“You may have the universe if I may have Italy”
– Giuseppe Verdi
~
Yes, a gorgeous country with amazing views and picturesque villages, you simply can’t miss it. So this time, we will cover a few villages in Cinque Terre, La Spezia. Now prepare for something breathtaking!
About Cinque Terre
So we often talk about Cinque Terre like it is once single place, but in fact, it is a stretch of Italian Riveira Coastline consists of five individual villages – each with different characteristics, which is also known as “Five Lands” in Italian.
As I said, they are separate villages and each may have different characteristics. They are –
Monterosso
The largest village at the furthest north, also the easiest one to get to (which means it could get extremely busy and crowded, particularly at weekends). If you are a fan of beach and seafront promenade, this is where you would like visit!
Riomaggiore
Another relatively large village with number of brightly colored houses situated around the harbor.
Corniglia
The central village, also the smallest one which makes it the most peaceful one. The perfect one for getting great views as it is located up on the high rocks.
Vernazza
One village with a small beach and beautiful harbor, as well as some colorful houses
Manarola
The best thing often comes last, the perfect one amongst the five for watching sunset!
Transportation
Since Cinque Terre is a National Park, vehicle traffic is restricted to residents only. To get there, you may take trains that run between La Spezia and Levanto, that will only take half an hour and costing around €5 for a one-way ticket (see below for other package options). Which means, La Spezia is indeed the best option if you are looking for a place to stay. However, places like Pisa, Genova or Milan are also accessible but will take greater amount of time.
Cinque Terre Cards
So here it is, hassle-free, what we all love. There are two types of card with different options, features are mostly the same where they vary only from the mean of transportation (which include free WiFi, free toilet use and unlimited travel on the Cinque Terre line), discounts available for children, families and off season.
Bus version
€7.5 (1 day)
€14.5 (2 days)
Train version
€18.2 (1 day)
€33 (2 days)
€45 (3 days)
* If else, DO NOT forget to validate your ticket before boarding or you may be fined
There are no such thing as seat reservation for those trains, don’t forget to check the timetable as the station could get crazily crowded during peak season tho they use double-decker carriages. Also, there are only 3 trains in an hour so yeah, tap here to see the timetable
As mentioned above, La Spezia is also close to Cinque Terre and it’s in fact a place that people often forgot its beauty. So in our next blogpost, we will be doing a day trip in La Spezia, exploring its beauty and possibility!
Until next time folks!
