Trip to Italy, part 3: Cinque Terre

I am wrapping up our trip to Italy with our stay in Cinque Terre. (Here are our adventures in Rome. and Florence if you missed those!)

Cinque Terre was gorgeous! Just as picturesque as the photos you can find online.

At the end of our stay in Florence, we had a tour booked for a full day hiking trek through Cinque Terre.

The tour worked out perfectly for us since we planned on staying the next two nights in Cinque Terre. The tour left from Florence's main train station and we were able to bring our luggage with us and keep in on the bus for the day.

Manarola

The bus took us to the village of Manarola, where we began our hike. We hiked north through four of the five villages of Cinque Terre: Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. From there, we took a boat down to Riomaggiore, the southern most village of Cinque Terre.

Looking back at Corniglia

Village of Vernazza

We stayed in Manarola and Monterossa for one night each, following the full day hiking tour.

Our day in Monterosso was spent at the beach under these lovely umbrellas. Some of the beach space is free, while others you can rent a chair, umbrella and a changing cabin. We opted for Bagni Eden Beach Club and it was €16 for the two of us.

Beautiful beaches of Monterosso

Sunset stroll through Monterosso

Restaurants:
• Marina Piccolo, Manarolo: Delicious and right on the water! Reservations recommended.
• L'Ancora della Tortuga, Monterosso: Views & setting on the upstairs terrace are amazing! Definitely make reservations.
• Il Porticciolo, Vernazza: We indulged in a little gelato after our long hike. It was delicious! And they had cinnamon- my favorite!

Hotels:
• Hotel Ca d'Andrean, Manarola: Highly recommended. Spacious rooms and a large balcony with ocean and village views.
• Hotel Pasquale, Monterosso: Also definitely recommend. Only a couple steps from the beach and every room has an ocean view.

On Milan:
We actually ended our trip (and flew out) of Milan. But to be honest, Milan wasn't nearly as eventful as Rome, Florence or Cinque Terre. I think by the time we got there, we were less concerned with hitting all the 'must-see' spots and being on a schedule. Instead, we spent our time shopping, wandering the city and enjoying aperitivo by the canal: Navigli District.

I am happy to give more detailed recommendations or reviews of any of the cities we went to! Send me an email anytime- I'm happy to help!