Cinque Terre

Although it is technically in neighboring Liguria not Tuscany, Cinque Terre is one of the most amazing places on earth. 5 small towns situated on 5 cliffs overlooking the Ligurian Sea, they are only accessible by train or hiking path. I suggest looking at the wikipedia page on this UNESCO World Heritage sight to get a better idea of where I traveled today. Basically, these five towns are found on rocks cliffs, partially natural cliffs and partially created by peasant farmers over several thousand years.


After waking up late and missing my first 6am train, I finally caught the 6:37am train and arrived in La Spezia by 10am. This town is relatively large and holds the train hub to reach the other 5 smaller lands of Cinque Terre itself. I took the train to the 5th and farther city of Monterossa to begin. By starting at the end, I worked my way through each town after: Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. It took me about 4 hours (1 hour less than estimated by the national park maps) to make the trip, stopping only for lunch in the third town (a delicious pizza and italian beer at a hole-in-the-wall authentic place).


I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking, but the sights are absolutely phenomenal. The hike between the first and second and second and third cities was excruciating. I wasn't expecting such a workout, but it was awesome to make my way on small paths and mountainside cliffs through the beautiful terrain and various vineyards everywhere. Cinque Terre is famous for its wine. The last two legs were much more manageable, as they have been paved for tourists.


Cinque Terre reminded me a lot of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, except this was a much more interactive experience. Take a look at the pictures and ENJOY!