Perched high atop the steep, rocky coastline of the Ligurian Sea lie the Cinque Terre, five breathtaking colorful Italian fishing villages dating back to the 11th Century. Established as a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, the Cinque Terre National Park may be the smallest park in Italy but is perhaps the most unique. For centuries, its inhabitants have used its dramatic landscape to survive by working with it to create a unique system of terrace-based agriculture among its steep slopes which tumble to the sea. Cinque Terre can be visited in a variety of ways: via train, boat, and best of all, on foot exploring its network of footpaths linking the cliff-hanging villages together all while affording dazzling views of the sea. It is an unforgettable experience that can be done as a long but worth it day trip from Florence, Pisa, or other towns in Tuscany.

Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

A Day Trip Exploring Cinque Terre from Florence: Getting there

Since cars are not allowed inside the heart of Cinque Terre, getting there is half the fun. You need to either take the train, drive, or a bus to the town of La Spezia (about 2 hours), where you can catch a ten-minute train ride to the entrance to the park. From there, you can either continue via train or else on foot along the 120 kilometers of trails meandering along the coast.

Most people begin their visit in Riomaggiore, the southernmost town which is the first stop from La Spezia via train. We chose not to start our day here as we had hoped to take the ferry back to Riomaggiore at the end of the day and finish there. Instead, we continued on to the next town, Manarola, which is less than 2 minutes away via train (you can see the stop from the first town!).

Manarola

As you get off the train and enter into tiny, picturesque Manarola, the smell of fried calamari tickles your nose. It is a smell you will find all throughout the five villages that make up Cinque Terre National Park. Tiny boutiques, cafes, and restaurants line the street beckoning your curiosity for a visit. Beautiful, colorful houses seem to rise up from the sea into the terraced landscape of olive and lemon trees, vineyards, and gardens. While each village has a similarity to it, each one remains unique and continues to amaze, dazzle and surprise visitors even to this day.

To get a bird’s eye view of Manarola and the stunning surroundings, step away from the busy street and get up high. Climb up the stairs to discover the real true beauty of the Cinque Terre.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

Looking out over the vast Cinque Terre National Park you can easily see why this place is so strikingly beautiful and unique. The Apennine Mountains stretch for over 1200 kilometers from north to south forming the backbone of Italy, resulting in the dramatic landscape you see today.

For centuries, the hard-working, hearty inhabitants worked the land to shape it and fit their needs. Villages like Manarola -which translates into “working with hands” – were named after this fact.  Farmers built an extensive network of dry stone walls- which are beautiful in their own right- supporting steep terraces to cultivate lemons, oranges, olives, grapes, and more. Farming such a steep, vicious landscape was extremely hard work and eventually, the farmers even built a monorail system to help out. It was shut down in the early 1900s given its dangerous nature however you can still see the path today.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

During our tour, our young Italian guide Guido explained a little bit about the structure and history of the villages. As we looked out over Manarola, Guido pointed out that while each village is unique all five are structured the same way with a pier at the bottom, and a train station and church in the middle. Back in the day, the houses were painted according to your identification and not a single thing has changed since the Cinque Terre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Changing the color of your home is impossible and even a lamppost cannot be moved in order to preserve the rapidly disappearing way of life, culture, and charm of the Cinque Terre.

The last two decades have seen a lot of change as more locals move out of the villages, leaving farming behind for the more profitable business of renting their homes as Airbnbs.  The massive influx of tourists and cruise ship visitors (sometimes the crowds are so large you can hardly walk the narrow streets) has also dramatically changed the feel of this magical place unfortunately taking away from its charm. Yet, tourism also helps provide much-needed income to ensure these tiny communities will survive. As with many UNESCO World Heritage sites, tourism can be both a blessing and a curse. The park is seeing an estimated 2.5 million visitors a year and it is only getting worse.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

Before heading to the next village, Corniglia, be sure to walk to the end of Manarola for the best picture of all.

Corniglia

The third village, Corniglia, sits high atop a cliff commanding stunning views of the sea. It is a three-minute train ride from Manarola or a 1.2 mile/2 kilometer relatively easy walk taking a little over an hour. Regardless of whether you walk or take the train, reaching the town itself requires a bit of effort as you must climb up the Lardarina, the 377 steps leading up to the village. The walk up can be hot and tiring yet the panoramic views along the way are unforgettable. (For those who prefer not to face the Lardarina, there is also a shuttle service leaving directly from the train station).

Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

Looking back toward Manarola provides a stunning seascape along with a glimpse at how the train system literally cuts through the cliffs along the shore

Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

We decided to have lunch in Corniglia as it is a good midpoint for a break before moving onwards via an hour and a half hike to the next village Vernazza.

There are plenty of lovely restaurants in Corniglia to sample the local specialties such as fried calamari and fried anchovies wrapped in ham and cheese, homemade Pesto alla Genovese with potatoes and beans, and of course a glass of local Cinque Terre wine.  It is best of course to grab a table with a view which thankfully there are plenty to choose from.

Vernazza

If you have one hike in you during a day trip to Cinque Terre, the hike from Corniglia to Vernazza is the one for you. Listed as a medium-level hike, this stunning 2-mile hike takes you to some of the most spectacular scenery in Cinque Terre affording glorious views of the sea, the cliffs, and villages.

Be prepared as the hike is very hot in the summertime. However, the good news is there is a wonderful stop about halfway along the hike at the highest point in Cinque Terre. There is a tiny village of only four homes and of course a church, where you can replenish your soul with an extraordinarily refreshing ice-cold lemon smoothie that will hit the spot.

Cinque Terre Italy hike

After a short break, continue hiking down to the lovely village of Vernazza where you can grab a gelato at one of three gelato shops in town. Local lore says that they are owned by competing brothers trying to invent the best and most unique flavors in town. Ricotta and basil gelato are some of the rivaling flavors.

Don’t forget to stop here for an ice-cold lemon smoothie before continuing down to Vernazza

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Vernazza has a lovely beach yet is very touristy. I imagine it calms down at night when many of the tourists leave. Just as expected, the gelato was cold, creamy and delightful.

Monterosso al Mare

Trendy Monterosso al Mare is the last town in Cinque Terre. It is a short three minutes on the train or else a 1.5-2 hour hike.  If you are jamming all five villages in during a single day, then the train is the way to go. Monterosso is the only village that has a new and an old town. It also has a large promenade that spans between two castles bookending the beachfront. There are both public and private beaches and plenty of places to dine, enjoy a glass of wine, and watch the world go by.

Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy

Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy

From Monterosso, our plan was to take a boat back to Riomaggiore to get the famous view of Cinque Terre by sea. However, unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor and it was too windy. Disappointed, we had to take the train back which took less than ten minutes but didn’t give us the view we were hoping for.

Riomaggiore

Atlas, at 6 pm we made it to our last town of the tour (yet the first town of five in the Cinque Terre) Riomaggiore. I confess that by this time of day, I was hot, tired, and ready to go back to Florence yet Riomaggiore is a lovely town. It is set upon a steep valley awash with colorful houses gracing the steep, terraced landscape raising from the base of the sea.

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre, Italy

Day Trip to the Cinque Terre from Florence: How to see all Five Villages in a Day

The most popular way to see Cinque Terre is on foot, and it can all be done (but not recommended) in a little over six hours. However, you would miss half of the fun and beauty of stopping along the way to linger in these extraordinary towns. I think two days would be perfect as it would give you a chance to enjoy the incredible dining, and check out the beaches, vineyards, and towns themselves.

It is possible to experience the Cinque Terre all in one day which we did through an organized tour from Florence, two hours away. It is a long, exhilarating day but looking back I’m glad we did it the way we did as at least we got to see it.

We took a guided tour with Get Your Guide which I was hesitant about doing as I’m not a big tour kind of gal. However, all in all, I was immensely impressed as it would have been almost impossible to see all we did in one day, in such an organized way, on our own. Combined with the clever knowledge and wit of our two Florence-based guides, we had a blast. Despite being in a group of over 30 people, it worked out like clockwork which was even more impressive in my book.

Our Tour provided us with the essential Cinque Terre Card which allows you access to the park, train transportation between them, and even the bathrooms at the train stations. For more information, check out the Cinque Terre Trekking Card and Cinque Terre Train Card.

Looking back, I loved our experience at the Cinque Terre. It was just as beautiful as I expected yet it was very crowded. If I come back, I’d try as best as possible to go off-season to avoid the huge crowds. Some do trickle out during the night. But be prepared for a lot of people crammed into very narrow streets in peak season, especially when the cruise ships visit! It is a stunning place worth seeing.

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Day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence

 

 

 

 

21 comments

  1. So interesting that you couldn’t drive in! We were there back in 2008 and drove in ourselves after a hike farther north. I distinctly remember it because I was the driver and it was hair-raising to twist and turn up and down the coast roads … and then try to park! Glad you got to walk at least some of the sections (are they all open now? I heard they shut some down a few years ago) as that was the best part about seeing the five towns. How nice that you have been able to get our and travel overseas again. I am eagerly awaiting the day …

    1. Thanks Lexi for the comment! It is good to hear from you! As for the cars, I know you can drive to the outskirts of town and parking can be a beast but I didn’t see any cars within the extremely pedestrian streets in the heart of the villages. Cars are not allowed inside the historic parts of town even for residents. I can only imagine how insane driving in those winding hills would be! How far did you have to park to reach each village? One thing I saw that was really interesting was how they delivered food. In Manarola, we walked up the stairs really high and witnessed a delivery man using some kind of electric cart. He was delivering all the food to a restaurant up there and the “street” if you can call it that was impossibly narrow and small. I can only imagine how hard it is to get things in and out of the villages!

      My daughter and I had a wonderful time. The only hard thing was the airports as we had a lot of problems given the labor shortages and strikes. We almost didn’t get to Florence and then got stuck in Paris. But other than that it felt great to be in my happy place and out in the world again. Hope you are doing well!

      1. We only drove into the first town (we started in Monterosso), and then we walked through the five of them and back! We were there for a few days, so we could afford to spend an entire day walking there and back. Super fun memory with our two older kids. Glad you and your daughter got to have that time together!

      2. yes me too! The only downside was how insanely crowded it was. There was one village where we could hardly walk through the streets. But it was still so incredibly beautiful.

  2. I do love this area of Italy with its smells of the sea and delicious food from it. We were driven there so I did not experience the challenges of the coast roads.

    1. Yes, it was so incredibly beautiful! I just can never get enough of Italy and its magic. Such an amazing country!

  3. This has my name all over it, and I can’t for the life of me imagine why I haven’t yet done it. But still, a part of me thinks- so many beautiful places in the world. Why do we all crowd into them? Special to share with your daugher, Nicole.

    1. Yes, you would love it, Jo! Especially if you could go a little off-season as maybe the crowds would at least be more reasonable. Still, it was so incredibly beautiful and my daughter and I truly had a blast that day. Very memorable! Hope you are well! 🙂

  4. Why should one visit these five villages in a day? For us that doesn’t make sense. The last time we have been there we stayed a fortnight. It’s an area with great walks from one village to the other.
    Greetings from the sunny sea
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    1. Good question! For me, I had been to Italy several times over the years but had never been to Cinque Terre. My daughter and I were able to book a trip to Florence for six days and when I was researching what to do I see that you could visit Cinque Terre from Florence as a day trip. Since I’d always wanted to go and my 15-year-old daughter did too we did it as a day trip. We loved it. Yes more time would be great but for us it was enough for us to see a truly magic place and get a taste of it!

  5. Cinque Terre was among the first places I learned about from other blogs in my early years of blogging. The photos captivated me back then, and the ones you included in this post certainly still give me that same feeling of curiosity toward this part of Italy. I hope I can make it there one day. I was expecting to see a photo of the gelatos you had. 🙂 But it looks like it was hot when you were there, and if I were you I would probably have also forgotten to take a quick shot of the comforting scoop of creaminess and only realized it after I finished it.

    1. Yes, I have wanted to visit there for a very long time and actually wished I did decades ago when I was living in France. Perhaps it would not have been as crowded. But atlas, it was still worth it as it is so stunning. And yes, the gelatos melted very fast.

  6. I hiked this in 2015- and your pictures and descriptions brought it all back- thank you……

  7. Wonderful post Nicole that brought back some great memories. Back in 2011 we spent 5 days there, based in Monterosso, and loved it. We visited all five villages, mostly hiking between them, and returning by ferry. Stunning place, and you got some great photos.
    Alison

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