A trip to the Cinque Terre, Italy

The famous national park of Italy. It is located in the province of La Spezia, the administrative region of Liguria. UNESCO in 1997 included the park in the World Heritage List.

The area of Cinque Terre (Italy) is located five kilometers from the city of La Spezia. It consists of five fishing villages - Monterosso, Corniglia, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza. In all these settlements, movement is prohibited on cars other than Monterosso, in which traffic is restricted.

This is an atypical for Italy resort, there are no monotonous hotels and numerous restaurants and cafes. Italians themselves and lovers of a quiet and relaxing holiday from all over the world come to Cinque Terre. Italy does not cease to amaze with its delightful places of rest. Confirmation of this - this paradise.

National Park

Fishing villages in these places appeared in the XI century. The most beautiful of them is the village of Vernazza, in which there are only 1000 inhabitants. All the houses in it are single-storey. This gives it a unique color.

The second settlement - Manarola - is even smaller. It is inhabited by 450 inhabitants. He became famous for his amazing tower houses. The image of the village became the "face" of the Cinque Terre. Italy carefully preserves unique architectural monuments, preserved in this place from the Middle Ages.

The smallest village in the region is Corniglia, where only 245 people live. It is located on the cliffs, at an altitude of eighty meters above sea level. In the village, of course, there is no beach, but you can easily get to it if you go down 337 steps down. In Corniglia is a picturesque nature that attracts tourists here.

In Monterosso, the only one of the five settlements, limited motor traffic is allowed. 1500 people live here. This place is famous for its magnificent beaches.

The largest settlement of the region is Riomaggiore. It is inhabited by 1750 inhabitants. This is the place where everyone who wants to see the Cinque Terre comes first. The map of Italy shows that it is from here that it is most convenient to start a trip to other villages.

How to get to Cinque Terre

From Genoa all local trains stop in the towns of Cinque Terre (Italy). How to get from one village to another? Either on the train, or on the "green bus", that is, on clean transport. However, the most pleasant thing here is to take a walk. The longest passage through these picturesque places from one village to another will not take more than 2 hours.

What to see in Cinque Terre

The villages are connected by paths of extraordinary beauty. Some of them are simple and perfectly level, others are complex, climbing high into the mountains. All who climbed them, will never forget the stunning panoramic views of the Liturgian coast and the coastal landscape. The most difficult for climbing trail has a length of 40 km, tourists overcome it in about 12 hours. The simplest is the Azure trail. Traveling on it, you can get around in five hours all the villages of this area.

The most popular tourist attraction that all visitors to Cinque Terre (Italy) aspire to see, the photo of which you see in this article, is the Path of Love. It connects Manarola and Riomaggiore. This path, the length of which does not exceed two kilometers, is covered with a beautiful legend of love. In the middle of the road you will see a monument to lovers who died because of the hatred of the inhabitants of the two villages and remained forever together.

In Riomanjore, tourists can see the ruins of the castle, which was built to protect the inhabitants of the village from raids by the Saracens. It is a pity, but in our time you can see only two towers.

Monterosso

In this village there are many interesting things. This is, of course, a monument to Neptune, who sits on a rock and holds a huge shell on his shoulders - once there was a dance floor, but during the war the site was damaged by bombing, and later the storm made its business. Tourists who visited the Cinque Terre, the reviews leave admiring. This magnificent statue still impresses the guests of the Cinque Terre.

The second landmark of the village is the Aurora Tower, which is preserved from a fortress built in the Middle Ages. The tower is located on the border of the new and old city. From it you can see the ruins of the castle, the panorama of the sea. Nearby is the Church of St. Francis and the Capuchin Monastery. Here you can see many unique paintings of religious themes of the most famous Italian masters.

Wine Museum

In Manarola, those who wish can visit the museum, which is located in the homeland of white wines. It is created as a monument to the shaketra, an exquisite wine made from amber grapes grown on terraces that hang over the sea. Here you can trace the history of the production of this wine, buy a bottle, take part in the tasting. Nearby are the wine cellars, where the tastings of the best wines produced in the Cinque Terre are held. Italy is famous for its wines, but in these places they are special.

Beaches

The coast in these places is steep and rocky. Therefore, the beaches here are pebbly, with the exception of Monterosso, in which the beaches are sandy. Not far from Corniglia is a nude beach, which can be accessed through an abandoned railway tunnel.

Cinque Terre: hotels

In such a small area of hotels is located quite a lot - it's inexpensive and cozy hotels and luxury apartments, designed for the most demanding guests. Many of them are in ancient castles and houses built on the coast. From the terraces and balconies you can admire the magnificent views.