We are trying to decide which town would fit us best as a base for Cinque Terre and area for mid June, 2007. We would like close proximity to good beach area and/or a good sea view. I am looking at Hotel VenereAzurra or Hotel Florida in Lerici and Hotel Garden or Hotel Stella Maris in Levanto. I know that summer is crowded in the Cinque Terre area but would like to avoid the worst of the crowds.

We stayed in Lerici at the Hotel Florida for 4 nights this past June. We really loved Lerici! It was a wonderful little town with great restaurants and people. We took the boat one day to Cinque Terre and enjoyed exploring around there. Hotel Florida is in an excellent location right across the street from the beach with beautiful views of the ocean as well as the town and castle of Lerici. The rooms are small and a bit spartan, but very neat and clean. I would strongly recommended getting a room on the oceanside with the view.

The hotel itself was very nice, with a lovely breakfast room and excellent service. It is about a 5-10 minute walk to the center of town, which really really enjoyed as you can walk right along the beach, or on the sidewalk right next to the beach.

One thing nice about staying in Lerici is it is not far to get on the highway from there, so easy to get to other places. We went to Carrara one day, and really enjoyed seeing the marble quarries. We also visited a small inland town called Sarzana, which we really liked and found, in our opinion, the best gelato at Gelateria Biagi!! The Hotel Florida provides free parking at a very large lot right next door.

In mid-June you should still be ok re: tourists. It is not as crowded as in mid-August! I think Levanto is most convenient and is the next town up from Monterosso. It is actually considered the 6th town of the Cinque Terre by Italians. It is a lovely town with a large, expansive beach front and promenade. The Hotel Stella Maris is a nice property with good reviews. (Mussolini had a summer home there, as did Sophia Loren. It's a popular town with Italian vacationers.)

Lerici is a lovely town, but essentially blends into the Golfo Dei Poeti towns down from Portovenere. From La Spezia, you have to take a bus (or drive) to Lerici. I actually took a bus from La Spezia to San Terenzo, then walked to Lerici - a nice long walk around the gulf and beach front promenade.

Definitely see Portovenere for a 1/2 day trip (whether you end up staying in Levanto or Lerici), it's a neat place made famous by the memorial to Lord Byron (who drowned in the Golfo dei Poeti) as well as the Genoese fortress, church, etc. There are some excellent seafood ristorantes lining the front of the small harbor too.

Another vote for the Hotel Florida, we stayed for four nights too, and did a day trip to Lucca one day, which was very easy. The staff was extremely helpful with restaurants every night and the boat ride to the Cinque Terre (and Portovenere) was a very pleasant way to go.

If you're relying on public transportation, then Levanto as it's on the train line and you can easily reach the CT towns. If you will be renting a car, then Lerici.

Also, did you consider Portovenere? I've never stayed there, so don't know if the hotels provide good views. However the town is quite charming.

Thanks for all the input. It is exactly what I was looking for.

Another vote for Lerici where we stayed for our honeymoon many years ago. It's a plain beach town but had enough charm and beauty especially in the quiet early morning and nighttime. However we stayed there because it was so inexpensive. We stayed at Hotel Byron for $65 which included breakfast & a million dollar view.

With a car, Portovenere !

Without, Levanto !

Don't know if this would sway your decision, but Levanto is included in the Cinque Terre daily pass, as is La Spezia on the southern end. Any town past these end points will require a supplement. You can also buy the multi-day card - just don't stamp it every day & obliterate the start date/time like the poor British gentlemen that we witnessed getting read the riot act by the conductor.

We visited Levanto and found it really charming - almost no english being spoken, except by the very accomodating residents. It's an invigorating walk up to the train station from the beach, and the attractions can easily be visited in a few hours - then you're free to roam about! btw- my Italian Immersion course didn't have a single phrase for "sliced", which turned out to be one of the most common needs in groceries, bakeries, etc.