Five Marvelous Coastal Towns of Italy

Five Marvelous Coastal Towns of Italy. Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera By Aashish Vaidya.Cinque Terre is a collection of five marvelous coastal towns of Italy on the Sea of Liguria.  As soon as the words Cinque Terre are uttered, the iconic image of cliff-side, pastel-hued dwellings located in the town of Manarola, come to mind.  In 1997, Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The crescent-shaped Italian Riviera on the Mediterranean coastline features many towns and resorts.  This includes the colorful coastal towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare (going in order from south to north), collectively known as Le Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre was a hidden gem on the Liguria Sea.  But, no longer.  Many tourists have discovered this beautiful destination.  The quaint villages provide stunning views of a rugged coastline.  Cinque Terre also features nature trails that link one village to another.  This is an alternate way of traversing from one town to next. However, be aware, these trails are often under repair, and may not always be open during your visit.

Cinque Terre is a photographer’s delight, with its pastel-hued buildings and well preserved architecture, hillside vineyards and olive groves, water and beach activities, and of course, amazing food.

More than a Day Trip

To best experience Cinque Terre, you need several days, as each of the towns have their own unique characteristics.  This is not a place, where you go, visit a site, take a picture and move on.  Cinque Terre is ideally suited to take it slow, walk about the streets, soak in the scene, laze on the beach or by the water.  Town like Vernazza also feature a piazza right by the sea, an ideal way to enjoy a glass of wine and enjoy al fresco dinning. On our family trip last year (in Summer 2017), our first one to Italy (and to Europe), we choose to stay in the town of La Spezia.  We took a train from Florence.  Though, we only had a day and a half, we did manage to visit all five towns.  We also squeezed in a one way hike from from Vernazza to Monterosso.  This hike is only about 2 miles (about 3km), but takes about couple of hours to negotiate.  Of course, it doesn’t help to hike during the peak afternoon.  The heat, stopping to see the scenery, and taking some pictures, can add some more time to the hike.

Colorful Wall Art for your Home or Office

The pictures featured in this post, as well as many other images are available in various forms for wall and home decor.  Clicking on any picture will take you to the site, where you can look for other images, as well as explore other options and formats. Even though, Cinque Terre is no longer off-the-beaten path, the five villages are absolute delightful places to hang out, soak in the sun, and relax.  For a travel photographer,  it is an amazing location to take some gorgeous images.