Cinque Terre in 2 Days: everything you need to know

Cinque Terre is the emblem of La Spezia and each of the five towns that compose it has many attractions to offer, so touring the Italian Riviera in just 2 days seems like an impossible mission. However, with the right tour you will be able to visit the main sites of the region.

Among the best things to see and do to experience Cinque Terre in 2 days are visiting the attractions of Monterosso al Mare on the first day and the rest of the towns on the second day, including a 12-kilometer hike through the heart of the Italian Riviera. Are you up for the challenge?

During the first day of your visit to Cinque Terre I suggest a tour of the main sites of Monterosso al Mare, which is the most famous and most visited of the Italian Riviera towns.

Visit the Church of St. John the Baptist

The tour of the first day begins with the Church of St. John the Baptist, which is the largest and most recognized of Cinque Terre and is also the seat of the diocese of La Spezia. This temple will attract your attention with its Baroque structure, the two-color facade that includes a marble rose window and the interior, which houses a fresco of the eighteenth century alluding to the Baptism of Christ.

In addition, if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in September you can also participate in the patron saint festivities, since John the Baptist is the patron saint of Monterosso al Mare. The church is located in the center of town, very close to the Oratory and also to the craft stalls in the main square.

You can reach the Church of St. John the Baptist by Cinque Terre Express train services or by car, although in the latter case you will have to walk several blocks, as it is closed to vehicular traffic like most towns on the Italian Riviera.

Interesting details

• Price: you can visit the church for free.
• Hours: daily from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm.
• Where: Via Roma 12, Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre.

Meet the statue of the Giant

A few blocks from the church is the statue of The Giant, which is one of the great attractions of the town and is often included in the tours of the best tours of Cinque Terre. This statue dazzles visitors with its iron and reinforced concrete structure, despite the fact that World War II bombings removed much of the original sculpture.

In addition, if you plan to visit Cinque Terre during the winter, you can comply with one of the traditions of the city, which states that if you manage to spot, during a rainy day, the statue of The Giant from the beach is because you will have good luck, as did the ships of antiquity that spotted the cliffs and avoided accidents.

You can reach the statue after a walk of about 10 minutes along Via Fegina or on the Vettora P. Garibaldi line buses, although I recommend you walk to also get to know the coast of the city.

Walk along Fegina beach and take a swim in summertime

The beach of Fegina runs parallel to the town's main street of the same name, and although it is divided by a rock that marks two different parts of the resort, it is actually the same beach, which is, in turn, the only completely sandy beach in Cinque Terre.

This beach is the main attraction of Cinque Terre during the summer and if you visit Monterosso al Mare during the summer season you can take a dip in the warm and crystal clear waters of the beach. If, instead, you plan to travel at another time of the year, you can walk along it to discover from there the beautiful horizon of the Ligurian Sea.

In the main section of the beach of Fegina, which is just a few meters from the statue of the Giant, you can rent umbrellas and have lunch in the restaurants of Monterosso al Mare.

Lunch at a restaurant in Monterosso al Mare

Once the tour of Fegina beach is over, I recommend that you stop for lunch, especially if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in summer, when the heat can be sweltering.

The cuisine of the Italian Riviera stands out for its pasta, risotto, grilled anchovies, seafood and fish, all dishes that you can discover in the restaurants on Via Molinelli or in the port area. Among the best known you can visit La Taverna di Monterosso, Ristorante Mistral and Beach Bar Stella Marina.

You can also opt for one of the best gastronomic tours of Cinque Terre, although in that case you will have to allocate more time to the experience, which could take away from other tours.

Visit Villa Montale

Villa Montale, located 4 blocks from the port, is the mansion occupied during his life in Cinque Terre by the poet Eugenio Montale, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975. Today, the site houses his library, his furniture and is a museum open to literary activities.

You can tour the interior of the mansion and the exhibition during your trip and, if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in October, you can also participate in the conferences and activities organized every October 12 to commemorate the birth of the writer.

Keep in mind that during the summer, Villa Montale is one of the most visited attractions in Monterosso al Mare, so you may be delayed in waiting for entrance. In addition, some of the rooms in the mansion are rented out to tourists and during the summer season it tends to sell out, so tours are limited.

Details of interest

• Price: entrance to Villa Montale has an initial cost of approximately 6 euros per person.
• Hours: usually open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
• Where: Via Privata Montale, Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre.

Visit the Convent of the Capuchin Friars

Monterosso al Mare stands out for its religious buildings and among them the Convent of the Capuchin Friars is one of the oldest. Moreover, it is also one of the most mysterious, as it is still used as a convent, so a large part of the structure is not open to the public.

Among the rooms that can be visited in the convent and are worth visiting are the main hall, which contains Renaissance frescoes and an outstanding art gallery. You can also access the building's terrace, which connects directly to the monument of St. Francis of Assisi, another of the region's popular figures. From there you can take in some of the best views of Cinque Terre.

The Convent of the Capuchin Friars can be reached by a 10-minute walk along Via Fegina or by bus on the Vettora P. Garibaldi line.

Details of interest

• Price: entrance to the convent has an initial cost of approximately 5 euros per person.
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
• Where: Salita dei Cappuccini 20, Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre.

Dinner in a restaurant in Vernazza

To close the tour of the first day I suggest you to dine in one of the restaurants in Vernazza, which stands out for its terraces with open views of the Ligurian Sea, especially during the summer, when the sky is clear. In these restaurants you can try seafood, anchovies, antipasti and pasta marinara.

There are many places you can visit in Vernazza but one of the most recommended for dinner is Nessun Dorma, which is known for its charcuterie and cheese boards and bruschettas, as well as serving regional wines such as Bianco DOC and Sciacchetra, a popular sweet red wine from the Italian Riviera.

In addition, after dinner you can also try the gelato of Gelateria Vernazza, which is one of the most famous gelaterias in La Spezia and stands out for its artisanal style.

After visiting Monterosso al Mare during the first day, for the second day I suggest an intensive itinerary along the Blue Trail, which crosses the five villages, a visit to a famous rugged beach, a pleasant walk along the coast to see the Italian Riviera from a different perspective and to see the sunsets of Manarola, which many tourists say are the most beautiful in Cinque Terre.

Walk along the four stretches of the Blue Trail

Almost as famous as its beaches, Cinque Terre's trails attract attention for the beauty of their landscapes and for the meandering nature trails they offer on top of the cliffs. One of the most famous routes is the Blue Trail, which has a total length of 12 kilometers divided into four sections that cross all the villages of the Italian Riviera.

The first section, called Via dell'Amore, is the best known and links Riomaggiore to Manarola. The second runs through Manarola and Corniglia, which is the only one of the Cinque Terre villages that does not have a direct exit to the sea. The third goes from Corniglia to Vernazza and the fourth, which at 4 kilometers is the longest and most challenging, reaches Monterosso al Mare.

Some sections of the Blue Trail can be a bit intense, especially during the summer heat, but walking the entire trail, in a hike that can last between 4 and 5 hours, will allow you to cross all the villages and get to know their best landscapes.

Visit the wild beach of Guvano

If you want to know one of the most famous beaches of Cinque Terre you can not miss Guvano, in Vernazza, which is one of the few in the region that is located in a wild, wooded area surrounded by vegetation. This beach can be reached through a single stone path that divides Vernazza from Corniglia.

If you plan to visit Cinque Terre in summer you will discover a beach with calm waters and away from the hustle and bustle of other more crowded ones, such as Fegina and Neptune, although you should note that it has a nudist area. In addition, if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in April or in the spring, you can also discover the vegetation and the colors of the surrounding trees.

The access to Guvano, which is very close to the beginning of the third section of the Blue Trail, is one of the most complicated in Cinque Terre, similar to the pedestrian entrance to the village of Corniglia, which is reached by the Landarina staircase. This will guarantee you a peaceful visit, even during the peak summer months, when the region receives the most visitors.

Take a boat trip on the Italian Riviera

One of the best and most popular tours you can take in Cinque Terre is an excursion that includes a boat ride to see a different side of the region, from the beauty of the Ligurian Sea to the cliffs and colorful buildings for which the Italian Riviera is famous.

The traditional itinerary of boat tours includes a route from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore and crosses the coasts of the five towns, but you can also opt for alternatives that set sail from La Spezia or from Porto Venere, at the southern tip of the Italian Riviera. Some operators also offer night tours, which is one of the best things to do in Cinque Terre at night.

Boat tours are also useful for getting around the various villages of Cinque Terre, although they tend to be a less effective option than the Express Train, which will drop you off directly in the center of each village and not in the coastal areas of Cinque Terre.

Details of interest

• Price: the boat tours have an initial cost of approximately €18 per person.
• Duration: the trip from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore takes about 1 hour.

Contemplate the sunset of Manarola

During the boat trip I suggest you use the stop in Manarola to take a break and have something to eat and then watch the sunset from the promenade that surrounds the sea and winds along the cliffs at an average height of 200 meters above sea level. From there, especially in summer, you can discover one of the best sunsets in Cinque Terre.

Manarola is a very popular destination during Christmas, because if you visit Cinque Terre in December, you can see the giant crib of the Cerro delle Tre Croce, which consists of a nativity scene of over 300 figures, some of them over 3 meters high, which is illuminated at night forming an unmissable spectacle.

Other places in Cinque Terre where you can watch magical sunsets are Vernazza and the Doria Castle and Corniglia, which has some of the highest trails in the region.

Say goodbye to Cinque Terre with a toast of limoncello

Gastronomy is a deep-rooted tradition in La Spezia, but so is drinking, so you can tour wineries and vineyards to taste local wines and also discover limoncello, which is a traditional liqueur made from lemon peels and known for its characteristic fresh, citrusy flavor.

The production of limoncello in Cinque Terre is almost as important as that of wine, so in addition to tasting the drink, you can also pay tribute to its artisanal production, which preserves techniques and recipes handed down from generation to generation.

Depending on the town of Cinque Terre you visit, you can try different ways of consuming the drink, because while in Vernazza it is served in crystal glasses with ice, in Monterosso al Mare it is served in ceramic cups and in Corniglia it is consumed with fresh water, but in all cases it is used to toast and make wishes for the future, so if you enjoyed the intensive tour of Cinque Terre you can ask for a return trip to see the rest of the Italian Riviera.