Cinque Terre, Italy Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore

we're visiting one of the most scenic parts of Italy Cinque Terre a the five villages that run along the coastline of the Italian Riviera you'll see them all in a spectacular visual journey starting with monterroso down to vernazza Cornelia Manarola and Riomaggiore we'll get around by train boat and walking will show you the shops the restaurants the little lanes some amazing scenic lookout points and those endless green hills along the shore here's a quick preview of the villages that we'll be taking a walk in monterroso vernazza manarola and at the southern end real Maggiore places you can visit by boat train or walking but not by driving there's no direct roads that connect these isolated little villages and if you come here and October as we are it's not that crowded and you'll enjoy perfect weather with ideal conditions tucked away on the northwest coast of Italy you'll find some of the most attractive and magical little villages in Europe known worldwide as the Cinque Terre a we'll begin our in-depth exploration at the largest and northernmost village this monterroso we'll take a walk in the little back lanes see the locals out parading with their dogs and shopping will take you to some of the out-of-the-way small lanes for a walk in the back streets of town and provide tips on how you can get around we'll get there by train from a neighboring city of santa margherita leg or day where we've been staying as our home base for visiting the region the train service is quite good only takes one hour to get from santa margherita down to Cinque Terre a on a scenic ride along the coast upon arrival at the monterosso a train station it's a short walk you go through the underground tunnel of the station and out onto a beautiful promenade along the orders edge and that will lead you right to the old part of Montero so on the left side the newer part of kam with some hotels and a beach but the more interesting place is the old town over on the right side along the way you'll get lovely scenic vistas of the beach and the blue Mediterranean and the green hills behind so pretty you have to photograph it it's a few hundred meters just takes you about five minutes and you'll be walking through a tunnel so that you don't have to climb up and over a ridge and while this is largely a pedestrian town there are some little service vehicles buzzing around and that brings you into the old section with its splendid Beach monterosso is the only one of the five towns that has a sandy beach one of many good reasons to be sure that you stop here also and have a good look around we will show you that Monte Rosso itself is a beautiful village and yet somehow it sometimes gets overlooked by people who are coming to Cinque today to see the other villages just because it has a new town don't be thrown off it's also got an old town which is where we are in the current program walking through the lanes of the old town to show you that monterosso really has more lanes more restaurants and more shops than any of the other villages of the Cinque Terre so it really is an important place and a wonderful place for you to visit when you go to explore Cinque Terre a monterosso on the north end of the chain is the largest of the five Hamlet's and makes a good home base because it has 20 hotels the only broad sandy beach excellent restaurants and the start of the hiking trail hiking through the hills past vineyards with enchanting views all around as one of the great attractions but even more enjoyable for most visitors is simply strolling and relaxing in each village soaking up the peaceful old-world ambience where cars and trucks are not allowed except a few of those small service vehicles you really don't have to do any hiking at all to enjoy the town since frequent train and boat services are available but walking is such a part of the complete experience that you should try at least a couple of the connecting routes some of which are very easy of course the best way to see any place where visiting is walking just using your own two feet and meandering around and here it's very easy because the old town is so small you don't need a map just take a left take a right go straight see what looks good you're gonna wind up going around in circles that's perfectly okay you might walk back along the same route you started with and you'll see it in a different way there is one main pedestrian lane in the town that we have been showing you but these little side lanes are just as interesting you get a chance to kind of mingle with some of the locals back here as you walk through monterroso you're going to realize that a great many of the people are residents of the town rather than tourists and it's a lovely mix of older folks and working people fishermen and the kids it's a place of great interest for the visitor but it's also a place where many people live why now you can see the little lanes of monterroso are endlessly fascinating it's the people the buildings the food the restaurants one of the most enjoyable Cinque Terre activities is taking a boat ride and that's where we're going now you can purchase your tickets right at the dock you don't have to make any reservations at a time just get there maybe 20 minutes before departure and you will get right on there's a regular ferry service that connects each of the villages during the season which runs from April through October from the water you will have the most spectacular views of the villages and the green hillsides up above enjoying our final views of monterroso it takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to actually travel from one village to the next once you are underway so they really are quite close to each other the next village south is vernazza just over three kilometers away and you could actually hike there there's a nice trail that goes up along the hills the famous hiking trail and that'll take you about two hours if you're taking it easy we made an old movie about that hike that you can find in our collection but they say it's the most difficult section of the trails because it has some steep ups and downs or you could ride the train which only takes three minutes a good way to get around the area is with a mix of all three walking the Train and this beautiful boat ride as the boat comes in to the little port of vernazza you're going to get some wonderful views be sure to get on deck or up on top looking instead of sitting indoors and missing it you want to get some pictures and enjoy the experience a jetty with massive rocks does form a small harbor there were no natural ports in the area so the residents had to make do and build their own with the resulting shelters very small you can gain a fabulous view looking down at that Little Harbour and the picturesque village beyond and coming up in a few minutes we'll show you how to get up there it's quite easy for naught so maybe the most beautiful of all set perfectly in a tiny Valley on the edge of the sea with colourful homes built one on top of the next in frame by a couple of churches and towers you are within a stone's throw of the water no matter where you stand Brunei is a nautical place as are all of these villages the food is wonderful the fish their famous local pesto the white wines and the setting outdoors on the terrace with the beautiful view if your main activity is just sitting and eating and drinking that's okay there is so little level land that the kids use the beach as their soccer field and sometimes they use the main pedestrian lane for an extension of the game so watch out for flying soccer balls as you walk through the streets there are quite a few local residents who like to hang out sit on the bench chat with their friends and do some people watching of course you have to walk along the Main Street do some shopping or window shopping get some gelato a little more people watching the buildings are beautiful during the busy season it can get quite crowded but you can't really complain because you are here so you're part of the problem too you could come in the off season but then it can be a little cold and grey cloudy rainy perhaps and the boats don't run so you just gotta go with the flow it's perfectly okay other people are just part of the scenery just meandering along on this busy Lane is a lot of fun you're going a little bit uphill lots of shops to have a look at maybe get a bite have a drink it's a good place to just hang out and spend some time but there's something special you really want to do and that's walk up the hill for the view getting to the main plaza again and go up the little staircase on the side of the plaza and then just start walking it's very well organized you just follow the path there'll be people in front people behind just keep going on up sometimes it gets level sometimes there's another staircase and it keeps going higher you are walking along a beautiful paving so just enjoy the stroll and keep on going you might even see the train passing by down below it's going to take you another ten or fifteen minutes depending on how you walk but you will be getting up there and the view is going to be worth it guaranteed then you get to the first view point it is spectacular beautiful view looking down at the village of vernazza there are some decent views down below as you walk along you might stop and have a look but keep on going because the main views are still up and many people stop at that first view point because it is so beautiful they take their pictures they do their selfies and they're done they go back down again but a better view lies just ahead it's only another five to ten minutes walk so keep on going it's really quite easy and it's going to be worth it even though you're going up and then you have to go down again sometimes and then up again on these steps it's very safe very easy to do and remember you're doing it the simple way instead of walking all the way from the next village a couple of miles away you're just walking up from vernazza to get this view point some people have been struggling for hours to get here it's only 15 minutes from sea level up to the classic perspective where you will get that postcard view along the way you're going to run into fellow travelers who are also enjoying the experience so say hello and give them a smile and then you have arrived at the view one of the best views you will ever enjoy in your life vernaccia spread out below in all its glory it is just so scenic and perfect and picturesque you're gonna be shooting the same picture over and over again maybe zoom in get a close-up get a wide-angle here's the comparison with that first view just a little bit lower you can see the higher view is better rest your camera on the railing to get a good steady shot no matter what kind of camera you're using and no matter what the weather conditions it's going to be beautiful it would really be a shame to come all the way over here to vernazza and not walk up this trail and yet that's what most people will fail to do they just come into the town which is beautiful of course the village is there scenic and you're surrounded by those lovely buildings when you're down in the middle of the village that's all well and good but it's too bad that most people don't get up this very simple little path so when you go be sure to take this little hike you'll find it's definitely worthwhile this walk up the hillside is really quite easy don't be alarmed by the stairs and the elevation you can see a lot of it is quite level it's all very safe and quite easy and here's what you get there is the reward a beautiful view down below you can see the railroad tracks that's one way to get out of here and on the other side the boat pulling into its dock and that's how we'll be soon leaving on our way to manarola and then of course going down is even easier and you've got that rosy glow that feeling of satisfaction of having a little bit of a challenge behind you and you've got the nice view and you've got some nice pictures out of it and then you know that when you get down to the bottom of the hill you're going to have a reward waiting for you perhaps a meal or at least a drink just scamper along and only takes maybe five minutes to get back down the hill it's certainly easier walking down than walking up put that argument to rest part of the fun of walking up the hillside is not just getting to the destination for the beautiful view but enjoying the buildings and steps and alleyways and other beautiful little details of this whole town a peculiar aspect of this path up to the spectacular view point is the entrances are slightly hidden there is not much in the way of signage to let you know the way these people have just come down the same path emerging from the side alley and look at the little tiny signs that mark the way somebody hand-painted monterroso on the wall the trail goes to monterroso and the green sign is just for an emergency exit the steps where we began the hike up came of the main Piazza but here - there's no sign the route up that we took coming off of the Piazza and then coming back down again onto the main lane but you have to look for those entrances it is strange that there's no signage to point you towards one of the great little hikes in all of Italy but now you know how to find it so next time you're in vernazza be sure to take that hike most visitors do not stray very far from the main pedestrian Lane which is also a lot of fun to experience with its restaurants and little shops some of which are really ancient look at the ceiling hundreds of years old and there's some fishermen of there's still a fishing economy here in the old days fishing had been very important to the people but now of course the economy is mostly based on tourism and watch out for traffic no not from automobiles but from the small kids on their bicycles as you keep walking up the slope of the main pedestrian Lane you will reach the railroad track with a view looking back at the town but instead of taking the train we're going back down to the shore and we're going to be looking for our boat ride to continue to our next destination the village of manarola the Train would only take five minutes to get you there and to walk all the way down to the shore wait for the boat get on the boat and so on is gonna take most of 45 minutes but you will see the boat ride is so beautiful it's well worth it right away upon leaving the boat dock you'll have lovely views looking back into the village but for naught so there is one very distinctive landmark a stone tower that was part of the medieval wall that went around the village to protect it from invaders the boat stops at four of the five villages but not at Cornelia you'll see it as you pass by Cornelia is unique among the five villages because it's perched up on the hill so you've got to climb some steps to get up there many years ago we did visit Cornelia and I have some old video footage to show you give you an idea of what it's like up there about every 30 minutes another local train comes rolling through and in this case we're going to travel from Vernazza to the next town south Cornelia Cornelia is unique among these five villages because it's up on the hill it has no direct access to the water so this is a hilltop village one of the oldest perhaps the oldest of all of them and yes they're gonna be more stairs it's a hill top so what do you expect a little bit of climbing here you see it from the water's edge Cornelia up on its cliff earlier in their history all of the villages were up on the hillside and not directly connected to the water for defensive reasons that way they were better protected from the seafaring pirate raids while Cornelia being so old is just oozing with more of its historic charm this is the main street you see how narrow it is and it seems like there are more locals than tourists out about today not very crowded and then we come to the little tiny main square of Cornelia it's about 10 yards across in one direction 20 yards across in the other but big enough to hold some tables and post some picnic lunches for the intrepid hikers Cornelia like the other villages surrounded by the vineyards where they grow the grapes for the local wine it's a white wine from here we can see down the coast to the next destination we're heading for is manarola UNESCO has designated this entire coastline as a World Heritage Area they say the Ligurian coast between Cinque Calais and Porto vanity is a cultural landscape of great scenic and cultural value the little village of manarola is next up Manarola spills down the hill to the water for it's houses packed solidly together in the typical pattern of the region with terraced hillsides for the grapes up above they don't have a beach but there is a boat ramp carved into the stone the ramp leads to a cove with good swimming further protected by a stone jetty the boat dock is outside of that protected jetty area so it can be a little bouncy especially if the Seas are not calm fortunately today was a very mild day to get this excellent view of the colourful houses up on the hill you want to walk along a pathway by the shore Manarola is another one of the beautiful towns of tinkling tonight and when you get some honor on you want to walk through the village and walk to the boat ramp and be sure to walk out to the point where we're standing now to get this Vista looking back you see the pastel coloured cubic buildings just spilling down the hillside it's really quite a wonderful sight we're just taking a quick look at manarola to give you a little feeling for this beautiful place when you're in the middle of manarola village you have this nice view looking up the Main Street of course there's restaurants and cafes along there some gift shops and souvenir shops and a lot of residences up on the hillside there's about a thousand people living here now you can stay a manarola there's some Bed and Breakfasts here there's some little hotels UNESCO continues in summarizing the history telling us that the five villages of Cinque Terre date back to the later Middle Ages the layout and disposition of the small towns and the shaping of the surrounding landscape encapsulate the continuous history of human settlement in this region over the past millennium they don't have a beach but there is a boat ramp carved into the stone the ramp leads to a cove with good swimming further protected by a stone jetty and ladders to help people get in and out of the water as you can see in this old video that I shot in the summertime years ago on a warm day the boat ramp is the most popular spot around for a functions like a beach packed with sunbathers in the summer there's real great swimming here it's not an Olympic sized swimming pool but it's nice sheltered waters this little boat ramp was the most popular spot in town our ferry ride continues along the coast offering the splendid views of the green hills above and then arriving at the last of the five villages riomaggiore approaching this little village by boat is one of the most scenic arrivals you'll ever have ferry service connects each one of these villages and from manarola it is only a 10-minute cruise to Rio Maggiore it's a nice ride with splendid views of the coastal cliffs and hills above and the blue sea all-around enchanting charming riomaggiore is the grand climax to our survey of Cinque quit heading here too you see that familiar pattern the houses tumbling down the cliffs to the water's edge and a main pedestrian street rising up from the tiny Cove surrounded by terraced homes covering the hillside rising high it's a surprising mix of urban high-density in the midst of a tranquil rural setting today we've been quite lucky with the weather with the bright sunshine illuminating the colourful pastel buildings we're travelling in early October and found the temperatures were very mild and comfortable if you come much later than this say late October it could be a lot colder and you might find the boats are no longer running they shut down for the winter this boat dock just like the others is not in a sheltered Cove it's in the open Mediterranean the Ligurian sea which is generally calm especially on a day like this with very little wind and yet the boat is bobbing up and down a bit so we're assisted on to the gangway and then we have a little bit of a challenge ahead of us it's a big stone staircase there must be a hundred steps there we got to go up and it's a little crowded because people are also queued up on the staircase coming down to get on the boat but it's just wide enough room for everybody we had been planning on taking the boat ride back to Monte Rosa where we began the day but after seeing this long line up and crowd we figured out in there since waiting we can just take the train back which worked out quite nicely as you'll see later climbing up this big staircase is worthwhile because it gives you the perfect view looking up into the village of real Maggiore and then you'll be walking right back down to sea level but this climb up and down is certainly worth it look at that view in the summertime people are swimming in the little Cove and that boat ramp is kind of like a beach for sunbathing but for locals as well as for visitors what a Vista you have to walk out to that little point to get the view and it's certainly worth while you notice this Terrace gets a little crowded because it's such a popular spot people getting off the boat getting on the boat or just wanting to enjoy the view and steps that lead us right down to the little tiny boat Harbor it's really so small they keep the boats up on dry land rather than leaving them out in the water bobbing around so you can see all the boats are stacked up it's not really the boating season so there's not a lot of fishing activity going on right now but there's plenty for us to look at that's for sure it's really a colorful little cove down here and the buildings are kind of beat up and old they're about 400 years old but people do take good care of them and there's residences that are right here in a little harbour front and of course you're gonna see cats anytime you've got a marine village analytical environment they like to hang out down here among the boats and nets in hopes of catching some fish scraps in the summer time people are swimming in the little Cove and that boat ramp is kind of like a beach for sunbathing but for locals as well as for visitors it's a spectacular little village with several lanes that we'll be exploring in the program walking from the shore into the village is a little bit unusual you don't just go straight in you walk up the staircase and then you find yourself in a tunnel walking underneath the train tracks and later you'll come back to this same tunnel if you're going to be catching the train as we'll show you later when we depart by train but first we're going to have a look around the village after climbing the steps and walking through that corridor you will emerge into the magical small world of riomaggiore once you're walking along on that main pedestrian street it does look very similar to the last couple of places you visited to Manarola and Riomaggiore but of course each place has its own special character one difference here is that you do not reach the train station by walking up the hill as you do in the other towns it's back there at the waterfront as we showed you nevertheless you do want to walk up explore there's some shops up there there is a place to have a drink have a bite and admire the colorful buildings with laundry hanging out of some windows reminding you that this town is fully occupied you're going to find enough shops to keep you busy a t-shirt would be an ideal present to take home and sometimes you might have to pay for the toilet which is worth it when you've got to go to a clean place of course the alternate strategy is to stop in at a restaurant or a cafe maybe have a drink or a small bite to eat and use their facilities there's a sign that says don't sit but the little local girl can certainly sit as she pleases it's really a flower stand and there's little shops there's folks living here you see the laundry hanging out the windows and beautiful pastel colored buildings one of the main activities anywhere you go is people watching and here it's the locals watching the tourists and the tourists watching the locals as we walk on by it's really got an authentic character here nice fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers market further upslope you'll notice there are no more shops or restaurants or really anything much to see so you don't really need to keep climbing up this high I checked it out for you and can report there is really nothing much up here walking down is easier and this is a bittersweet moment because it's the final leg of this wonderful long day of visiting Cinque Terre to find the train station you walk back down that same staircase you walked up earlier to get into the village so we're heading for that train tunnel that will lead us over to the station and the tracks we have now seen all the highlights and it's time to go you can buy your train tickets right on the spot either from the window counter or from the machines we had been planning on taking the boat ride back because we had that all-day boat pass but now we got to buy a train ticket we've just been visiting Cinque Terre for the day it's been a lovely excursion out from our home base in santa margherita ligure day which is just about one hour away by train we don't have a direct train so we're going to ride from real Maggiore to monterroso where we change trains along the way we'll get quick glimpses of scenery like this view of vernazza then through more tunnels and emerging for a look at the beach at monterosso we help each other off the train down onto the platform here at monterosso and waiting for connection it comes by pretty quickly hop on and off we go on our way back to Santa Margarita liqueur day we have many more movies about this area that you can find in our collection including a detail visit at Santa Margherita allegory and a trip over to world-famous Portofino thanks for watching we upload a new movie every week so please subscribe to our Channel and be sure to click that little alarm bell then you'll be notified and if you enjoyed the movie how about a thumbs up and we always welcome comments down below it really helps us spread the word thank you

Channel: denniscallan

Views: 144,223

Keywords: travel, denniscallan, Europe, train, travel videos, travel movies, dennis, callan, Cinque Terre, Italy, Manarola, Monterosso, Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Corniglia, Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre Italy

Id: iGjKP37S3Qg

Length: 31min 6sec (1866 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 19 2020