Coast of Liguria or Cinque Terra

Cinque Terre is on the Ligurian coast, but I get what you mean. Been to CT several times, but the last was some 15 or more years ago. It is certainly unique, and under the right conditions you get a remote and "back in time" feeling, but even a couple decades ago it was getting crowded, and that completely ruins the charm. Elsewhere along the coast, from the French border down to La Spezia there are some charming places, more developed, no less touristy. I suppose some of it comes down to your interest in going, food? that can be anywhere. Beach? Probably better outside of the CT. Small traffic free towns, the CT wins that, same with just the scenic beauty of the area (though there are likely a few other areas).

I suppose, ideally, if you can plan that magic time when crowds are low, cruise ships elsewhere, interested in activities that keeps you off the train and out of towns during the peak of the day, and stay in one of the "lesser" popular villages, then the CT still wins. But all that is a big ask.

Thanks! Our main interests are art, history, and culture...of course food. I guess that is why I absolutely adore Italy.

If your interests are art, history and culture, the CT are a really poor choice. There is no art there that I am aware of. In a country that is awash in historic sites, there is also very little of historic interest. Not sure what you mean by culture.

Fully agree with Paul and Roslyn. It’s a fine place to go if you wish to hike and have no need of a car. Otherwise, there are thousands of prettily situated villages all up and down the coast. Those that are motivated to look elsewhere will be rewarded.

Thanks all. We are definitely not hikers. I really appreciate the feedback.

Cinque Terre are in Liguria. There are a lot of nice coastal towns and villages throughout Italy, but the Cinque Terre are certainly among the most famous. I would base the choice on your overall itinerary. If your itinerary brings you nearby, you can visit it, but if not there are other places. In Liguria, besides the Cinque Terre there is nearby Porto Venere, or on the western side of the Cinque Terre, I like Bonassola, Moneglia, Sestri Levante, Camogli. Portofino is also there near Santa Margherita. It’s a famous spot for the rich and famous and their gigantic yachts.

We chose to stay in Levanto this past May/June and we were very happy with it. The Hotel Carla in Levanto is conveniently located within an easy walk of the train station or anywhere else in town. It was a very nice, laid back town that offered every amenity we were looking for. It was very easy to hop a train to Cinque Terre, which we did multiple times per day. We were also able to take a day trip to Pisa very easily from Levanto. We really enjoyed hiking the Cinque Terre and found each town to be lovely but we were very happy with our decision to stay one town north of Monterosso.

We swam this summer off of camogli and I’m definitely interested in staying there for a future trip. If you like nature, hiking, being in the water, that area might interest you. We stayed near rapallo which we preferred to the portofino / Santa marguerita area during high season. With idyllic no-crowd , no-cruise ship memories of CT from the late 90s when it was relatively undiscovered ..I personally am not interested to go back now… Lots of other beautiful places in Liguria. Genova is a city I also would like to explore further for its culture, arts, food.

If you really are going for art, history, and culture, I'd skip CT all together. For food it's ok but you have be very aware of the tourist traps there and pick your restaurants wisely.

I feel in love with Cinque Terre but if your priorities are art and history, this is not the place. The food and culture were nice though, I would wake up at sunrise, hike before the day trippers swarmed the place, head back to Corniglia for lunch and siesta than hit up the towns again once the day trippers went back to the cruise ships.