Does anyone have any specific information on walking the paths of the Cinqueterre or know a place to get that info?<BR>Thanks

If you mean the main path that goes between the towns then your hotel can point you to where it starts. It is pretty obvious where to pick it up and where to get the train if you want to return that way.

Judith,<BR>What are you needing to know? The easiest stretch is between Riomaggiore and the next town, Manarola. Walk between Manarola & Corniglia is a bit longer; pathway goes along the coastline, so it affords many grand vistas. The next two treks (Corniglia-Vernazza and Vernazza-Monterosso) are progressively more challenging, but certainly not too difficult --- there have been questions & discussions on this forum re: issue of heights. It didn't bother me. Yet I do acknowledge there are sections that are very close to the edge and some people are bothered by that.<BR>

You'll find a useful collection of URLs for Cinque Terre at<BR><BR>http://athena.prs.k12.nj.us/users/jwoods/ct.html<BR><BR> Can't promise that they are all up-to-date, but this ought be enough to get you started.

I believe the link above is the one I read before taking my trip to the Cinque Terre in 1997. Where the individual mentions choosing "the low road" or "the high road" while trekking from one village to the next, we did actually take the high road. It was supposed to be the easier of the two, but was by no means easy. Folks, this is not a stroll as it appears on the Rick Steves video. Nevertheless, I'm glad Rick made the video and that I got to spend some time there.<BR><BR>I also had dinner at Da Baicin in SML, and also had the ravioli in nut sauce -- it was memorable, and I wish I had a plate of it in front of me right now.

1. The entire 5T is a national park that you have to pay to use. Every couple of kilometers is a toll booth -- yes, a toll booth! -- on the walkways between the cities.<BR><BR>You can avoid paying the toll if you buy a 5T rail card, good for varying amounts of time (1, 3, 5, and 7 days, IIRC) at any of the 5T train stations and I think also La Spezia and Levanto, which gives you unlimited walks/hikes on the paths, use of the elevator from the Riomaggiore train station (which you would otherwise have to pay for), boat transportation with the 1-day pass, use of the Ape taxi system, and free 2nd-class train travel to any 5T city, La Spezia, and Levanto.<BR>The passes pay for themselves within a couple of days.<BR><BR>2. The link between Manarola and Corniglia is closed because someone was killed on it, and part of the consent decree from the lawsuit was to close this link.<BR><BR>3. www.cinqueterre.it is the official website