Charming Cinque Terre
Portovenere, which lies at the southern end of a peninsula on the Gulf of La Spezia, also attracts a lot of tourists, but not nearly as many as the Cinque Terre villages – and although cruise ship passengers arrive in La Spezia just to the north, most virtually bypass Portovenere on their way up through the more famous Cinque Terre, which means that Portovenere is considerably more peaceful and unspoilt, and therefore even more beautiful.
We stayed at the very comfortable Grand Hotel Portovenere, a former convent which overlooks the small harbour area with its bars, restaurants and shops, and the narrow strait over to the partially inhabited island of Palmaria. We had a cloisters Junior Suite with spacious balcony and harbour view – the bed was so comfortable I didn’t want to get up, and when I did get up I could have spent all day sitting on the balcony looking at the view! I highly recommend this hotel. The town itself is full of history dating back to the 12th century, and has lots of character with its pretty pastel coloured buildings. The “main square” is dominated by the castle and old town walls, and we enjoyed wandering around each evening before dinner when the lights started to twinkle as the sun went down. Beautiful sunsets too!
The day after we arrived it rained in bucketloads! Rather than exploring the Cinque Terre in the rain, we got a train from La Spezia up to the coastal town of Moneglia – my husband had a holiday there 40 years ago and he wanted to revisit. It is a delightful town and so peaceful – definitely off the tourist trail, though we did meet another English couple who were revisiting after FIFTY years!, and we really enjoyed our afternoon there. Next day we took a ferry from Portovenere up to the northernmost Cinque Terre village Monterosso, with the plan of working our way back through the other four villages by train, but because of the crowds we only visited Vernazza before heading back on the train to Monterosso and catching the boat back to Portovenere.
We had also hoped to do the easy walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola along the Via dell’Amore, but the pathway is currently closed – there are pathways connecting all of the villages, but there are frequent landslides which close the paths. The real hardy walkers can follow longer more strenuous and hilly inland trails between the villages, but we certainly didn’t fancy more than an hour or so’s walking. I really do think though, that the best way to see the villages is by boat from the sea – which is what we did so we weren’t disappointed. The boat from Portovenere to Monterosso takes just over an hour and costs 18 Euros per person each way, and the train from La Spezia to Moneglia which took over an hour was only about 4.5 Euros per person. You can buy day passes which will reduce the overall cost a little if you’re going to be doing a lot of boat and train travel and stopping off in lots of places, but we just paid as we went as we weren’t sure how much we were going to fit in in one day.
Although there are no “posh” restaurants or Michelin star standards in Portovenere or the surrounding area (the 3 Torri and Le Bocche restaurants are of particularly good standard though), in the four days we were there only one meal was slightly under par, and we had no problem doing what we love doing which is a bit of walking, people watching, and stopping frequently for a drink or two. If you are vegetarian or meat eater your choice will be fairly limited as menus predominantly feature seafood (with delicious local mussels and anchovies in abundance), but there are plenty of pasta and pizza dishes, and the local olive oil and pesto is superb - nobody is ever going to starve here! Of course the gelato is also delicious (this is Italy after all!), and the 3 Torri restaurant (the 3 Towers) serves the best panna cotta I have ever eaten! The local wine is pretty drinkable too, and we appreciated it even more after seeing the incredibly steep vineyards which line the cliff faces – the winemakers here certainly work hard!
In general you will pay the same or lower prices than in similar establishments at home, with the added bonus of complimentary stunning scenery and Italian-Mediterranean ambience. An example was the 12 Euro a head bill for a huge pizza, beer and coffee each with sea view. 20-25 Euros will get you a decent bottle of wine, and a beer is usually 2.5 - 4 Euros, an Aperol Spritz around 8 Euros.
Only three slight panics on our trip - the day we arrived I put on my beloved walking sandals which have been my reliable companions for many years, but half an hour later they had finally had enough of travelling and had split – after an initial slight tantrum I realised this was a good thing as I had an excuse to go and buy some shoes and I now own some very comfortable Italian sandals! The taxi driver who drove us from La Spezia station back to our hotel was very keen to practice English and did not stop talking - every time he started a sentence he turned around to face us whilst simultaneously negotiating the winding roads with lots of oncoming traffic (I can understand why Italians are so religious now!) – and at midnight the day before we came home I was convinced my passport and wallet had gone walkabout, but after spending a good half hour turning my already neatly-packed bags inside out I found them safely tucked away in the side pocket of my handbag. Note to self – don’t start packing immediately after having drunk an Aperol Spritz & 1/2 a bottle of wine!
If I had to describe the Cinque Terre area in one word it would be “charming” – despite the crowds it gets a big thumbs up from me and I think a return trip is definitely on the cards!
