Walkways in the Cinque Terre

Large part of the Cinque Terre's tourist success is due to the paths and walks which curve round the coast or reach the sanctuaries above each village. The view is breath-taking and anybody can enjoy them: young or old. You can return from these walks using public transport, like the train, the ferryboat or the bus. You needs only minimum equipment: shoes with anti-slip soles, long trousers to protect legs from the thorn bushes, some water and, according to the season, a large straw hat or a sports jacket. And to end the day a relaxing, invigorating dive in the water. All in all this is the ideal marriage of sea and mountain.

The Cinque Terre National Park, established in 1999, has recently applied a fee for the usage of the coastal path #2 Riomaggiore-Monterosso to collect funds necessary for the maintenance of the paths, which are often damaged by landslides. No card is required to walk on the high red path #1 through the hills. You can buy the Cinque Terre Card by the Information Offices of the Park, located by the train stations.

"The Lovers Path" (Riomaggiore to Monterosso)

The Cinque Terre owes a large part of it's tourist success to the walkways that wind along the coast or reach hilltop sanctuaries that overlook each village. The path that connects Riomaggiore to Monterosso is the most famous and spectacular one and is called the "blue path" ("il sentiero azzurro"). Traveling the path, takes about five hours and goes through a difference in height of over 500 meters. The path was traced over the centuries by those who used it to travel from place to place as it winds itself along the seaside connecting the five villages.

(1)Riomaggiore - Manarola: Starting from the Riomaggiore train station, going up on the left, one can find the access stairs, with ramps for the handicapped, that lead to the Path of Love (Via dell’Amore), the typical path connecting the village to Manarola. The path was dug into the hard rocks and runs close to the sea. Along the way you can see various types of vegetation such as agaves, pitosfori, Indian fig, vanilla plant, rue and many others.

(2)Manarola – Corniglia: Once in Manarola, more precisely in the Marina, the path offers two possible ways to continue, depending on the time available. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can do the “Birolli” walk which leads to Palaedro. It is a 250 meters section which turns around the Punta Bonfiglio and which has recently been equipped with a playground and a petanque field. Otherwise, you can clamber up the slope which leads to the cemetery of Manarola where the path continues evenly skirting the sea. The last section of the path is a long gravelled and pebbled beach which takes the place of the rocky cliffs.

(3)Corniglia - Vernazza: The path continues, skirting the numerous vineyards of Corniglia. The atmosphere is shady and the ground is covered in meadow where there are many plants such as anemones, orchids and lords-and-ladies. You then walk down small stairs on the left and walk on through olive trees, vineyards and Mediterranean maquis until it overlooks the residential area of Vernazza.

(4)Vernazza - Monterosso: This is the toughest section of the path. You need to leave the village and start going up towards the cemetery, which skirts the path. The bridle path has a steep gradient and you quickly reache an altitude of 150 meters and the path continues up and down, till the precipitous descent towards Monterosso. Moving through the Mediterranean maquis which covers the now abandoned pieces of land, the vegetation is quite diverse with holm oaks, arbutus, white heather Spanish broom, and juniper.

When you purchase the Cinque Terre Card you get: unlimited travel in second class on the trains between Levanto and La Spezia, access to all the services of the National Park of the Cinque Terre, hiking on the "Via Dell’Amore" and the path for Guardiola tower. The use of electric buses circulating inside the centres of the villages of the Cinque Terre is included for those who require transport to and from the public parking lots, as is the use of the public panoramic elevator in Riomaggiore.

You also receive the map of the walking paths (double format A4, with walking times and distances of the paths), the railway timetable, the ferries timetable, and a directory of recommended products and services within the Park areas. There is also a ticket version available during the tourist season that includes the use of the ferries in the price.

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