What is your favorite town in Cinque Terre?

Hi Cheri,

We just spent 2 nights in Riomaggiore at the end of May and loved it! We hiked and took the train to all the other towns. We found Monterosso and Vernazza a bit to busy for our tastes. Part of the reason we stayed in Riomaggiore was because we had a car. The hotel (Locanda del Sole) had private parking. We really enjoyed our stay there. That said, it is all beautiful and I'm sure you'll be happy in any of the towns.

Gail ( a fellow Oregonian)

Cheri, I prefer Manarola, less busy with tourists, good restaurants, coop grocery store, nice waterfront, and you can take a nice walk at night to Riomaggiore on via del Amore.

Hi cheri,

We liked staying in Riomaggiore because it wasn't as crowded as some of the other towns (Vernazza). And it was connected to the Via Dell Amore which is an easy path to the next town Manarola (approx 20min walk). It's also great to watch the sunset from the rocks in Riomaggiore. We also rented a great room with a view which also made the trip (we rented from Edi's Rooms 9www.wel.it/Vesignaedi). I would definitely stay in this town again.

Have a great trip!

Another vote for Manarola...we spent 2 nights there last month. There's the vineyard walk (as described by Rick) ending up at the cemetery on the point, simply beautiful. The Via Amore at dusk is wonderful, lots of sunset photo's over the sea! The other trails in Cinque Terre were closed while we were there, due to landslides the previous rainy week, but it was an easy train ride to Vernazza. I have to admit we never did get to Corniglia, and we only saw the train station in Monterosso since we'd arrived there direct from Milan. In my opinion, Manarola had the most variety in its scenery, and the cutest streets (major workout walking up and down from our room however!).

My wife and I stayed a week in Monterrosso and loved it. Granted, it is busy with tourists during the day, but they all are. We spent most of our days hiking the trails or taking the boat to the different cities, ending up spending an entire day in Portovenere. The evening in Monterrosso were fantastic. The people were nice. The cuisine was great; as well as the wines and limoncello. We're currently planning our 2011 trip to Europe and plan on returning to Monterrosso for a week.

I bet answers to this question are skewed by time of year. For me it was a toss up between Monterosso, where we stayed, and Vernazza, where we only stopped for a few hours but found very quaint without being completely dead. However, we were there in April and Monterosso wasn't crowded at all- not empty but completely pleasant, and there were more options for dining there. I can imagine that in the busy summer months though, the experience is completely different from the one I had.

I just returned from Italy. We spent 3 nights in Riomaggiore staying at Rick Steves reccomended Mar Mar. I felt completely immersed in the culture there.

They are all so different. I particularly enjoyed Monterroso del Mare. Bigger w/ a good beach and more to do & see.

Monterosso. We were there for several nights and enjoyed all the restaurant options this town offered. We also enjoyed the beach, although it wasn't sand - it was lots of tiny pebbles.

We just got back from 3-week trip to Italy that included 2 nights in Manarola at Aria di Mare. If you like quiet and non touristy, Manarola is the place. We took the Via del'Amore walk several times and had wine at the Riomaggiore trail head restaurant, Bar & Vini A Pie de Ma. Pure heaven. Riomaggiore would be my second choice.

We stayed in Riomaggiore but I think I liked Vernazza the best. It was really a 3 way split between those two and Monterosso. While I liked Corniglia and Monarola also they were the ones I liked the least.

Ron

Looks like there is not a bad choice. We stayed in Corniglia. It was nice to be in the middle...we went one way one day and the other way the next day. We were able to see all the towns that way...they are all like nothing you will see anywhere else. We loved it!

We stayed at Vernazza. I think it's the prettiest of the towns. Monterosso has a little beach, more parking and the only nightlife in the area.

We just left Vernazza this morning and it's still our favorite. Very romantic. This time we visited two other towns, while the first time it was just Vernazza. The seafood is excellent and watching the sun set over the hills is one of the best experiences in life. Ciao