Cinque Terre is the final stop on our Grand Italian Tour. We’ve loved visiting some of Italy’s big cities, but now we’re looking forward to relaxing by the sea. Cinque Terre is known for its five charming villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The final hotel of our trip is in Monterosso-Al-Mare, the largest and most “seasidey” of the five towns! We begin our tale with a quick sprint to the railway station in Florence…

Want to read more about our trip? You can start from the very beginning here in Milan!

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From the city to the coast

There’s no time to indulge in a lie-in this morning. We have a train to catch from Santa Maria Novella at 09:53. We gulp down our breakfast and throw our last couple of things in our suitcases. There’s no rolling or folding anymore, everything gets thrown in and we hope they come out only slightly dishevelled at the other end. At “reception” – a table in the lounge – we check out and call a taxi. Except that there are no taxis available. An issue which will continue to haunt us through future Italian trips. Our train is in 45 minutes. It’s a 40 minute walk according to Google Maps.

Want to know more about our stay in Florence? You can find more blog posts here!

We know our way to the station, after our trip to Pisa the day before. That was a more leisurely stroll, unhindered by two large suitcases and multiple puddles thanks to heavy rainfall overnight.  We start walking. This turns into a brisk trot, before an all-out sprint.  We get to the station with a few minutes to spare. Our train is lacking in storage space for luggage so we end up stacking them near the doors.  I remember as the train pulls out of Florence that we have failed to purchase the obligatory fridge magnet.  I shall have to scour eBay when we get home.  (Fridge Magnet update: my friend Jen visited later in the year and managed to find me the heaviest, tackiest, bottle opener-fridge magnet that she could find).

This is the only train journey where we feel a little uneasy about leaving our luggage unaccompanied. Lots of people get on and off at each station, meaning that sometimes our cases are out of sight.  Mr Fletche goes to stand with our luggage as I’m paranoid that someone will make a grab for them and run off down the platform.  I’d like to see anyone grab and run off with mine, which is getting heavier by the day. Nevertheless, we’re glad when we finally pull into La Spezia for our connection into Monterosso. 

In a repeat of our Pisa journey, we miss our train by a minute.  We’re not too disconcerted – trains are frequent – but the man trying to overtake us and our suitcases on the stairs clearly is as he throws his bag down on the floor and curses at us in Italian.  At least we assume he is cursing. He’s certainly gesticulating furiously. Still, we sit down and wait for the next Monterosso bound train.  Which doesn’t take long to arrive.

On the whole, train travel in Italy is incredibly easy. I’ve written more about our Italy by Train trip here!

Beside the seaside in Monterosso-al-mare

We’re looking forward to this short leg of the journey, I assume the train track will hug the coast and we’ll have magnificent views of the Ligurian Sea.  It does indeed hug the coast. However, it hugs the coast mainly from within tunnels.  We get tantalizing glimpses as we whizz past stations until eventually we pull into the station at Monterosso-Al-Mare. The view when we came out of the station at Venice took our breath away. This one squeezes every ounce of oxygen from my lungs, until I can only squeak “Wow”.  The crystalline sea, the clear blue sky, the rows and rows of sunbeds and parasols. It’s just like Weston-Super-Mare. 

(Disclaimer.  It’s nothing like Weston-Super-Mare.  There are no donkeys and you can actually see the sea).

It’s a bit of a walk up to our hotel, particularly as we’re not entirely sure where we’re going.  We make a totally unnecessary detour, ignoring the handily placed pedestrian tunnel and instead drag our suitcases round the cliff edge. Eventually we find the road just off the main Old Town thoroughfare where Hotel Souvenir is located.  It’s been a hot and sweaty walk, so we’re happy that our room is ready, the air con is ramped up to the max and we can unpack our suitcases for the final time.

Waking up to rain in Florence we didn’t expect to be back in our summer clothes just a couple of hours later. But with suntan lotion freshly applied, we head out to discover our base for the next couple of days.  Tomorrow we’ll explore our neighbouring towns by train. That’s the plan anyway.

We’re hungry, so stop at the first ristorante we find, Al Pozzo. Dining, we soon find out, is a lot more expensive in Cinque Terre.  Our light lunch is more expensive than last night’s meal. Still, our mixed seafood salad and plate of cold cuts are lush. Fully sated, we head down to the waterfront. Monterosso has a number of private beaches, where you get use of a sunbed, parasol and changing/shower facilities for a fee; and areas of “free” beach.  We stick to strolling along the flower-lined lungomare, stopping here and there to enjoy the views and a gelato or two.

We return to our hotel for an Aperol Spritz on the terrace.  They don’t skimp on the accompanying snacks either with tortilla chips, salsa and various pickles. This is how you eat on a budget in Cinque Terre.

After a short rest, we wander down to the harbour. We spend a little time relaxing, listening to the waves crashing over the rocks.  Dark clouds threaten, and there’s a light sprinkling of rain, but this just freshens up what is turning out to be a very warm evening.  We retrace our steps back to town. It’s time for a drink at Bar Gio overlooking the beach and late sun-worshippers soaking up the last few rays. We could survive in Cinque Terre purely on the “free” snacks doled out with our drinks.  But we decide something a little more substantial is called for so we head back to the Old Town.

We passed a pizzeria earlier which appeared to serve the HUGEST pizzas so we check out their fare.  We pass on the family-size pizza, but we do share a good pizza and mixed salad. As always in Italy, even the cheapest wine is excellent.  The whole caboodle comes to just over 20 euro. We’ve balanced out that slightly more costly lunch.

Monterosso-al-Mare doesn’t have a vibrant nightlife. Most bars close early so we head for the hotel and our lovely room, with dreams of the seaside running through our head. Tomorrow, we’re planning on exploring more of the Cinque Terre region, utilising those frequent and reliable trains.