"the towns become tolerable."

There are so many places that are wonderful, why settle for "tolerable" and for only part of the day? My time in Europe is far too valuable to waste on places that I can only tolerate.

It's not only Americans who are fond of the CT. Or, who like scrb, prefer it to Lake Como.

On our last trip to Italy, we asked our hotel in Varenna to help us change our reservations (we had decided to not stay in Genoa and spend an extra night in the CT, which turned out to be a great decision for us).

The woman at the hotel was very nice and made the phone calls for me. When she saw that we were going to stay at the CT she gushed: it is so beautiful there, I just love it there so much. And she was sitting on a beautiful view of Lake Como and she said that.

kfusto, I think you took something way out of context. Perhaps the poster doesn't even like "towns" at all, but goes to the CT for the hillside hikes. If one wants to see Niagara Falls, then he must "tolerate" the hotels of the tacky town. If one wants to experience the walks on the coast at the CT, then one must also "tolerate" the towns. I know many people who "tolerate" the huge city of New York because they want to see Broadway shows, and people who tolerate seeing the poverty of India because they want to experience that great country.
Travel is often a compromise in many ways. One often has to "tolerate" airports, traffic, and other issues to get to anywhere they want to visit. It's nice if you love every single place you visit and don't have to "tolerate" something to enjoy something else, but I'd suggest you're in a minority there.

My last trip to that area we stayed in Rapallo and did daytrips to CT. It was wonderful as Rapallo is a regular town with shops,restaurants,a wonderful waterfront and old castle,etc. It has trains either way to Genoa and CT which kept us busy but not in the middle of all of the hubble of "Rick's picks".

"Travel is often a compromise in many ways. One often has to "tolerate" airports, traffic, and other issues to get to anywhere they want to visit."

Having gone through Heathrow twice last month and CDG in July, I would have to agree.

I agree that compromises are a part of travel. I do not love every place I visit but when we went to the CT, we were so disappointed with the hordes of people and utter lack of charm, we opted to leave after a few hours and went instead to Le Spezia and had a delightful day.

For us, the reality of what we found in the CT called for an adjustment in our plans as it was not enjoyable and was for for us, intolerable. The scenery did not compensate for the overall experience and we were not going to waste precious vacation time and money.

My point was that I would not choose to merely tolerate a place, rather I would make an adjustment to my trip. We did the same in Bellagio, cutting our trip short by 2 days as it was not what we expected, nor what we enjoy. We instead went to Milan where we had a wonderful visit. We were happy we did not choose to stay in Bellagio and just tolerate it simply because we were booked to stay there.

Totally agree with zeppole.

There is far more to Italy than the usual suspects. There is far more to Europe then the usual suspects.

Florence and Venice are on my places to avoid the cruise ship crowds.

Just had friends over from Torino. Piedmonte has all that Tuscany has (the food is better) but without the tourists. We all have our opinions but in mine, Torino is a far better destination than Florence.

....and no to many of the above posters, WE aren't tourists. They are the sort that wander round following morons with flags or umbrellas in groups of 50. I'd say we are travellers (big difference).

Only problem being that non of the European aristocracy included it on their "grand tour" 250 years ago and so it isn't now fashionable.

Add Pulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Elba, Monte Argentario, etc,etc to the list. All match the history, food, architecture of the usual suspects but in most cases minus the crowds.

If CT is now swamped that is a shame.

It's funny; I posted last week that while I had a nice visit to the Cinque Terre several years ago, I didn't have the urge to return, but after reading through comments here I am remembering our simple but charming room in nearby Levanto, the gorgeous views & weather, the colorful wildflowers, the good food, and some friendly people we met and I can see going there again!

I didn't visit the CT until my fourth trip to Italy (nor did I see the famous & fabulous sites of the Sistine Chapel and of Pompeii until my fifth trip), so ekscrunchy, in my case I can say 'no' to your question about whether it is first/second-time visitors who put the CT on their lists.

I don't know how/why other people decide what to visit, but for me it is a combination of desire (the number one & most important reason!), time, finances, and traveling circumstances (who I am traveling with, for example).

The thought that a place may be crowded seldom enters into my personal equation. I love some places that are extremely "visited" and other places that are remote and well off the proverbial beaten track. So far, and like a lot of you, I've been lucky enough to have traveled to some amazing places, and I have seldom been disappointed.

Kismet, I think you got it right when advising to bring a smile, a good attitude, and a dictionary!

kellyee, I meant to mention how much I enjoyed your photos. Thanks!

<i>They are the sort that wander round following morons with flags or umbrellas in groups of 50. I'd say we are travellers (big difference).</i>

The question is not how you see yourself but how the locals see you; self-identification is very subjective.

annabelle2, great post!

Kellyee, thanks for your beautiful pictures, you made me fall in love with Cinque Terre again.

That is nice of you, cafeg, as I thought somebody was going to get mad at me about something; I can't think why, but ya never know!

kfusto, sorry to belabor the point, but you're still missing what was said. The poster never said they had to "tolerate" the Cinque Terre. I'd agree if that's how they felt it would be wise to move on. But they merely said the TOWNS became tolerable in the evening. My point was that most people don't even go to the Cinque Terre for the TOWNS.

I vote thumbs up for Cinque Terre. I stayed 2 nights in Vernazza. I agree with the posters who stated how nice it felt at night...it was not crowded at all at that time, many shops had already closed...and it felt so peaceful. Also loved the hikes between the towns....I am very glad we did these. However...if I would have been with an organized tour group I doubt if I would have enjoyed the Cinque Terre. Usually I am glad I am not on any of these tours but have never felt it so strongly than seeing those people waiting at the train stations. If we got close to a crowd at some of these areas it felt so good to be able to turn around and go the other direction. I would return to Cinque Terre...but since there are so many more areas in Italy I would love to see it would not be top on my list anymore. Actually there is nothing I saw or did in italy I regret....what a country!! This was my first trip to Italy....next time I need to go south of Rome, I need to see Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Naples, ooh, I need to keep saving money now. I must go back!!

I have three sets of friends who are first timers in italy this fall; all are going to CT.

I would like to reiterate that I think it makes a huge difference for crowds whether it's a weekend day or a week day. At least in Sept/Oct.

NeoPatrick, then is your assumption that most visitors to the CT go for the hiking?

The people I know who have been there (us included) went for the charm and beauty, not the hiking. We and they were indeed there for the towns and I suspect a fair percentage are as well.

I think they go for the views and yes, walking between the villages, not for the villages themselves. Perhaps I am wrong, but I would assume someone who liked the place and then said "in the evenings the towns become tolerable" probably enjoyed other things about the CT and was not concentrating on the towns themselves. But again, perhaps I'm wrong.

If people do go for the towns (particularly by day) and not the hiking or the views, then I can certainly understand why they might be disappointed.

I totally agree with Patrick, at least that is why we went, to hike between the villages.

We went to hike between the villages and to eat! I would not recommend the CT to someone who did not plan on hiking between the towns but if they did I would recommend it.

We went on my 2nd trip to Italy, plan on going back for our 10th Anniversary (yes we do plan that far out as we have only been married a year!), my husband talks about it all the time.