Rick Steves - Rick Steves Snapshot Italys Cinque Terre

SNAPSHOT

Italys Cinque Terre

This Snapshot guide, excerpted from my guidebook Rick Steves Italy, introduces you to my favorite stretch of the Italian Riviera. The Cinque Terreliterally five landsis a charm bracelet of picturesque, traffic-free villages where you can melt into small-town Italy. Sit on the breakwater to enjoy the views, hike the scenic trails between the villages, and dine on a succulent seafood feast as you hear the roar of the surf. Ive also included coverage of nearby Riviera destinations, including the beach towns of Levanto, Sestri Levante, the larger Santa Margherita Ligure, trendier Portofino, resorty Portovenere, and the workaday transportation hub of La Spezia.

To help you have the best trip possible, Ive included the following topics in this book:

Planning Your Time, with advice on how to make the most of your limited time

Orientation, including tourist information (abbreviated as TI), tips on public transportation, local tour options, and helpful hints

Sights with ratings:

Dont miss

Try hard to see

Worthwhile if you can make it

No ratingWorth knowing about

Sleeping and Eating, with good-value recommendations in every price range

Connections, with tips on trains, buses, and driving

Practicalities, near the end of this book, has information on money, phoning, hotel reservations, transportation, and more, plus Italian survival phrases.

To travel smartly, read this little book in its entirety before you go. Its my hope that this guide will make your trip more meaningful and rewarding. Traveling like a temporary local, youll get the absolute most out of every mile, minute, and dollar.

Buon viaggio!

Rick Steves

The Cinque Terre (CHINK-weh TAY-reh), a remote chunk of the Italian Riviera, is the traffic-free, lowbrow, underappreciated alternative to the French Riviera. Theres not a museum in sightjust sun, sea, sand (well, pebbles), wine, and pure, unadulterated Italy. Enjoy the villages, swimming, hiking, and evening romance of one of Gods great gifts to tourism. For a home base, choose among five (cinque) villages, each of which fills a ravine with a lazy hive of human activitycalloused locals, sunburned travelers, and no Vespas. While the Cinque Terre is now discovered (and can be unpleasantly crowded midday, when tourist boats and cruise-ship excursions drop by), Ive never seen happier, more relaxed tourists.

This chunk of coast was first described in medieval times as the five lands. In the feudal era, this land was watched over by castles. Tiny communities grew up in their protective shadows, ready to run inside at the first hint of a Turkish Saracen pirate raid. Marauding pirates from North Africa were a persistent problem until about 1400. Many locals were kidnapped and ransomed or sold into slavery, and those who remained built fires on flat-roofed watchtowers to relay warningsalerting the entire coast to imminent attacks. The last major raid was in 1545.

As the threat of pirates faded, the villages prospered, catching fish and cultivating grapes. Churches were enlarged with a growing population. But until the advent of tourism in this generation, the towns remained isolated. Even today, traditions survive, and each of the five villages comes with a distinct dialect and its own proud heritage.

Sadly, a few ugly, noisy Americans give tourism a bad name here. Even hip, young residents are put off by loud, drunken tourists. They sayand I agreethat the Cinque Terre is an exceptional place. It deserves a special dignity. Party in Viareggio or Portofino, but be mellow in the Cinque Terre. Talk softly. Help keep it clean. In spite of the tourist crowds, its still a real community, and we are its guests.

In this chapter, I cover the five towns in order from south to northfrom Riomaggiore to Monterosso. Since I still get the names of the towns mixed up, I think of them by number: #1 Riomaggiore (a workaday town), #2 Manarola (picturesque), #3 Corniglia (on a hilltop), #4 Vernazza (the regions cover girl, the most touristy and dramatic), and #5 Monterosso al Mare (the closest thing to a beach resort of the five towns).

Arrival in the Cinque Terre

By Train: Most big, fast trains from elsewhere in Italy speed right past the Cinque Terre. (There are some exceptions: A few IC trains go directly from Milan to Monterosso and from Pisa to La Spezia and Monterosso). Unless youre coming from a nearby town, youll most likely have to change trains at least once to reach Manarola, Corniglia, or Vernazza.

Generally, if youre coming from the north, youll change trains in Sestri Levante or Genoa (specifically, Genoas Piazza Principe station). If youre coming from the south or east, youll probably have to switch trains in La Spezia (change at La Spezia Centrale stationdont make the mistake of getting off at La Spezia Migliarina). No matter where youre coming from, its best to check in the station before you leave to see your full schedule and route options (use the computerized kiosks or ask at a ticket window). Dont forget to validate your ticket by stamping it in the green-and-white machines located on train platforms and elsewhere in the station. Conductors here are notorious for levying stiff fines on forgetful tourists. For more information on riding the train between Cinque Terre towns, see Getting Around the Cinque Terre, later.

By Car: If youre driving in the Cinque Terre (but, given the narrow roads and lack of parking, I wouldnt), see Cinque Terre Connections at the end of this chapter for directions. For parking, see the By Car sections in each village.

The ideal stay is two or three full days; my recommended minimum stay is two nights and a completely uninterrupted day. The Cinque Terre is served by local trains from Genoa and La Spezia. Speed demons arrive in the morning, check their bags in La Spezia, ride a train to their starting point, take the five-hour hike through all five towns, laze away the afternoon on the beach or rock of their choice, and zoom away on a high-speed evening or overnight train to somewhere back in the real world. But be warned: The Cinque Terre has a strange way of messing up your momentum. (The evidence is the number of Americans who have fallen in love with the region and/or one of its residents...and are still here.) Frankly, staying fewer than two nights is a mistake that youll likely regret.