Tuscany and the Cinque Terre

Mark Gibson on 08 October 2017
My wife and I love Italy. For us it has it all, from the most wonderful cities and countryside to it’s warm sunshine and superb food and wine. Visiting the Cinque Terre (which means 5 lands) on the Italian Riviera has for some time been on our bucket list and we also very much wanted to visit Tuscany.

Our first stop in Tuscany was to its capital Florence. We arrived in the early evening and as our hotel was by the Ponte Vecchio we walked across this iconic bridge and found a small traditional restaurant serving delicious Ravioli. Next morning, we set off to explore the city with it’s amazing art collections and sculptures in the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery, before getting our first glimpse of the Il Duomo di Firenze. The Cathedral has an incredible dome (the largest brick dome ever constructed) which dominates Florence’s skyline along with its bell tower. We had superb views of the city from the terrace café on the rooftop of one of the cities department stores.

Later in the day we drove to the medieval town of Lucca which was on our way to the Cinque Terre. Lucca is a gem of a place with the historical centre inside the original walled city (where you can hire bikes to ride its 5-km circumference). As well as it’s maze of streets and original building and churches it is also the birthplace of Puccini and recitals of some of his most popular operas including Madam Butterfly and Tosca are held every night.

We arrived at our hillside hotel in Levanto which would be our base for exploring the Italian Riviera and in particular the Cinque Terre. Levanto itself is a pretty seaside town with a crest of a beach and a good selection of restaurants which I can highly recommend. The Cinque Terre itself is comprised of 5 villages located on a dramatic stretch of coastline between Levanto and La Spezia and are quite inaccessible by car owing to the backdrop of the hills and rugged terrain. The villages are connected by a train line that runs between the villages as well as many walking/hiking trails dotted across the landscape. I would suggest you spend a minimum of two days visiting the Cinque Terre and longer if you have time to really enjoy the walks and majestic scenery the Cinque Terre has to offer.

We firstly took the train (€4 per person per journey) to the furthest of the villages from where we were staying, Riomaggiore, which took around 20 minutes. What a sight it is to behold with its cove filled with small fishing boats and its pastel coloured houses hugging the rock. As we walked up the steep pedestrianised streets to the top of the village we had more wonderful views back over the rooftops and along the coast. We hopped back onto the train and on to the next village, Manorola, which has a similar pretty harbour side perfect for the seafood restaurants and meandering around it’s streets against the bright blue sky and sun sparkling on sea. Our final stop of the day was to Corniglia, the only village not to have a direct access onto the sea. Unless you are feeling energetic and want to take the 382 steps up to the hilltop top village, there is a shuttle bus that runs regular to the village centre from the train station.

Next day we decided to take advantage of the car we had hired and drove an hour up the Riviera coast to the seaside towns of Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. This part of the Italian Riviera is a popular stop off point for the rich and famous with their mega yachts moored off the coast. Portofino, with it’s pretty marina, has an array of boutiques and restaurants to watch the world go by. Returning to Levanto we took the train once more to the final 2 villages of Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. Both have their own unique character while still have the common theme of tightly packed but beautifully formed pastel coloured buildings. At Vernazza we watched as people took advantage of the ferries that ply their trade between the villages and while we didn’t use the ferry this would also be a great way to view the Cinque Terre villages from the sea. Monterosso al Mare is the only one of the villages to have a seaside beach suitable for spending time sunbathing or walking its promenade but the village also has some lovely shops, restaurants and picture postcard alleyways and churches.

Completing our journey we drove back to Pisa for our flight and beforehand we stopped and visited the breath-taking site of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Cathedral and Baptistery.

I would thoroughly recommend this slice of Italy whether you only have a few days like we did or have longer to have more time to relax and explore.