult to reach by car, it does not have any beaches and its mighty neighbours (Tuscany and Pisa) take away the attention of most tourists.

For all these reasons, Cinque Terre has long been isolated, hidden between the sea and the mountains. And due to this isolation, it has kept its authenticity so well, that the 5 villages were recognised as World Heritage by Unesco. It can be pretty crowded in the summer months, flooded by tourists visiting Cinque Terre in one day.

Five ways are there
that lead me to you
Five ways that tell me about you

Monterosso   Vernazza
      Corniglia    Manarola
            Riomaggiore

Five Terre are there
Terre of sweat and blood
Five butterflies that live in me

Poem on the Via dell'Amore
Elisabeth Booms (Translated freely)

Cinque Terre is a piece of the Ligurian Coast, only 15 miles long. It consists of 5 villages or '"Terre" (castles) : Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza en Monterosso. The villages are connected by a train track, that finds itself a way along the coast through many tunnels. The walking trail that connects the villages is very spectacular, with many magnificent views on the coastline. Higher up in the hills, in the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, you can find back the peacefulness and quietness, with even more spectacular views on the coastline. There is a dense network of hiking trails, connecting each of the villages with the trail along the top of the hills behind. (going up to 800 metres);

If you come to walk, you have to take into account that it can be pretty hot in the summer. We therefor recommend a walking holiday in Cinque Terre especially in the spring or in the autumn.

We wish you a lot of surfing pleasure ... and later on maybe walking pleasure in Cinque Terre.

Els & Frank

Our favourite walks

Cinque Terre is covered with a dense network of hiking trails. A small map, available for free in the tourist offices, is sufficient to find the trails. Finding back the trails is never really a problem, though once in a while a sign is missing.

If you are only for a few days in Cinque Terre, and you are not afraid of a good walk, we definitely recommend the trails below :

Sentiero Azzurro : Trail between Corniglia (from the railway station) en Monterosso
Sentiero N° 1 : Trail between Portovenere and Riomaggiore, back with the boat.
Circuit 1 : Manarola, Colle di Sella, Telegrafo, Riomaggiore
Circuit 2 : Monterosso, Madonna di Soviore, Punta di Mesco, Monterosso

If you have more time, then climb up the hills, from one of the villages, into the Cinque Terre National Park. Be sure to take food & drinks with you, especially on the hot summer days.

For most of the walks, a good condition is required. If you want to keep it easy, the Via Dell'Amore is extremely easy, as well as the track between Manarola and Corniglia (as far as the railway station), from where you can reach the other villages with the train.