If not the Cinque Terre - where?
 

We were planning to spend 3 days in the Cinque Terre in very early September. However, the more I read and hear, the more I wonder whether this area might be totally over run with tourists?? I have seen photos of the streets absolutely packed with people.
We will be coming from Provence en route to Tuscany. Has anyone any thoughts about where else in Italy we might visit. I love the idea of a little hill town hotel with a stunning view over the water somewhere! Or is the Cinque Terra worth it regardless?

Sallypl, I personally think the CT is at least worth a day visit. We were there a year ago March and though somewhat crowded, certainly not overrun. And breath-takingly gorgeous. A mighty memory.

As for other Tuscan hilltop towns, my vote is San Gimignano. We spent one night there on our way from Rome to the CT, and I was permanently smitten. Would have loved to have spent a week! Our hotel was the Hotel Bel Soggiorno, quite charming, rather rustic.

I agree. If you can go to CT, you should go. We've been three times in the middle of summer and there are certainly more crowded places in Italy. It's a wonderful place with a photo op every step of the way! We also just returned from Tuscany and visited new towns that we've never been to before. We especially liked Cortona, Radda in Chianti, and Montepulciano (sp?). We always love to visit Siena. It can get crowded but it's magical. Ciao . . .

Don't miss it. We were there about the same time last year, and yes, there are very crowded areas, but it you like to hike, take the upper paths, not the lower ones. We did, and we were often the only people on the trail for miles. It is beautiful there. I can also highly recommend the lovely little town of Santa Margherita Ligure, which offers boat (or short bus ride) service to Portofino. This could also be a point of departure to do a day trip to Cinque Terre. I think Portovenere is slightly less easy for commuting back and forth to the hiking, though that is where we stayed. Some notes about getting to the Cinque Terre towns: There are days (or hours) that the boats don't operate because of rough seas, and some of the towns have more secure harbors than others, so you can never be exactly sure of the boat schedule. You can also reach the towns via a local railway, and buy a pass for that, which also is a pass to the hiking trails. Lucca is another beautiful, medieval style walled town, and seems slightly undiscovered, at least by the masses.

When we went last year we spent the night before departing for the CT in Lerici, a rather lovely port town situated between Pisa and La Spezia. It would have been a very pleasant experience had it not been for 2 facts; the hotel I had booked online (and I had confirmation numbers, faxes, everything) was closed for remodeling, but had somehow forgotten to inform me, so we had to scramble to find other accomodations, which after some haggling we accomplished. We then ended up with a rather nice room in a hotel on the water (overlooking a promenade), but we had some rather loud partyers outside below us ALL night long! But Lerici, nonetheless, we found quite lovely and not crowded, a bit undiscovered, and not far at all from the CT. Will you have a car?

BTW, the name of the hotel that bumped us was the Hotel Florida Lerici. I would not recommend them!!

Last year we spent one night Noli, which is about half way between Provence and CT. Its a small fishing village with a pretty beach,narrow streets in the old town. It was not crowded in early October.

We were in Cinque Terre about 4 weeks ago. It was lively with people, but not overcrowded. The villages are small, there's only so many people who can sleep there. We hiked early in the morning and there were few people on the main trails. By noon, they got crowded. It was a great place to spend a few days

We happened to arrive in Vernazza on Liberation Day weekend (in April) a year ago and I'm not exaggerating when I say the main street and harborside piazza were truly *packed* with people. But, once Monday came, it wasn't bad at all.

Bear in mind that the threshhold for a place being "overrun" with tourists varies for everyone.

September in the CT will not be as bad as it is all summer long. Please note that it is still very hot there at that time, they don't really have a "Fall", the weather finally starts cooling off end of October/beg. of November. Vernazza is the most "over-run with tourists" of the 5 towns. If you can get to Vernazza in the early morning time and leave prior to noon, you should avoid the bulk of them. The other towns should be fine, although Monterosso al Mare will have a very crowded beach with rented space taken up along the sand. If you want to be in the CT, try checking out Levanto, it is the next town up past Monterosso al Mare and is the traditional place that the Italians go to in the CT. It is a larger town so more accommodations available, plus remarkable views over a wide-sweeping, beautiful bay. I go to Levanto every time I am in Italy and absolutely love it!

Alternatively, Lucca is a very charming and beautiful city. It is quite close to the CT (1 hour from La Spezia). With its majestic walls and tree-lined "passeggiata", it would make for a very nice, cool summer retreat from the clamor and noise of the larger Italian towns. Buon viaggio!!

Isn't this a wonderful forum! Thankyou so much everyone. OK, we'll definitely go to the CT. The big question is where in the CT. We live on the beach in Perth Western Australia and as we have among the world's very best, we are not terribly interested in beachlife as such. I like the sound of San Margharita. We weren't going to get a car for the CT. Is it a simple matter to jump on a train or boat from SML and go to the CT towns. Do they run until the late evening?
I am keen for suggestions on places to stay too - happy with rustic but must have a balcony and a view and clean and comfortable. Sally

Hi Sally, we were in CT in late May and we stayed at Ca Dei Duxi in Riomaggiore - E85 per double room with A/C that worked. A view over the street which was lively especially in evenings when local ladies came out to sit and chat to each other, but not a lot of buildings in Riomaggiore or most of the other towns have a sea view because the towns are built on the cleft in the cliff that leads down to the ocean. They are pretty tiny villages. I'm from the Sunshine Coast in Qld, the beaches were a bit different - they are grey "sand" and pebbles - the largest is at Monterosso, and the sea was cold in May. The tourist numbers would be about the same as when we were there, and there wasn't a problem with them. The blue trail wasn't overcrowded. Personally I found San Gimignano extremely touristy (read Gold Coast). You'll find a lot of tourists in Tuscany, but that's what you'll be, right?

Hi, I've been reading this thread with interest, because I've debated w/myself about visiting the CT. A couple of you folks have recommended places which might be close via train, yet not as trampled. So I did an picture search and came upon several names. I wonder if some of you might be able to give us your thoughts about one or two of them? Sizes? convenience of train connections with the ct? aesthetics? Any comments will be greatly appreciated, and (I hope) good for sallypl, too. They are:

Dolceacqua, Cervo, Lerici, Moneglia, Noli, and Ceriana. Thanks all, J.