Travel to Cinque Terre by car - what to do about parking

On my first trip to the CT in 2007, we had a car and were unable to find anywhere to park it in La Spezia, so we drove as far as we could towards the CT. The road ended at a small parking lot, and then we walked down a path to Manarola, I believe. Of course things may have changed since then. Perhaps google “parking lot Cinque Terre?”

Thanks Rachele. I did google and search around on other places regarding parking, but it's hard to draw good conclusions on the best place to leave a car for 3 days, so was hoping to get more direct feedback from those that may have done it recently.

-Phil

We were there in October 2021, so this info is 15 months old, but . . .

There’s always the option of a pay parking lot, if you can locate one. I understand that Riomaggiore had a couple, but I don’t know whether they’re any more secure than parking elsewhere, and you’ll certainly be paying for the spot, the whole 3 days. Don’t know what the availability is for Manarola.

There was also an Online video we saw before going to Italy from a local, describing (and somewhat showing some wider places along the shoulder of the road that leads from the SP370 highway from La Spezia to the road that goes down to Riomaggiore. The aerial view of the road on Google Maps actually happens to show several vehicles parked fairly close to the top when that photo was taken. It still involved walking the rest of the way down to the town, for anyone parking there.

I mentioned this to the woman who ran the apartment before we arrived, and she said those conceivable parking places were now actually really eroded, and would now be extremely hard to get into or out of, and didn’t allow pulling far enough off the roadway for her comfort. Instead, she had us meet her on our arrival at the Il Sole a 180 Grade bar/restaurant up on the highway. She had us park in front of the bar, and assured that it was safe with the other cars parked there, and wouldn’t impose on the bar. She drove us down in her car, pointing out the nasty places along the road that weren’t suitable for parking, and down to a parking lot protected by an automatic arm. That lot is open to anyone for free overnight (arm gets raised), but only for locals between 8am and nighttime daily. We unloaded our bags from there. When it was time to check out, my husband hiked up the trail (mostly rock stairs) that leads from the center of Riomaggiore, up past the town’s cemetery, and to the intersection of the highway and the road that leads to and from the town. The bar and the car were a short walk from the top of the path. He drove down to the bottom parking lot and we loaded up before 8am. The car was intact, no damage, no parking tickets, and no charge. It did involve a stiff hike up to retrieve the car, and obviously, there wasn’t room for everyone visiting the Cinque Terre to have parked there. But we parked there, based on a resident’s suggestion.

Manarola:

https://tinyurl.com/bdh572y7

https://tinyurl.com/2s4yazzy

There are several options. I've only parked at either Riomaggiore or Monterosso, but there are options in every town.

Since you come from Montepulciano (Tuscany), we will start from the East.

As you mentioned, there is a parking structure called Park Centro Stazione under the La Spezia Centrale station.
If that one does not interest you because the possibility of break-ins, the next option would be Riomaggiore. To drive to Riomaggiore you have to go through La Spezia (basically along the port). At a certain point there is a fork. Going straight you go to Porto Venere, or you turn right at the fork, and you take the road that goes to Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore, then Manarola).
At Riomaggiore, at the entrance of the village, there is a small parking structure. It's more expensive than La Spezia (3.50€/h or 35€/day) but it's safe. I parked here most often.
As you can see in this photo, when you arrive in Riomaggiore at this sort of roundabout, you will arrive from the road on the left of the photo. You will need to go to the road on the right of the photo (access is limited to residents and car park only), and after about 30 meters you will see this car park on the left of this photo. All those yellowish buildings on the left are a car park. You can park at any level. The first entrance (see the first barrier) is for level 5 and 6, then the second barrier is the entry to level 4, and so on (level 1 is the one closer into town). I don't know if certain levels are reserved for residents, but this is where I usually park for the day (generally coming from Florence). If you go in summer it fills quickly, especially weekends. I don't think you can book in advance and I couldn't find the car park website.
There are also other pay parking stalls in the open, but I've never parked there and they are few. I believe they are all reserved to residents now.

Since you are staying in Manarola, you might even consider Manarola itself. To go to Manarola you take the same road from La Spezia, but instead of turning left down to Riomaggiore, you proceed until the turnout for Manarola a little later. Manarola has its own parking lot (also pay parking lot). I think it's only 3€/h and 20€/day, but it has no surveillance and your car will be out in the elements. Basically it's a little square at the start of the town, that has been converted to a parking lot. This is the photo. I'm not sure if they have time limitations (you'll have to check for yourself). I would go there first, take the luggage to your accommodations, then if you prefer the security of the Riomaggiore car park, you can take your car back there, and take the train to Manarola. I presume the parking lot in Manarola fills even more quickly, given the small size.

I'm not going to bother to describe the parking lots of Corniglia and Vernazza, which are also small like Manarola, but I'll mention Monterosso, since it has two fairly big ones.
One is on the Fegina Beach (see the photo here. It's 25€ a day, but it's in the open as you can see. It has about 300 stalls. The other one is above the old town, it's called Loreto Car Park and, like Riomaggiore, it's a covered parking structure. It has about 100 stalls, and it costs also 25€/day. Here is the photo.
To reach Monterosso coming from Tuscany, you wouldn't exit the freeway at La Spezia, but rather you proceed on the freeway A12 toward Genova (Genoa) then you exit at Levanto. Once you reach Levanto you take the road to the Cinque Terre/Monterosso. At a certain point the road splits. Straight to Fegina, left to Monterosso old town. The train station is near Fegina Park lot.

Thanks for all of that info Cyn. Very helpful!

N_Kingdom - Thanks for posting that tripadvisor report on Manarola. Will definitely look into doing some of the things listed there.

Roberto - thanks for posting such detailed info. There's certainly many good options listed, so I don't think we'll have an issue finding a good parking option. Much appreciated!

Thanks,
-Phil

Email and ask your hotel about best parking options.

We did the same as Raquele, though it was years ago. Parked in the lot above Manarola, where we were staying. Took the hike to our hotel from the parking lot and left the car the whole time. I believe we spent 3 nights there.