Cinque Terre, One of the Most Beautiful Places in Italy

Cinque Terre, one of the most beautiful places in Italy 🇮🇹☀️ Around seven years ago, we went on a Mediterranean cruise during the autumn school holiday and visited today’s destination, La Spezia in Italy. We were certainly not lucky with the weather back then. Today was very different, with temperatures around 24°C and plenty of sunshine. La Spezia is close to Cinque Terre, which consists of five small, colourful fishing villages along the Italian Riviera. The villages cling to steep cliffs above the Mediterranean, and the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places in Italy, and it also offers some of the country’s finest coastal walks. We left the cruise ship early, at 7:30 a.m. From La Spezia railway station we took a 20-minute train ride to Vernazza, where we began the coastal walk to Monterosso al Mare. The hike is around 3.5 kilometres and took us about two hours. That may not sound like much, but there are many steps and steep climbs along the way. In return, the views are fantastic, with the Mediterranean far below, vineyards and small colourful villages perched on the cliffs. When we were here seven years ago, Villads was very young and still used a pushchair. Back then, only Alberte and I did the hike. Today all four of us were able to walk it. ❤️ The walk ended in Monterosso al Mare, the largest of the five villages and the one with the area’s best sandy beach. We also went swimming in the Mediterranean here. Later we took the train to Manarola, probably the most beautiful of the five villages. The colourful houses seem to be stacked on top of one another on the cliffs around the small harbour. It really is a beautiful and charming place. One of the great things about Cinque Terre is that all five villages are connected by train. The journeys take only a few minutes, making it easy to combine hiking with train travel. We bought day tickets for €78, around DKK 580 for all four of us, which allowed us to take as many trains as we wanted. It is a very good idea to set off early. Even in October there are huge numbers of tourists, especially later in the day. I cannot imagine what it must be like in July and August. Prices are also a little higher than elsewhere in Italy, but the area is definitely worth visiting. We have visited many places in Italy over the years, but Cinque Terre remains something very special. If I had to recommend one experience, it would unquestionably be the hike from Vernazza to Monterosso. 🇮🇹☀️