Corniglia

We stayed there for a long weekend and loved it. Friendly people and the climb up means not quite as horrendeously crowded as the other villages. Actually we counted our lucky stars we were in Cornigila rathee than any of the others, stunning views and peace and quiet -ish

Thank for your reply. That sounds good to me!

Both our stays in Cinque Terre were in Corniglia - I liked it because it was the smallest and least touristy. Def get the shuttle to the top tho - I wouldn't want to walk up those stairs/road with luggage - we actually had to carry our luggage DOWN the steps because on our 2nd trip, the morning we were leaving the shuttle wasn't running, and that was quite the feat, even tho we only had carry on.

I never had any issues with rudeness at the 2 restaurants we had supper at, or the spot we got breakfast, or the takeout pizza place we went to a few times (La Gata Flora). In fact - at one restaurant we sat there almost three hours talking with a woman from New Zealand and never once did we feel like we had to leave.

Now - with the huge influx of tourists, things could be diff from when we last stayed in 2012.

PS - this almost sounds like the place we stayed in twice in Corn - it had a roof terrace with amazing views - we booked thru arbaspaa and I believe it was called Corniglia Dreams...

Edit to add - I just checked trip advisor and it looks like Gata Flora isn't there anymore - new name, new owners :(

We didn't stay there but visited in the early-ish morning, before the day-trippers arrived, and liked tiny (and it IS tiny) Corniglia very much. IMHO, it has the two prettiest churches in the CT: Oratorio di Santa Caterina and Chiesa di San Pietro. Postage stamp-sized Largo Taragio, in front of Santa Caterina, is a fun place for a drink and some people-watching. As you already know you'll be doing some uphill climbs, you'll likely be just fine. I don't recall anyone being unfriendly, and you'll have a leg up as you're staying there versus day-tripping it.

I know CT locals have had issues with the overflow of visitors, some of whom traipsed onto private property, used their gardens as toilets, etc. but Corniglia tends to be the least visited, and I'm pretty sure they take kindly to people who take kindly - and respectfully - to them. :O)

Take at least one hike down the 382-step, 33-switchback Lardarina stairway to the train station. Going back up? Take the little green bus (small fee or covered by a CT parco trekking pass).

I worked on the principle that by walking up and down i could eat more pasta! Also one day we walked down to the tiny fishing harbour for a swim, absolutely stunning, only us there and water a lovely temperature, it was early Oct.

I ate dinner in Corniglia in a little square in the middle of the tiny town last May after a day of hiking. It was a delicious spinach lasagna, maybe the best meal of my trip. Although it was a restaurant catering to tourists (hey, it's the Cinque Terre), service was fine, as friendly as expected. The server did not even live in town; she got off of work as I was leaving, and I saw her at the train station getting her train (opposite way) at the same time I was getting mine back to Levanto.

It's really a neat, chill town compared to the other Cinque towns. There will certainly be tourists but perhaps not as many as the other towns. I'm sure the locals in all of these towns have a certain attitude toward tourists - how could they not? I think it would be a lovely town to stay in.

We were there last Thursday, there were very few tourists compared to Manarola which was packed, probably the walk up puts people off, which is a good thing.......
I didn't see any of the three categories Rick mentioned, some elderly locals sitting on a bench in the sun who smiled back when I did, if you are an ordinary polite and friendly person I think most people respond in the same way...
A few words of Italian like Buongiorno e Grazie can go a long way, don't worry and enjoy your stay

All your replys makes me feel good about my booking in Corniglia (still wondering if Rick has a beef with Corniglia though, lol) Thank you!

That quote from Rick is not negative; it's positive.

I visited 4/5 of villages (Monterosso didn’t interest me) and Corniglia was by far my favorite. Manarola had the postcard perfect view but Corniglia seemed the most unspoiled by tourism and had a local feel the other villages didn’t have.

Be sure to check out Terra Rossa, an enoteca just outside the down built onto the hillside with a local selection of wines, craft beer, fresh juices, and very fresh seafood. My favorite part of my CT visit was sitting here drinking white wine and eating anchovies while looking out over the coast.