You only need to see one photo of the Cinque Terre to know it’s a place you want – scratch that – need to visit. You may have read that Cinque Terre means five towns in Italian, so once you’ve made the easy decision to visit – a harder one comes to mind: ‘Which Cinque Terre town is the best to stay in?’ I’ve thought about this question a lot, as well as which is my favourite Cinque Terre town in general. For the record, the answer to both of these for me is the same: Vernazza. But every one of the five Cinque Terre towns is an absolute gem and if you’re lucky enough to stay in any of them, you’ll love it. The towns are all quite small and it’s easy and quick to get between them by train, so my main piece of advice is don’t agonise too much over which is the best to stay in. But in this article, I’ll try to help by explaining what each is like to help you decide which is the best to stay in for you.

Riomaggiore

Best for:

  • Sweeping views

  • Watching the sunset

  • Best pizza in Cinque Terre 

If you’re coming from Pisa or La Spezia, Riomaggiore, or ‘Rio-maj’ as I fondly like to refer to it, is the first of the five towns. I’ve read others call it a party-town, but I’ve stayed there a number of times and in my experience, Riomaggiore is one of the calmest and quietest towns in the Cinque Terre. It’s often busy at sunset down by the water and its main street is busy with al fresco dining at dinner, but the crowds rarely linger long into the night.

While Riomaggiore is well-loved, it’s unlikely you’ll hear many people declare that it’s their favourite town in the Cinque Terre; it just doesn’t quite have the pizazz of Vernazza or Manarola. But, I personally think it’s one of the best towns to stay in. If you can snag an apartment or hotel room that is high up in Riomaggiore with a balcony, you’ll get sweeping views of its colourful buildings, steep hills lined with vineyards and olive groves and boats sailing by on the calm Ligurian Sea down below, all at once. It’s an incredibly beautiful town to wake up in.

If you stay in Riomaggiore, make the most of it by spending a late afternoon walking up to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montenero church that sits high above the town and offers a panoramic view of the coastline and stunning unobstructed views of the sunset. Afterwards you can walk down through the vineyards as the town begins to light up and sparkle below you. It’s not an easy walk up or down, and you should ensure you’ve got phone battery so you can use your phone light on the way down so you don’t trip – but it’s worth it. Finish your evening by getting a takeaway pizza from what I consider to be the best pizza in the five Cinque Terre towns: Kepris Pizzeria.

Manarola

Best for:

  • Foodies

  • Easy to reach viewpoints

  • Sunbathing

If you’ve seen photos of the Cinque Terre, you’ve probably seen photos of Manarola. On a podcast I listened to recently with American travel writer Rick Steves, he said ‘Nobody goes to Manarola, and all of a sudden everybody's going to Manarola’. And he is right: these days, Manarola is the place to be – largely due to its reputation for foodies.

Much of this reputation is down to Nessun Dorma, which is without a doubt, the spot to eat in Cinque Terre. Everybody will tell you that you have to go there. And, I agree. Considering the food served there is quite simple – cheese, charcuterie, focaccia, etc. and they don’t do reservations, meaning you have to line up, sometimes for hours under the hot Italian sun, at first I didn’t really understand the cult-like appeal. The restaurant has a stunning view over Manarola, but you can get that view or even better standing in the garden above. So, I wondered, what is all the fuss about? But after doing on their pesto making class the last time I was in Cinque Terre – I’m a convert. I loved the owner Simone and his story and dedication to high quality local produce. I think it’s worth lining up (but I’d never wait more than 30 minutes) – or even better – do the pesto-making class which is really fun and guarantees you the best seat in the house without having to line up, when they open for lunch.

But I digress, because Manarola wouldn’t be my first choice to stay in Cinque Terre. In my experience, it’s one of the most expensive towns to stay and it’s so small, it’s easy to explore without staying there. It wouldn’t be my first choice to stay unless I really wanted to splash out and pay for an amazing Airbnb. The easy walks on either side of Manarola to Corniglia and Riomaggiore are also currently closed – so there is not advantage of being able to wake up early there and do a walk before it gets too busy.

Corniglia

Best for:

  • Authenticity

  • Best gelato

  • A laid back vibe

  • Longer stays

Lots of people don’t visit Corniglia when they visit the Cinque Terre. Why? Because humans are lazy, and you’ll hear account after account of how it’s hard to get to compared to the other four towns and that you’ll have to wait for a bus to take you from the train station to the town or climb more than 350 stairs to get there. And, yes that is true. But in my opinion, it’s worth the 15-minute walk from the station (I would always walk, over a bus, plus the stairs aren’t steep and the views are amazing). I adore Corniglia. It’s the fact that it’s hard to get to and isn’t on the water that make it he most unique of the five towns. It’s an oasis, away from the tourist hustle and bustle of the other busier towns. It also has the best gelato in the Cinque Terre – and yes – I did the hard yards on this claim and personally checked this by spending a whole day going to each town and sampling the gelato available.

That said, if you’re only in the Cinque Terre briefly – which many tourists are – Corniglia might not be the best place to stay. Its location means it is less accessible than the other towns, and less trains stop at its station, meaning you often have to wait longer to get to the other towns and plan more precisely around the train timetable. I think Corniglia is best if you’re staying for a bit longer and you’re looking for a more laid back and authentic experience. If you decide to stay in Corniglia, or just swing by while you’re in the Cinque Terre, make sure you get a homemade gelato – or two or three – from Alberto Gelateria.

Vernazza

Best for:

  • Great breakfasts

  • Easy to reach viewpoints

  • Starting point for walks

  • Swimming

Vernazza.jpg

Let me get something out of the way – Vernazza is my favourite town in the Cinque Terre. And that makes me pretty cliché – it’s a lot of people’s favourite. Venazza seems to be the most popular town in the Cinque Terre, and with good reason. It has a natural port and two beaches where you can swim, restaurants, bars, and multiple lookouts that are relatively easy to reach where you can take amazing photos. Because it’s so popular, Vernazza can be extremely busy during the day. So if you stay here, you can enjoy it when all the other tourists have gone home for the day. In my opinion, Vernazza is the best Cinque Terre town to stay in. At the moment, it’s also the only town in the Cinque Terre where you can hike easily to two other towns on either side of it: you can walk north to Monterosso and south to Corniglia. Staying here makes it a bit easy to get up early and do these hikes before the crowds turn up.

If you choose to stay in Vernazza, make sure you have a pastry and granita breakfast from Il Pirata for breakfast – they’re to die for. The Belforte is a great place to enjoy lunch or dinner with uninterrupted sea views.

Monterosso al Mare

Best for:

  • Beaches

  • Accommodation choices

  • Starting point for walks

  • Easy to reach wineries

Monterosso is the biggest of the five towns and to me – feels like the least Cinque Terre-ry town. With it’s long, sprawling sandy beach packed with colourful umbrellas, it has much more of a beach resort feel than the other towns. So if you’re a beach babe – Monterosso is the place to stay. The walk from Monterosso to Vernazza is beautiful and since it’s open, it’s a popular one, so another advantage of staying in Monterosso, is you can get up early and do the walk before it gets too crowded. But be warned, it’s a pretty steep walk with lots of steps. 

If you’re a wine-lover, Monterosso also has an easily walkable winery nearby, when you can sit on the large patio watching over beautiful scenery and try some local wines.