I was back in the Cinque Terre in May. I stayed two nights in Levanto (third time). I hiked all the lower trails in 2007 when they were all still open. Now the lower trails between Riomaggiore and Manarola (the famed Via dell'Amore) is closed and so is the lower trail between Manarola and Corniglia. (The upper trail between Manarola and Corniglia, via Volastra, is open - I hiked it last month.) Other than the slides closing those trails, you won't see much evidence that they are still "digging out." The villages all seem normal: crowded during the day with tourists.
This time, besides hiking the steep trail up to Volastra, I also hiked from Levanto to Monterosso (first time). And I finally took a ferry to Porto Venere, something I'd not done on previous trips. (Worth it - nice town.)
During the day I was only in Manarola (mobbed mid-day) and Monterosso (not mobbed but not quiet late afternoon). I spent the most time this visit in Riomaggiore - I spent a few hours there in the evening at/after sunset taking pictures. Even at that late hour there were still tourists, but it wasn't unpleasant. I spent some time in the little town square above the the marina just chilling. Few tourists go into the square, because it's a dead-end, and you don't pass through it to/from anywhere. I like to hang out here and pretend it's not a tourist town. There's a school adjacent to the square, and during school hours sometimes you can hear them singing in choir class. This time, there were a few local kids kicking a soccer ball around. At sunset, I climbed up to the Church of San Giovanni Battista - a few other tourists were up there too but otherwise it was very quiet and peaceful.
I ate dinner one night in the tiny town square of Corniglia, after the steep hike down from Volastra. Corniglia is much quieter than the other towns because, I guess, the town is up the hill from the train station, and the ferries down stop in Corniglia. I had an amazing pesto lasagna there - wow!
If you've not been elsewhere in the Riviera, consider spending some time up north near the Portofino peninsula. There are some lovely towns like Camogli and Santa Margherita Ligure. (Rapallo too but the harbor is still under reconstruction due to storm damage in the fall of 2018.) It's much quieter up there than in the Cinque Terre (which I love too). I spent three nights in Camogli two years ago and fell in love with the town. I wouldn't say these northern towns are exactly the same as the five Cinque Terre villages - they are a little different other than being less crowded. There are hiking opportunities up there too. Really depends what you want to see and do. There is excellent train service up and down the riviera allowing easy day trips, even up to Genoa if you wish.
