Cinque Terre, Italy (Sightseeing, Dining, and Accommodation)

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

We spent two nights in the charming village of Riomaggiore, which is part of the Cinque Terre, in September 2011.

The beautiful Cinque Terre (CT) is comprised of five small villages on the rugged Ligurian coast of Italy. The entire area has been deservingly deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What makes the CT so special and unique is that it has been virtually untouched by commercialism as only one of the villages (Monterosso) can even be reached by car; the rest are reached only by train or boat. I had visited the CT five years earlier when I was traveling in Italy with my sister. In fact, the CT was actually the first place I ever visited in Europe so it has always held a very special place in my heart. During that first trip we stayed in Riomaggiore and as a result attained a natural affinity for that village over the others. However, of the other four villages I would also recommend staying overnight in Vernazza. In my opinion, Monterosso is too crowded but is the only village with an actual beach, Vernazza is the second-busiest town but has a picturesque harbor and lots of fun shops to poke around in, Corniglia is the smallest and is very quiet, has very few restaurants but is a good escape from the more crowded villages, and Manarola is just okay, but lacks the special charm I have found in the other villages. I find that Riomaggiore brings together the best of all of the CT villages. The CT is the type of place to really get away, slow down, and truly relax, especially while on a very busy sightseeing vacation.

Ideally, I would have liked to have spent three or four nights in the CT, but we simply didn't have enough time in our schedule to do so. Even more frustrating, what should have been a two day/two night visit to the CT ended up turning into a one day/two night visit as we encountered a train strike on the day we traveled from Florence to the CT. As a result, we spent hours and hours in the train station patiently waiting for trains that never came. Finally, we banded together with multple couples from the US and Canada and we ended up hiring a private bus to drive us to the CT (Monterosso).

Once off in Monterosso, we realized that the local trains within the CT weren't working either. So, we made the best of our situation and hung out with our new friends and had a memorable three hour long dinner meal.

We finally took the local train from Monterosso to Riomaggiore around midnight. I had been in contact with the owner of our B & B all day and we had planned on meeting her at the train station upon arrival. As we got off the train I looked around the large crowd until I made eye contact with a woman and she asked "Jennifer"? We hugged (it had been a very long and stressful day) and her and her husband led Shyawn and I up through the steep streets to our B & B. During our walk, she asked more questions about our eventful day, including what time we had come from the Pisa airport. I was confused, but chalked it up to a lack of English on her part and exhaustion on my end. Upon arrival to our room, I found it a little odd that we didn't quite have the ocean view that I was expecting. Additionally, there was no wi-fi even though their website had indicated there would be. I didn't think much of it again until the following morning when I saw the bill for the room, which was 10 Euro cheaper per night than it should have been. Finally, later that afternoon the woman came to our room and told us that she had the wrong Jennifer!! Apparently, on that same tiny train the night before was yet another couple, the female version also being a Jennifer. So they were in our room (with the ocean view!) and there we were in theirs (without our ocean view!) Quite a funny story but a great experience that neither of us are sure to forget anytime soon!



Sightseeing:
There are no must-see sights to visit in the Cinque Terre. While there are a few tiny churches one could peek into, the favorite activity of most visitors seems to be just wandering and exploring the pleasant streets and narrow alley-ways of each village. Additionally, all visitors should try and complete at least part of the hike between the five villages. The first section, from Riomaggiore to Manarola is the easiest as most of it is paved. During our short one day stay we had time to explore Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Vernazza; the pictures from each visit are shown below.

Riomaggiore:

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Enjoying Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Shyawn in Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

People hiking in Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola:

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

Entrance to the hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola. This area used to be the meeting point for lovers from Riomaggiore and Manarola and so is often referred to as Via dell'Amore (Pathway of Love). It is now a ritual for visitors to affix padlocks with their lovers along the fence.

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

Manarola as viewed from the hike from Riomaggiore.

The hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

Manarola:

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Flower in Manarola.

Shyawn in Manarola.

Vernazza:

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Watching the waves roll into Vernazza.

Watching the waves roll into Vernazza.

Vernazza.

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Cat in Vernazza.

Shyawn and his kitty friend in Vernazza.

Shyawn and his kitty friend in Vernazza.

I made friends with the cat in Vernazza too!

Shyawn was nice enough to pour the cat some water.

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Dining:
Pesto and seafood are king in the Cinque Terre and quite frankly if you avoid eating either you are missing out on a tremendous dining experience. Pesto is one of my favorite things so I made sure to eat as much of it as possible during our short stay. Unfortunately I had to use our point and shoot for the two dinner meals so please excuse the lack of quality.

Ristorante Via Venti (Monterosso):
As prevoiously mentioned, us and our new group of friends got stuck in Monterosso for several hours. By the time we arrived we were all absolutely starving. I took a peek in my Rick Steves guidebook and ended up selecting this place as he had indicated that it served "freshly made pasta." The others in our group said it sounded great so, together, we walked from the train station to the other side of Monterosso with all of our belongings. Because of the train strikes that day there were actually very few visitors in Monterosso so we nearly had the entire restaurant to ourselves. Before even opening the menu I knew that I would be ordering the pesto pasta. As soon as the beautiful pasta arrived I immediately began devouring it. The pesto sauce was fresh and insanely delicious and was spread over a local pasta called trofie, which is made of with potato and flour, specifically designed for the pesto to cling to. I ended up eating pesto pasta for all three meals in the CT and this plate was definitely the best! Shyawn selected a seafood ravoli which he stated was very good (I was so absorbed with my pasta I forgot to sneak a bite!) Another person in our group ordered the pear and cheese ravioli, which she said was one of the most delicious things she had ever placed into her mouth. Since we had to wait a few hours until the trains began operating again we ended up spending three hours at the restaurant relieving our stressful day together. Between the three men all of the beer within the restaurant was completely wiped out! Eventually we also ordered Tiramisu for dessert which was obviously made from scratch that day, and while not very fancy, was very tasty. If you find yourself in Monterosso, definitely make sure to eat some of their fresh made pasta!

Delicious pesto pasta dish at Ristorante Via Venti in Monterosso.

Shyawn's seafood ravioli dish at Ristorante Via Venti in Monterosso.

Delicious Tiramisu at Ristorante Via Venti in Monterosso.

The friends we made from our hellish day from Florence to the Cinque Terre at Ristorante Via Venti in Monterosso.

The boys drank all of the remaining beer at Ristorante Via Venti.

Ristorante la Lampara (Riomaggiore):
This tiny little restaurant is located on the main thoroughfare (Via Colombo) of Riomaggiore. If you are lucky enough to snag one of the tables next to the windows you will have a nice view of the town below. We ate here for lunch as soon as they opened so we enjoyed a very quiet and peaceful meal. In my quest to eat as much pesto while in the Cinque Terre as possibly I, of course, ordered the pesto con spaghetti. Shyawn also ordered a pesto dish, but his pesto pizza ended up being the better option as it was surprisingly delicious. My pesto was okay, but in comparison to the other two pesto dishes I had in the Cinque Terre it was definitely my least favorite.

Interior of La Lampara in Riomaggiore.

View from our table at La Lampara in Riomaggiore.

Pesto con spaghetti from La Lampara in Riomaggiore.

Shyawn's pesto piazza from La Lampara in Riomaggiore.

Entoteca & Ristorante Dau Cila (Riomaggiore):
On our last night in the Cinque Terre, we decided to dine at harbor side at this wonderfully chic restaurant. We had to wait just a few minutes for a table but were then seated promptly. We ordered deep fried calamari for an appetizer which we both agreed was the best calamari we had ever eaten. Our entree choices were trofie pasta with pesto sauce and pasta with a seafood sauce. My third plate of pesto ended up having pieces of what I could have sworn were canned green beans in it, which I really didn't enjoy. I found the idea of adding canned green beans rather odd and lazy addition considering the rest of the dish was obviously prepared from scratch. Shyawn indicated that his pasta dish was quite delicious and obviously made with fresh seafood. Finally, when I saw that one of the options on the dessert menu was vanilla panna cotta with chocolate sauce, the decision for dessert was a no-brainer. Panna cotta with chocolate is one of my most favorite desserts and this creamy and flavorful version lived up to all of my expectations. Definitely make sure to order it if you happen to eat at this place!

Deep fried calamari from Enoteca & Ristorante Dau Cila in Riomaggiore.

Trofie pasta with pesto sauce from Enoteca & Ristorante Dau Cila in Riomaggiore.

Pasta with seafood sauce from Enoteca & Ristorante Dau Cila in Riomaggiore.

Incredible vanilla panna cotta with chocolate sauce at Enoteca & Ristorante Dau Cila in Riomaggiore.

Accomodation:
We had originally made reservations to stay at La Baia di Rio in an ocean view room but after reading the story above you will understand that we ultimately stayed at Casa Lorenza in a village view room. During my first stay to Riomaggiore I stayed in Mar Mar rooms, which was located just off of the main drag up a short flights of stairs. I enjoyed having an up-close view of the atmospheric life on Via Colombo but knew while planning my second trip back that I wanted us to have a view of the city and ocean. We definitely enjoyed staying further up above the city as the view was beautiful, but it was quite a trek having to go up and down the several hundred stairs to our room. In hindsight, I think the best compromise would be to stay somewhere mid-level with a view of the ocean and of the street life.

Our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

Our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

Our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

View from the deck of our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

View of the ocean from the opposite side of our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

View from the deck of our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

Afternoon view from the deck of our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.

Evening view from the opposite side of our room at Casa Lorenza in Riomaggiore.