The end of March is still off season, but we're looking for fun romantic things to do. We're an older couple that loves to walk, loves history, and great natural beauty. We're planning on hiking through all of Cinque Terra, and thinking Corneglia would be a great spot to travel from. Does it have romantic places to eat and stay? Any great wine bars, and anywhere to ballroom dance?
Thank you in advance for any great tips,
Tam and Lee
Congratulations! A lot of places in the Cinque Terre will not be open in late March, although the official season starts April 1 and if the weather is mild they may spring to life. Corniglia is definitely quieter and a bit remote. Since it is up on the hill, I think 400 steps up from the station, it is harder to get to and from the trains. There is a shuttle but off-season it may be less frequent. Take that into account. Frankly most of the restaurants are in the other towns. You might do well to stay in Monterosso Al Mare where there are some actual hotels and more places likely to be open. Hiking will be weather dependent, of course, and if Trail #2 is closed, check the higher trails as they may well be fine.
As Laurel points out, March is a bit early for hiking in the Cinque Terra. But the good news is that there's plenty to do in Florence, regardless of the weather. Lot of walks, history, architecture and art in Florence.
While Cinque Terre is beautiful and has romantic vistas, it is a place for hiking, not ballroom dancing. The villages are, for the most part, very small. And, not all trails may be open, even during season, as there have been landslides.
Tam and Lee,
As Laurel mentioned, the "official" start of the tourist season in the Cinque Terre is usually 1 April, so the trails may not be open yet. Several of them were closed all of last year, such as the famous Via dell' Amore from Riomaggiore to Manarola.
Corniglia is not the best choice for places to stay, especially in March. As mentioned it's hard to access and also very small. I'd suggest looking for a place in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other tourist amenities (not all of them may be open in March). I'm a bit out of touch with "romantic" but if it's open and your budget will allow, you might try La Torretta in Manarola. There are lots of restaurants in Monterosso, and if you were staying in Manarola it's an easy matter to take the train there for dinner as the trip is only a few minutes.
One other issue at that time of year is that the weather could be cool and rainy. If you the weather is nice, you'll definitely see "great natural beauty". These are very small towns, and I can just about guarantee that there won't be any ballroom dancing in any of the towns.
We are planning a stop in CT during our mid-late march honeymoon and are excited to hike as well. Here is the official CT trail website - it appears that the majority of trails are open.
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2
We were in contact with 3 different hotels in Vernazza before picking one so it seems like things will be open in at least Vernazza. I would also check out Monterosso since it is the most active of the CT.
One point to mention regarding the trails in the Cinque Terre, as shown on the official Park website.
There are a large number of trails in that area, many of which extend well up into the hills and are a fairly robust hike. The trails that most tourists are interested in hiking are the four segments of the Sentiero Azzurro trails (formerly listed as the "No. 2") which run just above the ocean.
It would be prudent to check THIS website just prior to your trip. The Sentiero Azzurro trails are listed towards the bottom as "ex n.2". You'll note that at the present time, three of the four trails are closed.
For those visiting in March, I'd suggest asking the staff at your hotel when you check-in, as they'll likely know the current status of the trails.
I stand corrected.
That's so odd though. When you view the same page in english, those trails disappear.
In any case, the monterosso-vernazza trail is a good 1.5-2 hr hike. Hopefully 1-2 more open before we go.
One other point to note is that the S.A. trails require a Park Pass to hike, although I'm not sure that will be the case in March. The Pass is easily obtained at rail stations in the area or even at the small wooden booths at the beginning of each segment of the trail.
No Passes are required to hike the other trails (AFAIK).
