Livorno, Italy Port Reviews
Cinque Terre, Italy - On Your Own Shore Excursion
By: Tom Ogg

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Note: This review contains many wonderful pictures. In order to keep the Pages loading at an acceptable spped, it is broken into 5 parts. There is one reveiw for each village.

Cinque Terre - Manarola Village

Ahhhh, Cinque Terre (pronounced Chink-kay Tear-re). Cinque Terre is one of Italy's most fascinating areas. Cinque Terre literally means 5-lands and by visiting this wonderful national treasure, you will understand why. Dating back centuries, Cinque Terre is a remote part of the coastline that almost makes its way into France. It is made up of 5 separate and distinctively different villages, none of which is accessible by automobile. Hidden for centuries, Cinque Terre was named as a national park in 1999. If you have already visited Florence and are looking for something different while visiting Livorno, this just might be the ticket for you.

Getting to Cinque Terre:
You will probably need a late departure from Livorno to comfortably pull this off, but here is how to do it. Depending on where your ship is docked, you will either walk into Livorno or take a shuttle into town. In either case, you will make your way up to the main town square.

Catch the Bus Here

 
 

You will see the bus stop in front of the main square and the church. You can purchase your bus ticket at the pharmacy located in the building just to the right of the bus stop pictured above (just behind the first car)

The Train Station Bus #1

Wait for the bus #1 with this sign to appear.

The #1 Bus to the Train Station

While the bus will continue on past the trains station, it will be obvious when you arrive at the train station and it is time to get off of the bus.

The Livorno Train Station

Once you are at the train station, purchase a round trip ticket to Riomaggiore. Note that you will most likely have to change trains in La Spezia. From La Spezia it is only about a 5 to 10 minute train ride to Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

When you see the Riomaggiore train station sign, be prepared to get off the train. It is very close to La Spezia, so be prepared to disembark the train upon arrival at the small station..

The Riomaggiore Train Station

Riomaggiore is a beautiful little village and well worth investigating. The first thing that you will want to do is visit the national park headquarters and purchase a ticket to walk the trails to the other villages. I would strongly suggest that you also purchase the train ticket option, as well. You may also purchase a card that includes both the train and the ferrys, but unless you have a specific reason to utilize the ferry system, the train is the way to go. The card is priced under 10 euro and is necessary to enter the trail system.

The Riomaggiore Tunnel

One of the first things that you notice is that the village of Riomaggiore is separated by a long tunnel that connects the northern side to the southern side.

Riomaggiore Restaurant

One could spend the entire day in Riomaggiore, but in order to fully appreciate Cinque Terre you must visit all five villages and enjoy at least one of the walks between them.

The Walk of Love

The trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola is known as Via dell' Amore, or the walk of love.

The Trail to Manarola

The trail that leads to Manarola is quite easy to find. There will be someone to check your pass as you enter the trail. The trail is paved with few hills to climb and would be rated as "easy" walking. Note that it can be hot is the sun is shining.

Cinque Terre Coastline

One can't help but enjoy the fabulous vistas presented on every turn of the trail. The steep cliffs falling into the Mediterranean Sea is simply beautiful.

A Restaurant / Bar on the Trail to Manarola

Don't worry about taking beverages with you, as along the way on the trail, there are restaurants and bars.

Ahhh, Finally, a Bar on the Trail to Manarola

Cinque Terre is known for its wonderful wines and they are quite inexpensive and enjoyable.

One of the Ferrys Operating Between the Cinque Terre Villages

While the train in this section of Cinque Terre is underground, one sees the ferries plying the waters between the 5 villages that makeup Cinque Terre.