I love this place. It's as pretty as it is in pictures.
Short story: Woke up at 6am to catch the 7am train to Cinque Terre and guess what?! The train conductors decided to go on strike that day. People at the station said all regional trains are canceled this morning. I was about to cry because the #1 thing I most looked forward to was visiting Cinque Terre on this trip.
Everything happens for a reason, right?
Somehow at 9am, a train decided to take off going to Pisa, which connects to Cinque Terre. We got to Cinque Terre around 11:30am. Late start to the day but I finally got there. I visited and walked all 5 towns. Each one is special in it's own way. The five towns are called Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Most people would say Manarola is the prettiest, not going to disagree with that but I actually love Corniglia the most. Maybe because you have to climb a few (a lot) steps to get there. It's small and charming once you get to the top and you can see Manarola. I had the best gelato there and I have eating a lot of gelato during my 2 week trip in Italy. Each town has their own special food too. A lot of street food which was awesome.
When I do visit again, I would stay a night at least to do the full hike and enjoy all the towns a little more. I cant wait to get back. read more