Cinque Terre for the Day
 

Planning to take the train to Monterosso from Florence for a day trip and seeking recommendations for restaurants and must see in Cinque Terre? We would like to hike, swim, shop, eat and drink but will only have the day, so need help narrowing that down a bit!

I did the same thing once - had already been there and done the hiking so visited each of the four villages right on train lines (Corniglia is high above its station I believe) - took train from town to town - boats run in season too - trains constantly shuttle back and forth.

Monterosso for the best and about only sandy beaches. The towns are the must sees -nothing else.

Vernazza to me had the best setting for lunch by the water.

See if you can get the odd IC train that goes direct from Florence to La Spezia and change there for the milk train serving all 5 towns. Otherwise it is regional trains with a change or two - often in Pisa Centrale. For info on Italian trains check www.trenitalia.com and www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com- the latter two have special info on the Cinque Terre.

IC trains require reservations on a specific train and that comes with the ticket - regional trains do not take reservations and with a valid ticket you can hop on any regional train. Both are relatively inexpensive - especially regional trains.

Thank you PalenQ for the great advice and the links!

If you're visiting on a day trip, I'd forget the swimming unless there's no beach anywhere near where you live. A good many of the lower trails have been closed for several years because of the risk of landslides, so any hiking will have to be on the upper trails, which involve a fair amount of climbing and suitable shoes. I don't think it would be terribly easy to fit into a single day, and wouldn't leave much time for meals and shopping.

The daytime crowds in the Cinque Terre are incredible, especially if there is a cruise (or two) in port at Livorno. At train stations, often there is no room on the platforms for the passengers to stand. Here is a newspaper article on the subject. It's in Italian, but the pictures (and the video) don't need translation.

http://genova.repubblica.it/cronaca/...ti_-123899365/

That video is quite compelling!

Compelling one to go somewhere else!

Exactly. That looked like my idea of hell.

The video reflects my experience a few years ago in early May. We stayed in Cinque Terre for 5 nights. The upper trails were not crowded and the evenings not bad.

But, during the day, it was hard to get aboard some trains (and not get struck by hiking poles).

The trail from Monterosso to Vernazza had a steady stream of people, some unprepared for the challenge (no water or hats, they were red faced and hyperventilating).

It started to rain in Vernazza and everyone made a beeline for the restaurants, which were already filled with tour groups. The waiters, understandably, started to get testy with the press of people and general craziness.

So sad. I want to tell people "don't go," but then, I had the benefit of already seeing it myself. Don't know what the solution is.

bvlenci thank you for that link! That does look simply awful and you are correct, no words are needed. Yuck.

Cinque Terre - nobody goes there no more because it's too crowded!