Most popular places
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The first thing anyone asks when they arrive in a new place is “What is the most popular thing here?” and “What shouldn’t I miss in the Cinque Terre?”, although nowadays there are other questions, such as: “Where can I take the best selfie for social networking?”. We'll also tell you briefly about all the places and the most popular panoramas in the Cinque Terre. Read more information on our site.
The five villages of the Cinque Terre
The most popular villages of the Cinque Terre are Vernazza and Manarola. If you don’t have much time, make an effort to visit at least these two. To visit all the places worthy of note in these villages, you will need at least one hour for each. This is where tourists take the most photographs.
After visiting these two main villages of the Cinque Terre, you can also see the other villages. Monterosso is the largest; and for those who love to relax by the sea there is a large sandy beach. Riomaggiore is known for the Path of Love (Sentiero dell’Amore), while Corniglia, on the top of the hills, is unique among the Cinque Terre villages because of it wonderful views.
Walking trails in the Cinque Terre
Pedestrian tourism is another activity which tourists to the Cinque Terre really like. If you do not have any health or mobility problems, we suggest you walk at least one trail!
You can see the map of the trails on the page “Conditions of the trails and map”. Everything is very simple here: each village of the Cinque Terre is connected to the next one by two trails. The short route is the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue trail). You pay to walk it and it is the most popular among tourists. There are many visitors especially in summer. The long trail usually crosses over the top of the hills (200-400 meters up), it’s always free and there are fewer tourists, but most of all the view along the coast is perfect! To have a better understanding of what we are talking about take a look at the photos on the page “Trails and routes” and choose the trail that you like most. The better known trails are marked by icons.
How to get around in the Cinque Terre
The best way to visit all the Cinque Terre and move around is obviously to take the walking trails, given that these places are famous for this! But if you get bored with walking, take a look at all the other ways you can move around the Cinque Terre on the page “How to get around”.
Neighboring towns and villages
If you still have time, instead of lazing on the beach we suggest you visit the towns near the Cinque Terre. The closest is Portovenere, while the most famous and beautiful is Portofino. On the page “Towns and villages nearby” you will find the complete list of places which are worth a visit, accompanied by photographs.