Best Things to Do in the Cinque Terre: 15 Picks

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The Cinque Terre are five small villages on a 15 km stretch of cliff coast in Liguria, visited for the walk between them, the views from the sea and the swimming. Two full days cover the first eight entries of this list; one day covers three or four.

The list is ordered by priority for a first visit. Trail, ticket and train facts were checked on 12 November 2026. For the general picture, start from the complete Cinque Terre guide.

At a glance

How long: two days for the main sights, three if you hike. See how many days you need.
Coastal trail on 12 November 2026: Monterosso to Vernazza open, Vernazza to Corniglia open, Corniglia to Manarola closed, Riomaggiore to Manarola (Via dell'Amore) open with a booked slot.
Getting around: regional trains between La Spezia and Levanto stop in all five villages. Cars are of no use between them.
Book ahead: the Via dell'Amore slot, accommodation from May to September, and a winery tasting if you want one.

The 15 best things to do, in order

1. Walk the coastal trail from Monterosso to Vernazza

This is the best-known section of the Sentiero Verde Azzurro (SVA), the coastal path often called Sentiero Azzurro. It is narrow and steep in places and ends above Vernazza harbor. The park gives 4 km and 217 m of climb and rates it for expert hikers. Allow two hours.

Booking: no slot, but you need a Cinque Terre Card. Staff at the entrances also check footwear. On peak days in past seasons the park has allowed walking only from Monterosso toward Vernazza in the middle of the day, so start from Monterosso. See the Cinque Terre hiking guide and the page on what shoes to wear.

2. See Vernazza from the harbor and from the Doria tower

Vernazza has the only natural harbor of the five villages, with a small beach inside the breakwater. The church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia, first recorded in 1318, stands on the square by the water, and the Doria castle above began as a 15th-century lookout tower. Allow one to two hours.

Booking: none. We could not verify the current entrance fee of the tower on an official page. See the Vernazza guide.

3. Watch Manarola from the headland path

The best-known photograph of Manarola is taken from the path that leaves the harbor and climbs round the headland toward the cemetery. It is free and close to the harbor. Allow an hour for the village.

Booking: none. There is no beach here. See the Manarola guide.

4. Walk the Via dell'Amore from Riomaggiore to Manarola

The Via dell'Amore is a paved path of 900 meters cut into the cliff between the two southern villages. It reopened in 2025 after twelve years of closure. The maximum time allowed on it is 30 minutes.

Booking: required. You choose a date and a half-hour slot (200 entries per slot) and enter only from Riomaggiore, to the left of the station exit. Access comes only with a Cinque Terre Card: from 10 euro for one day with the Trekking Card, from 17.30 euro with the Treno card (official site, November 2026). Children under four and disabled visitors enter free. Slots ran from 9:00 to 21:00 between 29 March and 24 October 2026 and run from 9:00 to 17:30 until 27 March 2027. The path closes during orange weather alerts, as on 12 and 13 November 2026.

5. Walk from Vernazza up to Corniglia

The second open section of the coastal trail links Vernazza and Corniglia. It is listed at one hour and a half and rated for expert hikers.

Booking: card needed, no slot. For one long walk, do Monterosso to Vernazza to Corniglia in a morning and take the train back. Other routes are in the best hikes in the Cinque Terre.

6. Climb to Corniglia

Corniglia is the only village not on the water. It sits on a promontory about 100 meters above the sea. From the station you climb the Lardarina, a brick staircase of 383 steps in 33 flights, or take the road. The parish church of San Pietro was built between 1334 and 1351. Allow an hour.

Booking: none. The Cinque Terre Card covers the village buses. Boats do not stop here. See the Corniglia guide.

7. Take the boat along the coast

The boat shows the terraces and the villages from outside. A passenger ferry runs along the coast between Levanto and La Spezia and connects with Portovenere. It does not call at Corniglia. One stretch is enough.

Booking: check the timetable of the operator, Navigazione Golfo dei Poeti, before planning a day around it. We could not open a page with the 2026 season dates and fares. Alternatives are in boat tours in the Cinque Terre.

8. Swim at Monterosso

Monterosso has the largest beaches of the five villages. Most are in Fegina, the newer half of town, linked to the old town by a short tunnel. Near the beach stands the Giant, a Neptune about 14 meters high by the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi, damaged by wartime bombing and by heavy seas in 1966.

Booking: none for the free stretches. See the Monterosso guide and the best beaches in Liguria.

9. Walk down to the harbor in Riomaggiore and up to the castle

Riomaggiore is the southernmost village and the start of the Via dell'Amore. Walk down to the harbor, then up to the castle. Allow an hour and a half.

Booking: none. The Castello di Riomaggiore is included in the Via dell'Amore ticket. It is open 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 from October to May, and until 19:00 from June to September. See the Riomaggiore guide.

10. Take the vineyard trail through Volastra

With the coastal path closed between Corniglia and Manarola, the way to walk between the two is the higher route through the hamlet of Volastra, among the vineyard terraces. Trail 586 from Volastra to Case Pianca is listed at 50 minutes; with the climb from Manarola and the descent to Corniglia it is a half-day walk.

Booking: none. Listed as open on 12 November 2026.

11. Taste Sciacchetrà and the local white wine

Sciacchetrà is the DOC wine of the terraces, made from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes. The growers' cooperative produces it between Manarola and Volastra. For the food that goes with the local whites, start from the guide to pesto genovese.

Booking: ask ahead for a winery visit; not needed for a glass in a bar.

12. Visit the old town of Monterosso

The old town has the parish church of San Giovanni Battista, built between 1282 and 1307. On the hill between the two halves of town, the 17th-century Capuchin convent holds a Crucifixion attributed to Van Dyck. Allow an hour.

Booking: none. Skip this if you have one day.

13. Climb to the sanctuary of Montenero

The Madonna di Montenero stands on the hill above Riomaggiore. Trail 593V from the village is listed at 55 minutes.

Booking: none.

14. Go to Portovenere by boat

Portovenere is not one of the five villages but belongs to the same UNESCO site, together with the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. Its historic center lies under the Doria castle. It has no railway station. Give it half a day.

Booking: none. Details in the Portovenere guide.

15. Walk to the sanctuary of Reggio above Vernazza

The path to Nostra Signora di Reggio is a steep walk of about an hour from Vernazza, lined with the Stations of the Cross.

Booking: none. For a third day.

What to skip if you are short on time

With one day, do entries 1 to 3 and add the Via dell'Amore only if you have a slot booked: Monterosso to Vernazza on foot in the morning, lunch in Vernazza, train to Manarola for the late afternoon. A plan is in the one-day Cinque Terre itinerary, and cruise passengers have their own page on the Cinque Terre from the La Spezia cruise port.

The Via dell'Amore has the famous name, but it is 900 paved meters on a timed ticket. If the slots are sold out, the Monterosso trail is the better walk anyway. Entries 12 to 15 are for a third day. See also is the Cinque Terre overrated?

How to group them by day

Day 1, north: coastal trail from Monterosso to Vernazza (1), Vernazza (2), then on foot or by train to Corniglia (5, 6). Swim at Monterosso (8) before or after.
Day 2, south: Riomaggiore and its castle (9), Via dell'Amore to Manarola (4), wine (11), the headland path (3). Add a boat ride (7) in one direction if the sea is calm.
Day 3: the Volastra vineyard trail (10), a sanctuary walk (13, 15) or Portovenere (14).

Day-by-day versions are in the two-day and three-day itineraries. For bases see where to stay in the Cinque Terre.

What to book ahead, and the Cinque Terre Card

There are two cards, both personal: staff can ask for an identity document.

Cinque Terre Trekking Card: access to the paying sections of the coastal trail, the village buses, and the toilets at the five stations (1 euro without the card). For 2026 the adult one-day price was listed at 10 euro on standard days and 15 euro on a set of peak dates between April and September; two and three-day versions cost 17 and 23.50 euro on standard days. Children under four are free.
Cinque Terre Treno MS Card: everything above plus unlimited second class travel on regional trains between Levanto and La Spezia. In the 14 March to 1 November 2026 season the adult one-day price was listed at 22, 29.50 or 35 euro depending on the calendar band of the day. It is not refundable.

These figures come from a local information site that reproduces the 2026 price list; the standard Trekking prices match the official Via dell'Amore ticket page. The park's card portal showed no price table when we checked. Confirm the price for your date on card.parconazionale5terre.it before buying.

If you already hold a card, you add the Via dell'Amore supplement in person at a park info point. The ticket is refunded only when an official weather alert is declared.

Train tickets do not need booking. From 2 November 2026 to 19 March 2027 the villages are served at ordinary Liguria regional fares, and a ticket for a journey of up to 50 km is valid for 75 minutes after you stamp it. We could not verify the summer single fares. How regional tickets work is explained in the guide to using Trenitalia. For arrival routes see the pages from Florence, Milan and Rome.

Track works, winter 2026/27. The park's card site reports no trains for 48 hours between Corniglia and La Spezia on the weekends of 14-15 November and 19-20 December 2026, 9-10 January and 6-7 February 2027, plus night closures between Levanto and La Spezia on those weekends. Check Trenitalia before traveling.

Weather alerts can limit trail access in any season. Compare the best time to visit, May, September, October and the winter guide. The usual tourist traps are listed in scams and rip-offs in the Cinque Terre.

Questions travelers ask

Is the Sentiero Azzurro open?

Partly. On 12 November 2026 the Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia sections were listed as open, the coastal Corniglia to Manarola section was closed, and Riomaggiore to Manarola is the Via dell'Amore, which needs a booked time slot. Trail access can be limited by weather alerts.

How do you book the Via dell'Amore?

Access is not sold on its own. You buy a Cinque Terre Card with Via dell'Amore and choose a date and a half-hour slot, online or at a park info point. Prices start at 10 euro for one day with the Trekking Card. The path is 900 meters long, one way from Riomaggiore to Manarola, and the maximum time allowed is 30 minutes.

Is the Cinque Terre Treno card worth it?

It depends on the day band and on how many train rides you take. The card gives unlimited second class travel on regional trains between Levanto and La Spezia plus the park services. In the 14 March to 1 November 2026 season the one-day adult price was listed at 22, 29.50 or 35 euro according to the calendar band.

Can you visit the Cinque Terre in winter?

Yes, with limits. From 2 November 2026 to 19 March 2027 the trains run on ordinary regional fares, the Via dell'Amore takes bookings from 9:00 to 17:30, and card sales stop during orange and red weather alerts. Track works stop all trains between Corniglia and La Spezia on the weekends of 14-15 November and 19-20 December 2026, 9-10 January and 6-7 February 2027.

Sources

More Cinque Terre guides

Author: the TourLeaderPro.com editorial team, a network of tour leaders and registered tourist guides in Italy.

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Best things to do in the Cinque Terre: 15 picks in order of priority