Which town to choose in Cinque Terre?
 

We will be in CT for three nights in September. I have booked some refundable reservations in Vernazza, Riomaggiore and Monterosso. I heard Monterosso is the least attractive. Do you agree? If I choose between the other two, which would you recommend?

Vernazza is really nice, but it is Rick Steves's favorite town in the CT - so it tends to be a favorite of readers of his Italy book, too. (So maybe more crowded with American tourists.) I shot the sunset in Vernazza a few years ago (but stayed in Levanto); a bunch of photographers were all lined up, with our cameras, waiting for the right moment. We were kind of bantering about our cameras...and I realized we were all Americans, speaking English.

I liked Riomaggiore a lot, but it is a little bigger than Vernazza as I recall. I have a nice memory from a visit in September, sitting in a little main square, eating some delicious Focaccia bread pizza slices at lunchtime, without any tourists near me, not far from a school where I could hear the kids practicing music and singing. A few locals sat on benches near me now and then. I assumed the tourists were out hiking the trails; there had been mobs of them at the train stations that morning. There are certainly plenty of tourists in Riomaggiore, but at least I found it possible to avoid them for a little while.

I didn't spend much time in Monterosso - it is bigger yet and more "resorty" than the other towns but also has a nice beach area; if you want beach time, this might be your best choice. I wouldn't rule out Manarola, but it is pretty small.

I preferred Manarola!

While Vernazza, Manarola or Riomaggiore are admittedly more charming, we chose to stay in Monterosso last September for reasons of practicality (i) its on the main IC train line, so useful/efficient when arriving or leaving the Cinque Terre by train. A regional train chugs along the 5 villages regularly, to get anywhere en route (ii) accommodation and restaurant options are plentiful, being larger (iii) its relatively flat, unlike other towns that have slopes / steep in parts (so easier for my in-laws to walk) (iv) it was the starting point of my hike along the blue trail to Vernazza and onwards to Corniglia (the only two trails open at the time).