Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre — "Five Lands" — is one of Italy's most iconic landscapes: five fishing villages (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore) clinging to vertiginous cliffs above the Ligurian Sea in the northwestern Italian Riviera, their colourful houses stacked above harbours and terraced vineyards carved from the rocky hillsides. The entire area is a Unesco World Heritage Site and a National Park. Vernazza and Manarola are the most spectacularly positioned of the five — Vernazza has the only proper harbour, creating an almost impossibly beautiful waterfront scene; Manarola's small harbour and rainbow-coloured houses above are among the most photographed scenes in Italy. Riomaggiore (at the southern end) and Monterosso al Mare (at the northern end, with the only real beach) have the most amenity. Corniglia, the only inland village, sits on a 100-metre cliff above the sea. The Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) was the classic link between all five villages, though sections are often closed due to weather damage — check current status. The easier and more accessible Sentiero Rosso traverses the ridgeline above with panoramic sea views. Boats connect all five villages in summer. The local Sciacchetrà dessert wine, made from grapes grown on the steep terraces, is excellent. Train connections from La Spezia and Genoa are frequent. Visit outside July–August to avoid extreme crowding.