We will be visiting CT in mid May, driving from Lucca. We have one night. Realistically, we know we could not visit all villages. Which village would be best for one night? We could see a few of the neighboring villages. The next day, we will be driving to Padua. Any suggestions would be great - and accomodations, too! Would prefer a hotel/inn/b&b instead of apt/room for the one night! Thanks!
Posted by
Boulder, CO, USA
719 posts
My two favorite towns are Vernazza and Monterosso. We stayed in Vernazza for two nights, but had dinner for a night in Monterosso and it was great. Monterosso has the beach, if that interests you. We came by train, so I can't speak to the parking in either, but I believe it's pretty spartan. Might want to park in La Spezia and take the train to one of the towns. Have Fun!
Posted by
Florence, Italy
42 posts
Ciao! All 5 of the villages are connected with the train. Parking is very difficult and limited because of their location but coming from Lucca, I'd go with the recommendation of parking in La Spezia and then taking the train the 10 minutes it takes to get to Riomaggiore, the first town you reach from La Spezia. Actually just found this online at http://www.cinqueterreonline.com/tips.htm: "In the Cinque Terre towns there are small pay parking lots in Monterosso and Riomaggiore. During the summer, from May to August, the car park is usually full and the roads to Monterosso and Riomaggiore are closed because there is no parking available. The other villages are always closed to cars, except for the residents."
So definitely leave the car for that one night elsewhere. Whatever you have of that first day and the following morning might actually make it possible to visit more than the village where you're spending the night - the villages are all small and connected by the train so just hop on the train and go to the next village. It takes all of 5 minutes between each. I am sure there must be a pass for unlimited use of the train between the 5 towns (the CinqueTerre Pass I know is for use of the trails) that would be convenient. I personally really liked Vernazza and Manarola, with Riomaggiore coming in third. The first two, I think, are the most quaint and "typical" of the photos you normally see of the Cinque Terre.
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Leave your car @ La Spezia. Take the train to Vernazza for your overnight. 15 minutes. www.elisabettacarro.it for the best view in town
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17462 posts
Maryellen, driving and parking in that area are both very difficult. Take a look at Google maps and see what the roads from la Spezia look like. We were hiking above Manarola last June in the e;vening, and where our trail crossed the road we saw a car going back and forth as if lost. The finally waved us down and asked if we knew the way to Vernazza. There were several intersections in this area and apparently it was defficult to determine which road lead onward to Vernazza. Unfortunately we were unable to help them. I hope they finally made it. There is a large parking lot above Manarola but it was totally full, and we saw swveral cars circling over and over to find a spot. And apparently it is quite expensive to park there, although we didn't check on that as we were traveling by train. Even if you did find your way in to your village and find a parking spot above the town, you'd still have to navigate back out on your way to Padua. It will be a long drive. Bob made the best suggestion----leave the car at a parking lot in La Spezia and take the train in to Cinque Terre. Manarola (our favorite town) is only about 12 minutes away. La Toretta was one of our favorite accommoddations in all of Italy. I highly rocommend it.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon
133 posts
We stayed at a small hotel (I believe just 7 rooms) called Locanda del Sol in Riomaggiore which had it's own small private parking area. Very nice place, good breakfast, and since it's the 1st town, easy to get to.