24 Best Things to Do in Cinque Terre (and What to Skip)

Short on Time? Our Cinque Terre Top Picks

• Best way to see all five villages: this hybrid boat tour with a swimming stop from Monterosso, rated 4.7 from more than 550 reviews on GetYourGuide.
• Best walk: the Via dell'Amore, booked in a timed slot (item 1).
• Best splurge on the water: the Portovenere and Cinque Terre boat tour from La Spezia, rated 5.0 from about 450 reviews.
• Best first base: Hotel Villa Adriana in Monterosso, rated 9.0 on Booking.com.
• Best pass: the Cinque Terre Card, but only if you'll hike or ride the train a lot (see the card tip below).

Cinque Terre is a small place doing a big job, so read our Cinque Terre travel guide first if you're still deciding where to base yourself. This page is the item-by-item list.

Things to Do in Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the southernmost village and the first stop if you arrive by train from La Spezia. Its houses are stacked up a ravine, and it's the start of the easiest, shortest famous walk in the park.

1. Walk the Via dell'Amore (Book a Slot First)

The Via dell'Amore, or Lovers' Lane, runs about 900 meters between Riomaggiore and Manarola. It's open daily in one direction only, from Riomaggiore to Manarola, and the walk is capped at around 30 minutes.

You can't just turn up. Entry is by a booked time slot, with about 400 people let in per hour, and tickets are in your name and can't be changed. The official site sells it with the Cinque Terre Card, or as an add-on if you already have one, with prices starting from €10.

Go in the first slot of the day.

We'd rather have a quiet 900 meters than a queue.

Important: in winter the last slot closes at 17:30, from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. The ticket also covers Riomaggiore Castle (next).

2. Climb Up to Riomaggiore Castle

The castle is included in your Via dell'Amore booking, which makes it a free extra rather than another thing to pay for. It's a short climb above the village with views back over the rooftops and the sea.

Hours: 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 19:00 from June to September, and 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 from October to May.

3. Make Pesto and Gnocchi With a Sea View

Pesto is the dish of this coast, and a class is the easiest way to taste it properly. This gnocchi and pesto cooking class with a sea view in Riomaggiore is rated 5.0 on GetYourGuide, though from only about 25 reviews, so it's a newer favorite rather than a proven classic.

Book it for a late afternoon, when the day-trippers have gone.

4. Eat Fried Seafood From a Paper Cone

Every village sells it, and it's the right lunch for a crowded day: fried anchovies and calamari in a cone, eaten on a harbor wall. It's cheap, quick and doesn't need a reservation, which is exactly what you want at 1 p.m. in August.

Eat it on the harbor wall with the gulls watching, and you'll have the best seat in the village for free.

Things to Do in Manarola

Manarola is the one you've seen on a thousand postcards. Pastel houses crowd a rocky harbor, and in the evening everyone with a camera shows up at once.

5. Watch the Light Change Over Manarola's Harbor

Be early.

Sunset is the busiest hour in the village, and the best spots fill with photographers about an hour before dark. If you want the view without the elbows, go at 8 a.m. instead, when the houses are lit from the side and the harbor is empty.

(Yes, it's the same view. It just feels very different.)

6. Taste Cinque Terre Wine, Including Sciacchetrà

The terraces above the villages grow the grapes for Cinque Terre's whites and for Sciacchetrà, the sweet passito wine the area is known for. Tasting rooms and wine bars dot Manarola and Riomaggiore.

We couldn't confirm tasting prices for the main cooperative, so ask before you sit down. If you want it bundled with a walk, see item 12.

7. Walk Toward Volastra Instead of Corniglia

The coastal path from Manarola to Corniglia is closed by a landslide, with no reopening date we could find. The usual alternative is the inland route up through the terraces toward Volastra, a quiet hamlet above the village.

It's steeper than the coast, and it's a good use of a morning. Check the park's trail notices the day you go.

Things to Do in Corniglia

Corniglia is the odd one out: it sits on a ridge, not on the water, and no ferry stops there. That keeps it quieter than its neighbors.

8. Climb the Lardarina Staircase (Or Take the Shuttle)

The brick staircase from the station up to the village is long and steep, and it's the classic Cinque Terre workout. If your legs or your luggage say no, a shuttle bus also runs up from the station in season.

Do it once.

Do it slowly, with water, and save your energy for the evening.

9. Skip the Checklist and Sit Down

This is the town to skip if you only have a day, and the one to love if you have three. It has fewer sights than the others, which is the point: grab a table, order something cold, and let the Vernazza crowds be someone else's problem.

Things to Do in Vernazza

Vernazza has the postcard harbor, with a tiny piazza opening onto the water and a castle tower above it. It's also the village most affected by midday day-trippers.

10. Have Breakfast in the Harbor Piazza

Be here before the first big wave of trains. The piazza at 8 a.m. is a different place from the piazza at noon, and breakfast on the water is the cheapest way to get the postcard without the crush.

11. Climb the Tower at Doria Castle

The tower above the harbor is the best viewpoint in the village for the harbor photo everyone wants. We couldn't confirm current opening hours, so check at the entrance before you climb.

12. Hike the Vineyards With a Wine Tasting

If you'd rather have a guide, this vineyard hike above Vernazza with a wine tasting is rated 4.9 from about 170 reviews. It's the easiest way to see the terraces up close without worrying about trail status.

For self-guided routes, our Cinque Terre hiking page covers the rest.

13. Walk the Trail From Vernazza to Monterosso

This is the classic coastal section: a few kilometers of steps and terraces between two of the prettiest villages. It's usually done on the Cinque Terre Card, and sections can close at short notice after storms.

Check the park's trail notice that morning, wear proper shoes (flip-flops are a bad idea), and start early in summer. One regional page reports that parts of the Vernazza-Monterosso and Corniglia-Vernazza sections have been closed since September, but we couldn't confirm that on the park's own notice, so treat it as a reason to check, not a fact.

Things to Do in Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso is the biggest and flattest of the five, with the most hotels and the biggest beach. It's the least village-like and the most practical.

14. Swim and Nap on the Beach

If you want a swim without scrambling over rocks, this is where you do it. Monterosso has the largest beach of the five, with rows of umbrellas to rent in summer.

We'd pay for a sunbed on a hot day rather than fight for space on the sand.

15. Paddle a Kayak Along the Coast

The cliffs look different from sea level. This guided kayak tour from Monterosso to Vernazza is rated 4.8 from more than 150 reviews, and it's one of the few Cinque Terre activities that gets you away from the crowds entirely.

16. Eat Focaccia in the Old Town

The old town behind the beach is where the focaccia shops cluster. Eat it hot, standing up, from paper. It's a Ligurian classic, and one of the cheapest good meals on the coast.

Things to Do on the Water

The sea is the way to see all five villages at once, and it's the best antidote to a crowded train platform.

17. See All Five Villages From a Boat

If you only book one thing, book this hybrid boat tour with a swimming stop. It leaves from Monterosso, passes the villages from the water and stops for a swim.

We'd book it for your second day, once you know which villages you want to come back to.

18. Take the Boat to Portovenere

Portovenere sits just past the Cinque Terre and is part of the same UNESCO site (Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, inscribed in 1997). This Portovenere and Cinque Terre boat tour from La Spezia includes food, an open bar and a swim stop.

19. Use the Ferry for the Do-It-Yourself Version

The ferries run seasonally, usually from spring to early November, between La Spezia, Portovenere, Levanto and the villages. Corniglia has no ferry stop. Day passes cost roughly €40 for adults, but we couldn't confirm the 2026 fares with the operator, so check before you go.

The boats don't sail in rough seas. Keep the train as your backup.

Things to Do Just Outside the Five Villages

20. Spend a Day in Levanto

Levanto sits one stop north of Monterosso, with its own beach and a more normal town feel. It's a good value base, and a good escape on the day the five villages feel too busy. Hotel Nazionale there is rated 9.3 on Booking.com.

21. Hop Between the Villages by Train

The regional train links all five villages, with one or two trains an hour, and it's the fastest, cheapest way around. It's also the reason the villages feel crowded: everyone arrives at once.

Take it early or late, and see the closures in the box above before you plan a winter day.

Tip: Do You Need the Cinque Terre Card?

It depends what you'll do. There are two versions.

The Trekking card is enough if you'll mostly walk. The Treno card makes sense if you'll ride the train several times in one day. Our Cinque Terre train and card guide goes deeper.

Eat and Drink Like a Local

22. Eat Pesto Where It Comes From

Pesto comes from Liguria, and every village has a trattoria serving it on trofie or trenette. Order it once at lunch and skip the tourist menus on the harbor fronts.

23. Visit in Autumn, Winter or Spring

The best time to visit Cinque Terre for fewer crowds is outside July and August. In winter the ferries stop, the card gets cheaper and some hotels and restaurants close, so check before you commit. Our best time to visit Cinque Terre page has the month by month detail.

24. Stay Overnight for the Quiet Hours

This is the one thing on the list we'd tell everyone to do. After about 6 p.m. the platforms empty, the harbors go quiet and the villages feel like villages again. You only get that if you sleep there.

What to Skip in Cinque Terre

Not everything on the standard list earns its time. Here's where we'd cut.

Don't try to see all five villages in a single day. You'll spend most of it on platforms, and you'll remember the queues more than the views.

Don't walk the coastal path in flip-flops. Trails can be rocky and wet, so wear proper shoes.

Don't drive. The villages are largely closed to visitors' cars, and the train is faster than hunting for parking.

Don't plan around a sunset photo from the same crowded corner of Manarola as everyone else. Take the early light instead.

What to Do in Cinque Terre When It Rains

Rain changes the plan.

In an orange or red weather alert the trails close and cards aren't sold. Switch to the indoor and low-risk options: the pesto class in item 3, a wine tasting, a long lunch of focaccia and seafood, or a train ride to Levanto or La Spezia for a different town.

Then check the park's notices before you set out the next morning.

Where to Stay in Cinque Terre

Rooms inside the villages are few and often up steep stairs, so book early for May to September. Our where to stay in Cinque Terre guide compares every town, and our best hotels in Cinque Terre page goes deeper on rooms.

• Monterosso: Hotel Villa Adriana, rated 9.0, is the easy first-timer pick, and Hotel Porto Roca, rated 9.0, is the splurge.
• Vernazza: Hotel Gianni Franzi, rated 8.5 from more than 1,500 reviews, has rooms in the village center.
• Riomaggiore and Manarola: Crêuza de Mä in Riomaggiore, rated 9.8, and La Torretta Lodge in Manarola, rated 8.9.
• Levanto: Hotel Nazionale, rated 9.3, is the value base outside the park.

How Many Days in Cinque Terre?

Short answer: more than one.

Two to three nights is the sweet spot for the things to do in Cinque Terre on this list. That gives you a day for a trail, a day on the water and evenings after the crowds leave. One day is possible from Florence or La Spezia, but it's a rush. Our Cinque Terre itinerary lays out one to three days, and our Cinque Terre tours list covers the guided options.

Getting to Cinque Terre

Most visitors arrive by train to La Spezia or Levanto and change onto the local line. You can compare Florence to La Spezia trains on Omio, and read our Florence to Cinque Terre and Rome to Cinque Terre guides for the full routes. Pisa is the closest big airport, so our Pisa travel guide is a useful pairing.

If you don't want to haul bags through train changes, Welcome Pickups books fixed-price transfers in advance (check that your route is covered). For the wider picture on Italian trains, read our trains in Italy guide, and skip the car: the villages are largely closed to visitors' cars, as our driving in Italy guide explains.

Before You Go

US citizens can visit Italy without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180, and the EU's Entry/Exit System is now running at the border. Our Italy travel requirements page tracks the changes. Get travel insurance that covers hiking (we link Visitors Coverage for US travelers), and grab an eSIM like Yesim before you land. Our Italy trip cost guide shows how these add up.

Comparing Cinque Terre with the south? See Cinque Terre vs Amalfi Coast. Adding Tuscany? Start with our Florence travel guide and Tuscany travel guide.