Monterosso is the perfect spot to lay in the sand (or more like rocks really), swim, and have lunch or a drink near the water.

How long to stay: The perfect amount of time to spend in Cinque Terre is 2-3 days. One day is perfectly fine but you may be rushing to see everything if you spent too much time at one stop or you miscalculate what time you should return to the Express train. If one day is all you can do, and you are awful with time-management, I would recommend finding a one day tour. It’s less stressful plus you will have someone telling you about each of the five cities without having to do your own research. 

When to go:May and September will be less crowded and it isn’t quite off-season. I went in early Spring when the beaches were practically empty and everything closed early. July and August will be very busy but everything will be open for a longer amount of time. Trains may be more often as well which means less wait time at the stations. 

The beaches are smaller and not as popular for swimming in Vernazza. However, Vernazza and Riomaggiore are good places to shop and sit down to eat.

Local food you should try:

Trofie pasta and/or Pesto- many of the ingredients used to make pesto are growing in the hills above Cinque Terre

Sciacchetrà- a sweet dessert wine served after a meal

Farinata- an Italian pancake made from chickpeas

Foccacia Genovese- a bread served with toppings such as olives, ham, cheese, tomatoes, and onions

Mussels- one of the local seafood you can get in Cinque Terre with your risotto or linguine

Anchovies- there’s an Anchovy festival in Monterosso every year

 I love how every little city is a bit different from the other. In one city, you can sit on the beach and drink a cocktail, and in the next city, you can hike up a hill. However, all the towns were beautiful and you’ll get some amazing pictures.

If you look through the branches you can see Manarola, the city we didn’t have time to visit. I highly recommend making a stop there. At least for the pictures.

Corniglia is on a high cliff that you can access from the train stop by walking up the Lardarnia staircase. It was my least favorite city since there wasn’t much to do. You can get a good view of the sea and the different crops they’re growing in the area. Besides that, there wasn’t much else we saw.

It’s a good place to make hotel reservations since it is the smallest and quietest of the five cities. When we visited in Spring, it was like a ghost town. (I should probably add that if the bus isn’t running, you will have to carry your bags up the 382 steps.)

If you ever plan on going to Cinque Terre, I highly recommend reading up on the history of each town. It will make the experience much more exciting. I went not knowing anything about Cinque Terre, and I didn’t read about it until after coming back. I had no idea how amazing these little towns really are. Yes, I knew they were beautiful, but I didn’t know how far they date back, their history, or what they are known for.

In case you’re wondering, it dates back to medieval times! Monterosso is the oldest town and was establish around 643 AD.