Fun city at the tip of Cinque Terre. Great bars, bistros, restaurants, and clubs…read more Gorgeous beaches with bright blue water. Nice hotels

Our NCL Viva cruise ship docked at the port of Livorno, Italy. This was our first time here on…read morevacation. We took a cruise ship bus up to Lerici, Italy, which is located on a natural bay discovered by the Romans. Lerici is a nice nautical town with lots of boats docked including some very large yachts. We took the rubber boat across to the other side of the bay or to Porto Venere. This was also our first visit to Porto Venere. Porto Venere is a village on the Ligurian coast of northwestern Italy. It's known for Porto Venere Regional Natural Park, a protected area with trails and dive sites. The park encompasses Palmaria Island, dotted with beaches and caves. The Gothic-style Church of St. Peter sits atop a rocky headland. We walked the local streets up to St. Peter, but did not go inside St. Peter. Nearby is the centuries-old Castello Doria, an imposing cliff top fortress with views of the Gulf of Poets. More to come regarding our lunch in Porto Venere before we returned to Lerici on our two rubber boats.

During our Mediterranean cruise we booked an excursion to Portofino & what more can be said? Expect…read morejust WOW! As u enter the port u are just speechless with the amazing scenery, Mother Nature really put some effort here. We docked & had time to explore, such a lovely area, lots of high end shops, souvenirs & plenty of places to eat, the price here is the scenery & it did not disappoint!

Porto di Portofino is a beautiful small Italian fishing village and holiday resort famous for its…read morepicturesque harbour and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors. It is located just a half hour boat, train, or car ride away from the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. Potofino is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line it's shore. With a short hike up to Castello Brown or Brown Castle, you can get a awesome view of the port of Portofino and the surrounding area which is ideal for the best photographs! References to Portofino date all the way back to 29 AD. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa. In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when he was ousted from Genoa, the Florentines gave it back. In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, it became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy. Notable residents include King Richard I of England in 1190 and Pope Gregory XI in 1377 along with several famous politicians, writers, painters, actors, and actresses. The Statue of Christ of the Abyss was placed underwater on 29 August 1954 in the inlet at a depth of 17 metres or 56 ft. This statue was placed to protect fishermen and scuba divers and in memory of Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use SCUBA gear, who died in 1947. In 1999, Universal Studios recreated a full-scale replica of Portofino Bay at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA, but it is missing all the mountains and yachts. In 2001, Portofino inspired a recreation of the seaside town around the harbour at Tokyo DisneySea in Chiba, Japan. In 1959 Dalida released an Italian song "Love in Portofino" which Andrea Bocelli reissued in 2013. In 2017, Ferrari named one of their new V8 sports cars after Portofino. The weather on my visit in August was pretty hot but not cloudy and the town was not too packed with tourists that you couldn't move along the town shops and paths, which was ideal. For those with extra time, you can take a tour of Castello Brown. I highly recommend taking a boat trip to enjoy the beauty of this town and the surrounding area from the water! If you're anywhere near Genoa, Portofino is a must see! I highly recommend visiting for a day trip!

Monterosso is the most developed and spacious of the Cinque Terre towns, and you feel it the moment…read moreyou arrive. The beach here is wide and inviting, lined with rentable loungers and umbrellas that make it perfect for a full beach day -- something the steeper villages just can't offer. It still looks beautiful, but there's a more "bustling seaside resort" vibe compared to the others, which honestly gives it its own charm. Along the water you'll find a few striking historic spots, including a restaurant built inside what looks like an old maritime or defensive structure, plus the well-known St. Francis of Assisi statues watching calmly over the sea. If you head uphill, there's an old monastery (or possibly a convent -- either way, centuries of history live up there), and right nearby is an atmospheric ancient cemetery with some incredible ocean views. It's quiet, peaceful, and feels worlds away from the beach crowds below. Down in the center of town, Monterosso becomes lively again with a ton of shops, bars, and restaurants lined through its narrow streets. It's the best place in Cinque Terre if you want a mix of beach time, sightseeing, and easy access to food or drinks without hiking up or down anything too crazy. Monterosso may be the most industrialized of the five, but it's also one of the easiest and most comfortable to enjoy -- a great home base and a town that grows on you fast.

We stayed in Monterosso for two days while visiting the Cinque Terre and found it to be a beautiful…read morelittle town with tons of restaurants and everything any tourist could want. They're really isn't a bad view to be had. The boardwalk in the newer part of town has hotels, restaurants overlooking the ocean, and plenty of bagnos. The train station, parking lot, and the free beach are all right here. Through the tunnel takes you into the older part of town with tons of shops and lots more restaurants. We explored through here a bit while waiting on dinner reservations but I'm sure we could have spent a lot more time. After the old part of town there is a hill you can climb up to a hotel and restaurant that boasts an amazing view at night. Access to the Blue Trail also starts here for anyone hiking between towns.

Monterosso has a medieval historical center which lies on the summit of the hill of San Cristoforo…read more You find the old town through the tunnel from the Train Station. The old town is made up of mainly pedestrian cobblestone streets with narrow crooked lanes lined with shops and restaurants and the brightly colored tower houses that you find in the other towns of the Cinque Terre. The other part of Monterosso is the residential district which spreads along the beach of Fegina. During the 12th and 13th centuries there was an increase in population and families began to move down the hill to be closer to a water supply which was a stream that is no longer there. The part of the village, known as Monterosso Vecchio or Old Monterosso has remained practically intact. In Medieval times, many fortifications were built in this village to protect it from pirate attacks. The remains of these can be found today in the old part of Monterosso, with 3 of the original 13 defense towers are still standing. Torre Aurora (Dawn Tower) separates the old part of the town from the new part and is found on a headland. The remains of the castle of Monterosso is found on the hill of San Cristoforo. Today you can see the remains of the walls, three circular towers and a square tower and these are part of the cemetery of the Church of St Francis. Gayle and I enjoyed the hike up here from Town to see for ourselves.

Though we were staying in Monterosso, we decided to explore all 5 villages, starting with…read moreRiomaggiore first. It's the most southern and has a small harbor and a little beach. We wanted to stay as close to the water as possible to catch the breeze but no such luck. Water was still and it was scorching hot. We had our hand held fans and took shade as much as possible due to heat warnings. Which meant for us to take cutesy pictures on the rocks and admire all the pretty houses that sat along the cliff side hills. This is a really pretty village and quite lively too.

Heading down the Italian Rivera aka Cinque Terre Riomaggiore is the most southern of the 5 towns…read more Very cute and romantic place with loads of charm, restaurants, bars, goods etc. Great hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore and a amazing but physically challenging hike from Riomaggiore to Portovenere. Here are some great links https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/riomaggiore https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/footpaths-cinqueterre https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-timetable

Our fifth and final village of the Cinque Terre. We saved Corniglia for last because we knew this…read morevillage was the least crowded and a lot less quieter than the others. Our winery hike tour was cancelled due to extreme heat so we came here and climbed the zig zag staircase known as the Lardarina staircase. There was a little shade here so the climb wasn't too bad at all. The staircase leads up and into Corniglia. If you're taking the train into this village.... sorry not sorry.. you have to climb up. There's no beach access here which makes this village stand out from the other villages. It's quiet and peaceful and we got to the top. Totally worth visiting !

Another of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. Great hike but the town is like the others...but even less…read moreso. I must advise you if you are taking the train and you expect to walk with you luggage to town....there are a set of monster stairs you will have to climb...probably 1000 stairs and 300-400 feet of elevation gain. People do it...but if you are not in shape.... welp I told you so. Still a cool little town.

Village number 4 of 5 of the Cinque Terre. The square in the main harbor is so lively. Just like…read morethe other villages, the pastel colored houses also sit on the hills overlooking the water. We stopped here after a morning of village hopping and decided to have some spritz and pizza and people watch. We bumped in to a few people that were at the pesto making class we took the day before. We also saw some familiar faces from the other village we were staying at as well. Many shops and restaurants to check out here.

We took the train from La Spezia where our hotel is to Vernazza. The train was clean and the…read moreeasiest way to get from La Spezia to Cinque Terre. It was raining when we were there so the ferry wasn't an option with the choppy water. Vernazza is beautiful. I think it's my favorite of Cinque Terre. From the train station down to the harbor was a short walk with lots of touristy shops, restaurants, and gelato shops. The buildings are so colorful. Walk down to the harbor to look back at Vernazza to see all the colorful buildings lined up next to each other. It's a gorgeous sight.

Village number three of five. Manarola was one of the villages we visited in the Cinque Terre. We…read moretook the train from Riomaggiore to Manarola to attend a pesto making class we booked on line. We didn't know which direction we had to go to get there so we decided to follow the crowd. Well that idea didn't work either because there were people everywhere. We saw some stairs that led up to a hill and that's when we realized we were headed in the right direction. This hill was quite the work out but the views from the top were absolutely stunning. Great location for a pesto making class and even better views of the Ligurian Sea and the Italian flag at the top was the icing on the cake.

We took the train from La Spezia where our hotel is to Manarola. The train was clean and the…read moreeasiest way to get from La Spezia to Cinque Terre. It was raining when we were there so the ferry wasn't an option with the choppy water. Manarola is beautiful. The buildings are so colorful. The main street from the train station down to the harbor was a short walk with lots of touristy shops, restaurants, and gelato shops. Lots of little boats out in front of the shops along the path too. Walk down to the harbor to look back at Manarola to see all the colorful buildings lined up next to each other. Then take the path to the left and hike up to the top of that hill to take a look back at Manarola. It's not as colorful as Vernazza but just as beautiful.