Picturesque Cinque Terre

Many years ago, I spent a beautiful summer in Italy, soaking up as much as I possibly could. Sadly though, every weekday morning was spent in a classroom, which left little time for exploration of the whole of Italy. As days rolled into weeks, and weeks into months, my time in Italy, specifically in Rome, had come to an end and I hadn’t seen much outside of that city. While I felt like I’d explored quite a bit of Rome, I also felt like I had missed out on so much. One of those places that I really wanted to visit was Cinque Terre (pronounced “cheen-qway tear-ray”) or The Five Lands.

Year after year, Cinque Terre landed on lists of places to visit and year after year, I wanted to go even more. I was a bit worried however, that with such coverage in the years since I’d first read about these villages perched upon cliffs and brushing up against the waters of the Italian Rivera, that they would disappoint. Or worse even–be overrun with tourists.

I knew I’d be visiting Italy for a blog trip in late-September, but I hadn’t planned to return to Italy afterward, instead focusing on unexplored countries. But then I thought about it some more: much of Italy was still unexplored to me. I found myself in Italy again in October to attend a bloggers’ conference and there, I realized, I was totally plan-less. I had nowhere to go afterward and it felt very odd and out-of-place for me to not have at least an inkling of what to do. So, I booked myself into a hotel on the beach in Riccione, and convinced Brendon of Nerd Travels to accompany me on a three-week trip all around Italy. We spent (no lie) 12 hours one day planning out the route we wanted to take and began booking everything. One of the places I insisted on visiting was Cinque Terre.

While it ended up being more romantic than I’d anticipated (or hoped for, honestly), it certainly lived up to the hype for me. In October, the weather was still perfect–no rain, pleasantly warm during the day, cooling down at night with a light breeze–but it wasn’t overrun with tourists.

I stayed in Riomaggiore, as I’d read that it was one of the best villages to stay in, and had a view overlooking from my balcony overlooking the town and the water, where I got to watch the sunset night after night.

These sleepy villages are perfect for a little getaway from the chaos that is Rome or Milan. You could spend days taking the train or ferry between the five, roaming the small streets, enjoying fresh seafood, stopping into shops, indulging in a sweet gelato, and people watching. Or, if you’re more adventurous, you could try your hand at hiking between all of the villages, fishing, and going diving.

My goal, outside of sheer relaxation, was to take in the views and photograph the Ligurian coast, which has easily become one of my favorite areas of the entire country. I am so happy that I finally managed to work Cinque Terre into my travels and I look forward to the day that I can go back (next time perhaps with someone I’m romantically involved with!).