- Where
- Province of La Spezia,
Liguria, Italy - Coordinates
- 44.11° N
9.73° E (Manarola) - The villages
- Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia,
Manarola, Riomaggiore - World Heritage
- 1997 (with Porto Venere
and the islands) - National park
- 1999
- Getting there
- By train from La Spezia or Genoa
(the Genoa–Pisa line) - Advisory
- Italy Level 2
exercise increased caution (terrorism)
Small towns poured down into the sea between the cliffs, one after another, each house painted a different ice-cream colour, and narrow stone walls of vines stacked up the slopes above them. The path between them went uphill twice for every time it came down. A train shot out of the rock, dropped me in a village and vanished into the next tunnel, quite unbothered.
The short answer
The Cinque Terre, the Five Lands, is a coastal area within Liguria, in north-west Italy, in the west of the province of La Spezia, Wikipedia records. Its five villages are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Over the centuries people built terraces on the steep slopes down to the cliffs; the Sentiero Azzurro footpath connects the villages, and landslides often close parts of it. In 1997 the area was added to the World Heritage List as “Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands” (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto), over 4,511.54 hectares; a marine protected area was set up in 1998 and the Cinque Terre National Park in 1999. The article says millions of people visit every year.
Why it's worth knowing
A coast farmed in steps. The terraces carry the vines for the area’s wines: the Cinque Terre DOC and Sciacchetrà are both made from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes, Wikipedia records. In Manarola, a village of 353 people, the wine is especially renowned, and the article on the village says Roman writings mention the quality of wine from the region; it gives 1338 as the date of the cornerstone of the church of San Lorenzo, a date the article marks as needing a source. On the hillside above Manarola a retired railwayman, Mario Andreoli, made a nativity scene of handcrafted figures lit with “thousands and thousands of lights”.
A railway for a street. Trains from La Spezia and Genoa, on the line between Genoa and Pisa, stop at all five villages, and Wikipedia calls the train the best way to travel between them; most long-distance trains skip some of the villages, so travellers change to regional trains. Cars can reach the area, but parking, the article says, is a major issue.
The field notes
The flood of 2011
On 25 October 2011 torrential rain brought floods and mudslides down on the coast; nine people were killed, and the villages, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare in particular, were severely damaged, Wikipedia records.
The lovers’ path
The Via dell’Amore runs for just over a kilometre between Riomaggiore and Manarola, Wikipedia records, and is said to take its name from the private, easy meeting place it gave young couples from the two villages in hilly country. On 24 September 2012 a rockslide injured four tourists and the path was closed; by April 2015 only 200 metres had reopened, and press reports in late 2019 put the cost of the major works at more than €12 million. Wikipedia’s two articles date the end of the work differently: the path’s own says it reopened in full in July 2024, and the Cinque Terre article says it was closed from late 2019 to February 2025.
Terrace walls above Manarola, April 2026.
Photograph: Mathieu Chollet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Vernazza from the path, 2026.
Photograph: Wojciech Wyszkowski via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
Manarola station beside the sea, August 2026.
Photograph: Filiz Elaerts via Unsplash · Unsplash licence
A path between the vine terraces at Manarola, June 2016.
Photograph: Tangopaso · Public domain · cropped
- Walk the path between two of the villages early, before the day catches up with you.
- Ride the little train from village to village, and get off wherever the colours look best.
- Write down the colour of every house. (The names gave out halfway through the second village. The back of the list has turned into a chart of shades I invented, and several of them are excellent.)
- These are villages where people hang out their washing and go home for lunch. Talk quietly on the stepped lanes at night, and stay out of doorways.
- Find a bench above the vines with the sea below it, and let the trains come and go without you.
A stone terrace wall above Manarola. Over the centuries the people of the Cinque Terre built terraces on the steep slopes running down to the cliffs, Wikipedia records, and on them grew the Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes for the coast’s wines. Each wall holds up a strip of earth and a row of vines, and stays on the hillside where it was built.
Tally, in the marginFrom the boat I took the hillsides for green stripes. Close to, every stripe was a wall of fitted stones holding up one row of vines, and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to imagine the patience of it, and could not manage even a little of it.
Getting there
How to get there. By train: from La Spezia or Genoa, on the line between Genoa and Pisa, regional trains stop at all five villages, Wikipedia records; long-distance trains skip some, so a change at La Spezia or Genoa to a regional train or the Cinque Terre Express may be needed. Cars can reach the villages, but parking is scarce.
When to go. Canada’s travel advice for Italy (updated 29 September 2026) warns that heavy rains, particularly in autumn and winter, can cause severe flooding and landslides; travel guides say the park closes its paths under orange or red weather alerts (indexed).
What to arrange ahead. The Via dell’Amore is booked ahead: as of 20 October 2026, travel guides’ reports for 2026 (indexed; the park’s own site could not be opened) say entry is by timed ticket booked online through the national park, at €10 a person, with no walk-in places, and that the park’s Cinque Terre Card covers the other paths for the 2026 season, from 14 March to 2 November; the reports disagree on whether the €10 is part of the card, and no official 2026 card price could be read.
Safety. The State Department’s advisory for Italy is Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution”, dated 10 September 2026, because of terrorism; it names no region, and warns that petty crime is common in tourist places and on public transport, including trains. Canada says to exercise a high degree of caution, for the same reason, and that theft is common on trains and in stations.
Mark this place
Common questions
Where is Cinque Terre?
The Cinque Terre is a coastal area of Liguria, in north-west Italy, in the west of the province of La Spezia, Wikipedia records; its five villages stand on a cliff coast between La Spezia and Genoa.
What are the five villages of Cinque Terre?
The five villages of the Cinque Terre, in Liguria, Italy, are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, Wikipedia records.
When did Cinque Terre become a World Heritage Site?
The Cinque Terre, in Liguria, Italy, was added to the World Heritage List in 1997 together with Porto Venere and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto; the Cinque Terre National Park followed in 1999, Wikipedia records.
How do you get to Cinque Terre?
By train: regional trains on the line between Genoa and Pisa stop at all five villages of the Cinque Terre, in Liguria, Italy, from La Spezia or Genoa, Wikipedia records; long-distance trains skip some of them, and parking for cars is scarce.
Is the Via dell’Amore open?
The Via dell’Amore, between Riomaggiore and Manarola in the Cinque Terre, closed after a rockslide on 24 September 2012; Wikipedia’s article on the path says it reopened in full in July 2024, and its Cinque Terre article gives February 2025. Travel guides for 2026 say entry is by timed ticket booked online.
What happened in Cinque Terre in 2011?
On 25 October 2011 torrential rain brought floods and mudslides to the Cinque Terre, in Liguria, Italy; nine people were killed, and Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare were severely damaged, Wikipedia records.
What wine is made in Cinque Terre?
The Cinque Terre, in Liguria, Italy, makes the Cinque Terre DOC wine and Sciacchetrà, both from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes grown on the terraced slopes, Wikipedia records.
Do you need a ticket to walk in Cinque Terre?
For some paths, yes: travel guides for 2026 say the Cinque Terre National Park, in Liguria, Italy, sells the Cinque Terre Card for its paths, for a season from 14 March to 2 November 2026, and that the Via dell’Amore needs a timed ticket at €10.