Exploring Cinque Terre (Part I): Monterosso al Mare and Riomaggiore

Cinque Terre

I was still on my Passover/Easter trip to Italy, and after 10 years I was able to visit Naples, Pompei and the Amalfi Coast. But now I was coming from Rome to another beautiful coast and exceptional part of this country: Cinque Terre.

Perched dramatically along Italy’s rugged Ligurian coast, Cinque Terre is a dreamlike string of five pastel-painted villages that tumble down cliffs into the sparkling Mediterranean. Each village — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore — feels like stepping into a watercolor painting, with narrow alleys perfumed by fresh pesto, sun-drenched terraces draped in lemon trees, and fishing boats bobbing in tiny harbors.

Here, you can hike the iconic coastal trails with sweeping sea views, sip crisp local white wine as the sun sets in a blaze of orange, or simply get lost among colorful houses that seem to defy gravity. It’s a place where life slows down, every moment feels cinematic, and the simple joys — a gelato, a swim, a glass of Sciacchetrà — stay with you long after you leave.

In this entry I will go deeper into Monterosso al Mare (where I decided to stay in), and Riomaggiore, and in the next post we will explore the other 3 beautiful towns.

Arriving to Monterosso al Mare

The ride from Roma Ostiense to La Spezia Centrale was very smooth and quick. There, I was able to buy the Cinque Terre Card, a day pass that allows you to go between towns freely. I took the next train with final destination marked as Levanto, and got off in Monterosso al Mare, the first town I would explore, and the one I decided to stay in Cinque Terre.

Why did I pick this town? Well, for once it is the largest of the towns, so there were more hotel options, and second, since I was going towards the north next, I felt the need to stay the more north I could. My hotel was La Casa di Zuecca, located up the hill, and kind of hidden. Someone helped me find it, since the location on Google Maps did not match. But the stay in the hotel was good enough for what I needed.

Monterosso al Mare, the largest of the Cinque Terre villages, is a sun-soaked seaside gem known for its long sandy beach — a rare luxury on this rugged coastline. With its lively waterfront lined with colorful umbrellas, charming old town full of narrow lanes and lemon-scented shops, and the stunning medieval tower watching over it all, Monterosso perfectly blends laid-back beach vibes with timeless Italian charm. It’s the ideal spot to swim, sip a spritz, and watch the world drift by.

It was time to walk around the coast, and see a little bit of this town, and then head to the other 4 ones, using the Cinque Terre Card. The town is divided in 2, and the train station is located in between the 2 sections with a huge beach in front of it.

Monterosso al Mare – A late afternoon stroll

After spending all day checking on the other towns, I decided to explore a little bit more of Monterosso al Mare. Being the largest of the towns does not mean being the best, but I feel like I made the right decision staying here. More hotels means more commerce, restaurants, grocery stores open until late, even on a rainy day like today.

To the very northwest side of the coast you could see the Statua del Gigante, looking into the ocean.

The West section of this town is more modern, whereas, the East section is older and more interesting in my opinion. Thankfully, I stayed there, and was about to spend some time just walking around.

Looking for a restaurant in this late evening was not easy, but I was craving some seafood, and I think I found the right place…

L’Osteria on the East side of the town was great. It is a very tiny space, but the food was amazing, and I would definitely recommend the seafood ravioli plate.

Trying to find a bottle of water for the night was a mission, and I think I did not accomplish it as I wanted, like I could not find a grocery store or deli open at this time. So make sure to replenish of whatever you need for the night before 5 PM, because many stores would close their doors early. I ended up buying water from a restaurant.

Monterosso al Mare – A morning of exploring

The next morning I wanted to go back into the towns, but I decided to walk around this one a little bit more, since I had missed the crowds on the day before. I first got a coffee, and then visited the Parrocchia di S. Giovanni Battista.

I felt it was pretty big for the space these little towns have available, and you will see other churches I visited on the other towns later on.

Time for breakfast, and I went to explore the main street, which was getting crowded by the minute with all the tourist staying there, and the ones on tour, or coming from the other towns.

So, with breakfast in hand, I decided to go up, and do a little hike to try to find a nice panoramic view of Monterosso al Mare. Of course, the higher you would go, the more normal the houses would look, although still very colorful and beautiful.

After climbing 30 m up the hill, which does not seem like a lot, but it was, I got into this hike path that led to some interesting spots very high up in the mountain.

And it was worthy. Out of all the towns, this one was the only one I could not get a picture from above. It’s just probably because it is too flat compared to the others, and there is not much going on up here. But yeah, I was able to see the part of the town, and the Convent of the Capuchin Friars. It was weird seeing cacti, a native species of the Americas, in Italy, but here they were.

Bye Bye Monterosso al Mare

It was fun seeing the town from up there. I good hike in the right weather is always welcome, but it was time to head back down an start getting reading to leave. The town was now very much alive, with all the tourist pouring, visiting for just minutes or hours while they do the 5 towns of Cinque Terre.

I took this part of the day to walk around the coast on a path that goes along the cliff, and wow, the views of Monterosso were amazing.

Ahead of us was Torre Aurora, which now allocated a restaurant, so since it is private property is not really open just for sightseeing, and it has a lot of signs saying that so…

Regardless, I continued walking towards the West part of Monterosso, and the weather started being very unpredictable. The day before, I had been under my umbrella while exploring most of the towns. Even though the weather had been horrible, at least it let me appreciate the beauty of these 5 towns.

Time to leave Cinque Terre, so I decided to go back to my hotel to get my suitcase that I had left during check out. Walked back to the train station using these intricate paths, and waited for the Milano train, which had been delayed. Now at the Monterosso al Mare station I was under a heavy rain, but at least they have a restaurant and a grocery store in there, that allowed me to have some late lunch before the train ride. But the arrival to Milano will be shown in a future post. For now, let’s continue with my impressions of the other towns of Cinque Terre, starting with one of the famous ones: Riomaggiore.

Arriving to Riomaggiore

Let’s go back one more day, and after checking in my hotel , the train ride back from Monterosso al Mare was quick. Stopping every few minutes in each town was not for everyone, but allowed me to see a little bit of those places that I would check later on. I started with Riomaggiore because it was the furthest one from where I was staying: Monterosso al Mare.

The train station is located in some sort of fjord surrounded by the cliffs, and from there, there is a tunnel to go into the center of the town.

The tunnel ends in Via Colombo, the main artery of this town, where all the stores, restaurants, bars and cafes are located.

Riomaggiore, the easternmost village of Cinque Terre, is a romantic tangle of steep, colorful houses stacked dramatically above a tiny harbor where fishing boats rest like bright confetti. Famous for its fiery sunsets and the start of the Via dell’Amore trail, this village has a lively yet intimate feel, with cliffside bars, hidden seafood trattorias, and narrow alleys that invite you to wander endlessly. It’s the perfect place to soak up that quintessential Ligurian magic.

Walking these streets felt amazing. All the colorful buildings made a great visual spectacle.

Exploring Riomaggiore

I kept walking all the way up, and got to the Church of San Giovanni Battista…

… which amazingly had a big plaza where local kids were just playing football.

And the view from up here was just so amazing. But I thought I had seen the best of this second town being explored. For now, I had to start getting down, and I picked another route.

Passed by the Castello di Riomaggiore, a 13th-century fortress offering sweeping views of the colorful rooftops and glittering sea below, blending medieval history with breathtaking coastal scenery.

The views of the rough coast were amazing.

Riomaggiore – Discovering the not so secret spots

After being up there for a while, I thought I had seen it all, so I went down through these little alleyways. Prepare yourself to walk a lot of stairs when coming here.

Made it to Via Colombo again, and this time I started looking for something to eat. Picked Tutti Fritti for a box of fried shrimp and squid. It tasted super fresh and ate it so fast. This was a traditional snack on this part of Italy unsurprisingly. I had seen many people eating it while they walked around.

After I finished with the fried fish, I got a coffee, and was getting ready to go back to the train station. I was considering doing the Via dell’Amore trek that costs money, but ends in the next town: Manarola. I decided to take the train instead because it had been raining and part of the path was probably covered in mud. Before leaving, I decided to Google pictures of Riomaggiore, in case I had missed anything, and to my surprise, I had fully ignore the other part of the town. Past the little plaza where the train tunnel passes, the best view of this town can be found. And OMG. I walked along the coast and was fascinated with the whole thing. The perspective, the colors. Everything was so beautiful. Just beautiful.

I did not want to leave, but I had 3 towns left to check, and in the next post you will get to know Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza. How would I rank these towns? You’ll see in the next blog post.