Hiking Cinque Terre was a bucket list item for me. That is why I was so excited when this trip to Cinque Terre came together. The vision of hiking the cliffs between the picturesque towns enchanted me. During the height of the pandemic as we all dreamed of traveling again, my friends and I took a leap of faith and started planning a trip to the Alps. As pandemic circumstances changed our plans had to evolve. It seemed like fate when plans evolved to include a few days in Cinque Terre.
Vernazza was our home base and we loved it. It’s location made it easy to determine our plan for hiking the Cinque Terre: The first day we hiked east to Corniglia and Manarola and the second day we hiked west to Monterosso al Mare. In hindsight, we should have stayed three days so that we could visit Riomaggiore, too. I guess I’ll just have to go back to hike that section.
When you visit, I recommend you do the following 7 things on your visit. Town-specific recommendations are summarized at the end of this post for Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, and Manarola.
1. Hike between the towns. You can take the train between towns, but you really should do the hikes. Yes, there are a lot of stairs, but the views alone are well worth it. You also get to walk through terraced vineyards and olive groves with a beautiful view of the Ligurian Sea. The path between Vernazza and Corniglia was my favorite. (You might be treated to accordion music along the way.) As you get close to Manarola coming from Corniglia, take the Panoramic path to get the best views. It is easy to take the train either to the city you want to start from or home after your hike. The hikes take a couple of hours, so consider getting a guide with details on the hikes* so that you know what to expect. 
2. Have a good meal after a a long hike. When we hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia, we timed it so that we got to Corniglia just in time for lunch. The lunch we had at A Cantina de Mananan was one of my favorites of the trip. It is a tiny place with the menu written on a chalkboard. The ravioli with walnut sauce was fantastic as was the poached tuna. It was the perfect break before we set off for the rest of the hike to Manarola. The dinner we had at Da Arsitide at the end of our hike to Manarola was equally delicious. If your timing is off for a meal, just have a gelato. 
3. Have a spritz by the sea. Immediately upon arriving in Vernazza, we stopped at one of the harbor-side restaurants for a spritz and foccacia. It was a perfect way to start our trip. A spritz is refreshing after a long, hot day. And there are SO many varieties to try. If you find yourself in Monterosso al Mare, go to the Beach Bar at Stella Marina. There you can sit on the beach under one of their orange & green striped umbrellas for a spritz (and lunch). Note: if you want a beach chair, you should reserve one in advance since they tend to fill up early. 
4. Eat trofie with pesto. You can’t come to this part of Italy without eating pesto. This region is where the classic Italian sauce originated. Every restaurant has it on the menu, so you don’t have to look far to try it. My favorite pesto of the trip was from da Aristide in Manarola. The pesto pasta from Pippo in Vernazza came in second, but was also yummy. I’m in the process of trying to recreate it. Now that I’m home, I aspire to learn how to make trofie pasta at home. 
3. Eat the street food. The options are plentiful. Since the Ligurian region is where focaccia originated, I was expecting the focaccia to be excellent, which is was. Being by the sea, I was also excited about the fritto misto di mare – assorted deep fried seafood yum-yums. (When you are there, say ‘si, per favore’ to fried calamari and fish balls – you won’t be disappointed.) The surprise for me was the anchovies. I am not an anchovy person, but when I stepped into il Gattaccio, an acciugheria, I overcame my fear of anchovies and tired several of their anchovy-based treats (as well as oysters on the half shell and amazing tuna crudo). They also set us up with a bottle of local wine to complete our street food picnic.
6. Have dinner on the roof. You can get a reservation at a restaurant with roof top patio to enjoy dinner with a view, but we went a different route. Our apartment in Vernazza had a roof top patio. For our last night we got take out and took it to the roof for a delicious dinner and unbeatable view of the sunset. We started with anchovy-goodies from Il Gattaccio and fried calamari. This was followed by a trio of pastas and fish from Pippo and assorted cannoli from il Parata for dessert.
7. Eat cannoli for breakfast. Clearly with all the hiking, you need a good breakfast. il Parata claims to have the best breakfast in Vernazza and they lived up to their reputation. (It is at the top of the hill away from the tourist crowds and filled with the aroma of fresh baked bread in the morning.) While the bacon and eggs were great, the real find here was the cannoli. We got one of each flavor for our dinner on the rooftop. They were so good we went back the next morning and had cannoli with pastry cream and strawberries for breakfast. It was my favorite breakfast of the trip.
Food recommendations by city
Monterossa al Mare
Beach Bar at Stella Marina – bar, lunch, beach club (chairs, changing rooms)
Vernazza
Gelateria Vernazza – gelato
il Gattaccio – acciugheria & street food
il Parata – restaurant, bar, patisserie
Corniglia
A Cantina de Mananan – restaurant (lunch and dinner)
Manarola
Da Arsitide – restaurant (lunch and dinner)
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