Cinque Terre and the surrounding
The second objective of this Italian trip was to visit the famous Cinque Terre and their lovely villages. To have time to visit and rest, we opted to stay four nights in the area. There are many possibilities to stay in. You can choose to be in or out of the villages. We chose to be outside, at an equal distance from Vernazza and Portofino.
The city of Sestri Levante charmed us because it is mainly visited by Italians. We liked the atmosphere of Sestri Levante so much that we decided to stay one more night and reduce our stay in Parma.
HOW TO GET TO SESTRI LEVANTE FROM MILAN?
It is very easy to get to Liguria, you have the choice between the train or by car. From Milan Central Station, there is a direct train that takes 2.5 hours. But if you plan to take a tour of Italy as we planned, a car is more enjoyable.
We rented a car from Hertz. You know that renting a car is always tedious because they are always trying to sell you insurance that you don't need. This experience was a total disaster! We rented and paid for the car on RentalCars.com. When we had to make the security deposit, they asked us to do so with a credit card and not a debit card. French readers will understand because, in France, we pay for our purchases with a debit card and not a credit card. Luckily, I had my Amex, otherwise, they wouldn't have let us take the car!
One more thing, Hertz in Milan has no customer service. They give you the key and let you find the car in a parking lot, without an inspection!
Dear readers, please note that in Italy, you may be asked to pay the security deposit with a credit card.
After this very bad experience, we took the road to Sestri Levante via Genoa for about 2.5 hours.
EXPLORING THE VIS A VIS HOTEL
Instead of a four-night stay at the Vis-A-Vis hotel, we quickly decided to stay one more day because we liked the general atmosphere of the hotel and Sestri Levante.
The hotel is perched on top of a hill and offers the most fantastic view of the two bays, Baia del Silenzio (Bay of Silence) and Baia delle Favole (Bay of Fairy Tales). This makes the hotel a must. Even if you are not staying there, you can enjoy the view of the sunset by having a drink from the Sky Bar Zeus on the roof. And the sunsets are wonderful in Sestri Levante!
This 4-star hotel is very pleasant and comfortable. The rooms are decorated like a cruise ship. We had a beautiful room with a balcony and a view of the bay, perfect for relaxing after a day spent outside. Another positive asset is the swimming pool. It is very large, with a beautiful view of the bay.
We appreciated the staff. They were welcoming and very useful. They know the city inside out and recommended some good restaurants.
Staying at the Vis-A-Vis hotel was the ideal place. It is very cool, a few steps from the historic center and the station that takes you to Cinque Terre and Portofino.
From now on, we know we'll be back here.
THINGS TO DO IN LIGURIA
First of all, we decided to visit Liguria in our way. We wanted to have an overview and not spend days visiting each village as if it were a big city. We divided our time as follows: a day at Cinque Terre, a day in Portofino and the rest of the time in Sestri Levante to relax.
Cinque Terre includes five small coastal villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. They are all inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
To be effective in visiting the main villages of the Cinque Terre, we took the train early in the morning, around 7 am, to Vernazza, our first stop.
We had plenty of time because the first boat was at 10 am. We took the opportunity to have breakfast, then walked the charming streets. One of our objectives in Vernazza was to have a breathtaking view of the bay and the buildings. To get there, we took the Monterosso trail for about 15 minutes. It was early and yet the sun was strong enough to be sweaty. This ascent is worth it despite the heat.
After this walk, we headed to the port to buy a round trip ticket with multiple stops to visit the other villages. The cost is 35€ per person for a day and it is a good deal. Don't look for an office to buy a ticket, it's a mobile office set up in the port.
We passed Corniglia without stopping. The village of Corniglia is attached to the cliff and the only way to get there is by train or hiking.
After a 20-minute boat trip, we arrived in Manarola. We had planned to stay a few hours because we wanted to take the time to visit and take some pictures. We walked through the small streets, then followed the main path that took us to the top of a small hill to see the village. Manarola is very pretty with all its colorful houses hanging on the cliff, but also very crowded like all tourist destinations nowadays.
From Manarola to Riomaggiore, it is only 15 minutes by boat.
Unlike Manarola, Riomaggiore is nestled in a deep creek, which is very surprising when you discover it from the sea. Of course, Riomaggiore is very touristy, but the village is so cute that it seems more authentic. We met fishermen with their fishing boats parked in the street by the sea. We didn't stay too long, just long enough to stroll through the streets to feel the vibrations and take pictures.
The next destination was Portovenere. It is not part of the Cinque Terre but it is a very cute fishermen's village located south of the Cinque Terre.
Before arrival, you can't miss Lord Byron's huge cave (Grotta Arpaia in Italian), very impressive for its height, and the church of San Pietro which rises on a cliff above the sea.
Once we arrived, we were amazed by all these straight and colorful buildings along the bay. This is very atypical because some of them have only one window per level. The old town of Porto Venere is also very charming with its narrow cobbled alleys from the 12th century. We did not have time to visit the church of San Pietro, which is well known for wedding celebrations.
To end this long day, we took the boat to the fifth and oldest village of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare. It is the only village with long accessible beaches. Honestly, it's not the most picturesque, but the old town is worth a detour. And then, we took the train back to Sestri Levante.
After a little rest, we took a day trip to Portofino. It is located one hour north of Sestri Levante. We took the train to Santa Margherita station, then the bus (every 30 minutes) to Portofino.
It is a very small fishing village, only 479 inhabitants live there! Even though it is known by jet setters, the town is one of the most beautiful we have ever visited. La Piazzetta is surrounded by many colorful old houses and expensive restaurants. But the whole thing is gorgeous.
We spent the day strolling through the streets, having lunch and visiting Château Brown at the top of the hill where you can admire the most beautiful view of Portofino and its bay. Don't forget to take the path to go down, and enjoy the beautiful views it offers.
We didn't forget to go to a special place well known on Instagram. It is located near the Piccolo Hotel. From there, you have a picturesque view of the Bay of Cannone and two beautiful houses hung on the rock.
Sestri Levante, situated between two bays, is a small jewel. Baia delle Silenzio is very pretty with all its colorful buildings surrounding the beach.
The old town is charming, and like all Italian cities, there are ice-cream shops and good restaurants in every corner. It is mainly frequented by Italians, which is why we loved staying there.
Here is our ranking of the most beautiful villages: Riomaggiore and Vernazza because they seem more genuine, Portofino, Sestri Levante, then Portovenere, Manarola, and Monterosso.
If we can give you some advice when you will visit the Cinque Terre, don't forget your sunscreen, your hat to be well protected from the sun and check the train and boat schedules to plan your visit.
HOW WE CAN MANAGE TO BE VEGAN IN SESTRI LEVANTE
Italy is not the most vegan-friendly country, but it is a country where you can eat the best pizzas, pasta, and antipasti and all these with vegetables and without the cheese. All you have to do is ask for it.
In Sestri Levante, we discovered the Carugio Gelateria which offers many vegan flavors. And believe it or not, we ate ice cream every night.
We also tried Ice Cream's Angels, thanks to one of our Instagram fans. This ice cream was also very tasty with some vegan options.
We had dinner at the Verve restaurant, which offers vegan options too. It was not memorable, but we were more interested in eating pizzas at Due Forni or Pizzeria Riri. We preferred the last one because of its proximity to the sea and we were able to have dinner outside without booking a table.
LIGURIA Photo Gallery
