We wanted to hit the riviera to do the hiking trails but they appear to be closed with no foreseeable repair date. Any suggestions for hiking/ other cities on the riviera?
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
That's misleading. There are many trails in the Cinque Terre. But there are four "classic" trails between the five towns along the coast. Two of the lower coastal trails - between Riomaggiore and Manarola and between Manarola and Corniglia - have been been closed for years. The coastal trails between Corniglia and Vernazza and between Vernazza and Monterosso are still open. Plus, there are alternate trails between Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Corniglia - but they are kind of steep hikes up. I did one of them last May - the climb up to the town of Volastra in between is a lot of steps up, up up! but with breathtaking views down.
You can also hike from Levanto - the next town north of Monterosso - back to Monterosso. I did that hike last spring also.
The riviera certainly has more hiking opportunities than just the Cinque Terre. You can hike all over the Portofino Peninsula between the towns of Camogli, San Roco, San Fruttuoso (not really a town), Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, and Rapallo. Much less crowded than the busy Cinque Terre and in some ways better, though I love both areas.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32222 posts
kristin,
When are you planning to hike in that area? Are you planning to hike only the popular Sentiero Azzurro trails or others as well?
Tourist season "officially" starts about 1 April every year, and the Sentiero Azzuro trails may not show "open" until then. Note that a Park Pass is required to hike those particular trails, but not the others. Passes are easy to buy once you arrive there.
It's likely that the Monterosso - Vernazza and Vernazza - Corniglia segments will be open again this year. However the Corniglia - Manarola and Manarola - Riomaggiore (Via dell' Amore) segments will likely be closed again for the whole year. A short section of the Via dell' Amore is open at the Manarola end (take the metal walkway behind the Manarola station). There's a small wine / snack bar where you can have a snack or a cool one and just admire the view. It's open from March to the end of October.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15861 posts
Kristin, as Andrew and Ken said, there are MANY trails in the C.T. and almost ALL of them are currently open. Just to avoid a lot of duplicate typing, see these very current threads with info/useful live links to park's website:
(See last post on this one):
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/private-boat-in-cinque-terre