My friend and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer. We are two, twenty-five year old girls. We are planning on spending 2 nights in Cinque Terre. This is both of our first time traveling to Italy, so we would love some suggestions. The first and most important: Which town should we stay in? I have been told that Monterosso is where we should stay, but would like some other opinions. We are looking for the scenery, some night-life and good places to eat! Second, we are both active individuals and would like to get as much as we can out of our 2 ½ days there. Can anyone suggest different places to visit/things to do? Also, please suggest some good restaurants. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

hike between the 5 Lands - about 7 miles all told with varying degrees of difficulty but nothing athletic shoes can't manage.

Monterosso's beach has appeared on the top beaches of the world on some such list i've been told - mainly rocky beaches elsewhere here. The best town for nightlife and youthful life.

Three middle villages are the most remote and quietest - zilch at night i think for youthful travelers.

Riomaggiore is also, like Monterosso a real city but Monterosso i think is for you. Also the most accommodations.

Monterosso has an old town and a newer town that appeals to younger folk and has the fine beach.

Hi Allie,

I agree with the previous poster. I think that because you want some night life, Monterosso is for you. The other towns also have great restaurants and views, but because Monterosso is the largest, it will likely have the most night life.

We really enjoyed staying in Manarola because we liked our hotel, Arpaiu. www.arpaiu.com. But we thought that Vernazza was the cutest because it had a nice little beach and great restaurants right on the main square. Seriously though you can't go wrong.

I think that hiking is mainly what you will be doing (and eating and relaxing / swimming).

Have a great trip!

Sally

Have a wonderful trip.

Thank you both for your replys! Do you think that we would be better off staying in the old town or the new town? We will be traveling by train and they say that the train station is closer to the new town. I have been doing a lot of research and the old town seems to have the most beach-front hotels where the new town seems to have reviews of the trains and people being very loud. Just want to get the most ambiance that we can! Any suggestions are again much appreciated!

I didn't spend the night in Monterosso, so hopefully someone else will comment, but I really think the old town would be more of what you want.

Look for posts by TexasAggie. She wrote a lovely report on her stay in Monterosso. I think she stayed at Hotel Villa Steno. http://www.villasteno.com/it. Her description of it made it sound lovely.

There are tons of posts on here on lodging. If you do a search, you'll see where in Monterosso people like being.

Sally

We were in Monterosso in October. The old town & new town are connected by a pedestrian passageway. It is not very far from the old town to the new town so you could probably stay in either. The train station is located in the new town.

Off topic but interestingly the pedestrian passageway, a tunnel, is i think the remains of the former course of the railway until it was realigned in recent decades.

I would suggest the old town and we also stayed a Villa Steno and loved it!

Allie:

The Villa Steno is on a hill overlooking the old town and the sea. We loved it...Matteo the young owner is a very helpful gentleman...ask for Room #5 with it's own little patio overlooking the town and sea...very large room, big bathroom. Excellent breakfasts on a large terrace...easy walk down to the sea.

Stu T.

We stayed at the Marina Piccola in Manarola in October. Loved it, loved Manarola, loved CT!
www.hotelmarinapiccola.com

Allie, my wife and two teen daughters spent three days in Monterosso last July. Stay in the old town, it has quaint shops, nice outside restaurants...generally more to offer than the new town. They are only a five minute walk apart. We visited all five towns. We liked Monterosso the best because its was a bit larger and had more to offer. The advice to stay at the Villa Steno is good advice. We stayed at the Albergo Marina in the old town and enjoyed it. Would stay there again. May be a bit cheaper than the Villa Steno. Obviously hike the trail. Suggest starting at Riomaggiore and working your way back toward Monterosso. We hiked the trail over a two day period, it can easily be done in one day. Enjoy the trip!

Hi Allie,

I've been to Cinque Terre twice. Both times stayed in Monterosso in the old town. Walking time between old and new town is only about 10 minutes.

We stayed at the Villa Steno and it is nice but rooms rates are listed at 120 to 185 euros for a double. In the summer the rate is probably at the higher end.

While there we looked at La Colonnina and it cost less than the Villa Steno and it seemed nice.

Check out this web site for more info, look on the right and there is a hotel link.

www.cinqueterre.it/en/monterosso.htm

Buon Viaggio

Susan

Thank you all for your VERY helpful responses. In staying at Villa Steno or in that general area, how far of a walk are we from the beach? Any restaurant suggestions? Thanks again!

There is a small beach in the old town area. It would take you about 5 minutes to walk there.

There is a larger beach area in the new town and it would take you about 10 minutes to walk there.

I highly recommend Gambero Rosso in Vernazza!

Since everyone has been such a great help - I need more! Villa Steno is booked for the days that we will be traveling there. Please give me some more suggestions on places that you absolutely LOVED! Thank you!

I think if you do a search you'll quickly find the names of several hotels that people have enjoyed in Monterosso. We really loved Arpaui in Manarola!

Not in Monterosso, but we LOVED Marina Piccola in Manarola. (sorry to repeat, but maybe it wasn't clear in my post above )

Forget about going to the Cinque Terre for nightlife! These once-quiet towns are on the tourists' radar, but are certainly not bouncing with nightlife. Aside from hiking the trails, you can take local boats (5 Terre) from the harborfronts of each town and go from town to town. A visit down to Portovenere is nice, it is where Lord Byron was and, incidentally, where he drowned trying to swim across the "Golfo dei Poeti" to Lerici. There is a memorial grotto to him near the Genovese fortress and cemetery. Great seafood restaurants to eat at along the waterfront.

Some dishes in the Cinque Terre to try: Trofie al pesto (trofie is an unique pasta to the Cinque Terre, shaped with a twist and served with pesto and small pieces of potato mixed in), foccacia (invented in Liguria), farinata (chick-pea flat "pancake" type bread, served warm), limoncello (lemon liqueur), etc.

Riomaggiore has its "American Bar" on the main street, Via Gasperi and it is lively until about 1:30 am. There is an outside terrace people sit at and drink, eat gelato. There is loud music playing but no club with disco or anything. Monterosso has a lively piazza area surrounded by cafes and a gelaterria but I found it to be mostly families and children taking their nightly passegiata. You might try nearby La Spezia at the southernmost end of the Cinque Terre, as it is a bigger city with shopping, cafes, ristorantes, and a nightlife of sorts.

Our younger friends enjoyed this hotel:

http://www.hotelamici.it/inglese/frameset.htm

I should have said--in Monterosso.