Cinque Terra

Italy's Cinque Terra has become a popular destination, one of the country's most visited. It is, in fact, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once you have visited you understand why this area is so seductive. There are eighteen kilometers of sheer rocky coastline punctuated with picturesque villages that spill down the hillsides to the sea below. Although it is full of tourists now it is also full of charm and ambiance. The Cinque Terra refers to five small villages, each with its own personality: Monterossa al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. They string together side by side along the coast and are connected by a train line that seems to run mostly through tunnels. The train starts at la Spezia and it is the best way to get to these isolated towns. Driving from France is a tedious trip through tunnel after tunnel and winding roads that will have you arriving hours later than you think you will when you look at the map. There is a local ferry service between the villages as well as a trail between them. It takes about five hours of walking, starting at the first one and ending at the fifth. A few places are rather rough and it can be hard going, and it is physically challenging to say the least but a wonderfully exciting and satisfying trip experience. There are breathtaking views all along the way

By driving and arriving at Vernazza you may or may not find parking spaces outside the village. The local inhabitants will, for a fee, keep an eye on your car during the night. Walking into the village (driving isn't allowed), you will discover that there are no formal hotels, except in the more touristy town of Riomaggiore. There has only been a little adjustment to the influx of tourists by the locals and there will perhaps be some discomforts for tourists used to all-inclusive excursions with pre-arranged reservations. If you arrive on your own, you will find the locals offering rooms at reasonable fees and if the one you had hoped for should happen to be booked, the owner will probably lean out their window, and call across the way to see if a neighbor has a room. Luxury won't be found this way, the bells of the local church can wake one hourly, and the trains can be heard whizzing by, but it is a fun way to spend your time there and you get to see how charming the area is when most of the tourists have gone home for the day.

It is easy to imagine how it once was in simpler times as you sit at the table of a cafe in one of these small villages, drinking wine grown on the vines that you can see on the terraced hills up above and munching on olives grown on the nearby trees. You can eat fish, as seafood is plentiful, caught in the waters by the town from the boats tied up in the tiny harbors. Try a glass of the locally made sweet wine called sciachletra as an after dinner drink.