In 2010 I will be in La Spezia for a day on a cruise and am considering taking the ferry from there to the CT. (It goes to 4 of the 5 villages.) My mother will be with me and due to arthritis I know she won't be up to to ALL the stairs in the CT. My question is this: Are there many restaurants and/or shops that would be down close to the water/ferry landing?
OR would Portovenere/Lerici be a better bet for us?
If you land in Vernazza it will be very easy...several restaurants few meters from the harbour, no stairs. same in Portovenere
regards
Andrew
Same thing with Manarola and Montorosso, but especially Montorosso as Manarola and Vernazza are quite small towns, so you might find that you have a little too much time to not be walking up high anywhere. By contrast, Montorosso is the largest of the five towns and it has quite a few restaurants and shops that are within easy walking distance and on relatively flat ground. For example, to get between the two different parts of town you can either walk up and over a large hill, or just stroll through the car tunnel that has a very small gradient to it.
In Vernazza, there are many restaurants steps from the boat doak. You can even get pizza and a salad and eat it on the benches on the waterfront.All the shops are close to the landing. Keep in mind it is fairly difficult getting off the ferry or boat if the water is at all rough. They will help, but when we were there in 2007 it was difficult for some to get off.
Hi Melissa, CT is lovely, but alot of walking for your mom. We Loved Lerici when we were there last summer. Try the Gelati flavour "Lerici", its Delicioso !
I've only stayed in Vernazza. To get off the boat you walk down a ramp onto a stone "pier" that is flat. Once she's on the pier there are restaurants that wouldn't require more than a couple of stairs that are level with where the boat docks. The ramp on the boat would probably be the biggest test.
It will be easier from the boat than walking down the hill from the train station.
Thanks to everyone for their replies!! My mother's mobility isn't severely limited but I'm just trying to get an idea of what is there to weigh my options.
Too bad my ship isn't staying in La Spezia for 2 days instead of 1 LOL but I guess no matter where I end up, you can't go wrong with Italy.
Once again, I really appreciate the responses! Just "discovered" Rick and his web site on the recommendation of a friend recently and I'm glad I did.
Melissa,
While we loved the CT and the views of the towns from the water are fantastic, both Portovenere and Lerici are gorgeous too! Also, the harbors are larger so getting off and on the boat is less of a problem. In CT we had the experience of having to gauge our jump onto the dock as the boat rose up on the waves. This may not be typical, but can happen. Both Portovenere and Lerici are fairly level with lots of shops, restaurants and beautiful walks along the waterfront. While I hate to see you miss the CT, being so close, I have no doubt you will love Portovenere and Lerici and they would be the better choice for easy access. Teri
Thanks Terri!!
Fortunately I know I will be back to the area at some point in the future, maybe even 2011, so I will be able to visit what I/we missed this time.
More than likely I will go with Portovenere/Lerici. Now I will just have to decide whether to START in Lerici or Portovenere!
Melissa,
Your welcome! I'm sure you will have a wonderful time no matter what you decide. There are lots of photos of both places on webshots.com and other websites that will give you an idea of what they are like.
Teri
Vernazza is the answer. Every restaurant worth visiting is on main street, a short distance from the dock and at water level.
In some of the five villages, all restaurants are several hundred feet up the side of the mountain.
Carl! Again, for crying out loud!
You said: "In some of the five villages, all restaurants are several hundred feet up the side of the mountain"
No! One town - Corniglia - is up above the coastline. The other four towns are right on the water. If you have visited the CT as you say in so many posts here, you would surely know that!
I know Portovenere isn't reachable by train. Same with Lerici. I was planning on taking the ferry to Portovenere from La Spezia and possibly the ferry from Porotovenere to La Spezia in the same day.
The CT may wait until my next trip to Italy.
If you go to the Google Map link in my post (above), you'll see photos that you can click on to get a better visual idea of the amount of uphill and downhill walking, stairs, etc that would be involved in a day trip to Portovenere. Here's just one of those photos click here for photo
