Cinque Terre Hiking — the Alta Via, Vineyard Trails & Views from 400 Metres
The Cinque Terre National Park (established 1999, covering 15km of coastline and 38km of hiking trails at altitudes from sea level to 600m above the Ligurian Sea) maintains the most comprehensive coastal hiking network in Italy, from the famous Sentiero Azzurro (the low coastal trail, partially toll-gated at €7.50/day) to the free Alta Via (the high ridge trail, Sentiero No. 1, requiring no card).
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Sentiero Azzurro — the Iconic Coastal Trail
The Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail, Sentiero No. 2, the 12km coastal trail connecting all 5 villages, requiring the Cinque Terre Card €7.50/day, open sections only — check parconazionale5terre.it for current status as the trail has been progressively reopened after extensive rockfall damage from the 2011 storms) is the most celebrated coastal walking trail in Italy. Individual sections have different difficulty ratings: the Corniglia to Vernazza section (3.6km, 1.5 hours, the most scenically dramatic, the path cut into the cliff 50-100m above the sea with direct vertical views down) is currently the priority section to walk; the Via dell'Amore (Riomaggiore to Manarola, 1.2km, 20 minutes, wheelchair-accessible, the most famous and most crowded section) has been progressively reopening since 2023 after 11-year closure.
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Alta Via dei Monti Liguri — the Ridge Path Above the Clouds
The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (the long-distance ridge path traversing the entire Ligurian Apennine from Ventimiglia on the French border to Ceparana near La Spezia, 440km total, Sentiero No. 1 through the Cinque Terre section) crosses the Cinque Terre at 350-500m altitude, traversing the ridgeline above all 5 villages with continuous panoramic views of both the Ligurian Sea and the Apennine hinterland — the section from the Colle del Telegrafo above Riomaggiore to the Passo del Bracco above Monterosso (12km, 5 hours from the first village to the last, the free alternative to the coastal trail) passes through chestnut forest, abandoned vineyard terraces, and open Apennine grassland.
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Vineyard Trail — the Working Terraces at 150 Metres
The vineyard trails connecting the five villages at mid-altitude (150-250m above sea level, accessible via stepped paths from each village, marked as Sentieri 6, 7, 8 on the national park map, free to use, varying difficulty and maintenance standards) traverse the most intimate landscape of the Cinque Terre — the working terraced vineyards (the sciacchetra grape vines trained on low pergolas, the dry-stone terrace walls built by hand since the 8th century, the vineyard workers descending to the sea by monorail — the small electric rail system installed in the 1950s to carry wine, produce, and tools down the cliff-face terraces, visible from the coast below as a thin silver line on the hillside). The trail from Manarola to Volastra (1.5km up, 30 minutes, the classic vineyard walk) begins at the Manarola train station.
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The 400 Steps of Corniglia — the Only Cliff-Top Village
Corniglia (the middle village of the five, the only one not directly on the sea, built on a headland 100m above the water on top of a rocky promontory, population 200, accessible from the Corniglia train station only by climbing the 382-step Lardarina staircase — a 10-minute climb — or by the park bus service in summer for €2.50) is the most tranquil and least-visited of the five villages. The Belvedere di Santa Maria (the viewpoint terrace at the north end of the village, free, the most complete view of the central Cinque Terre coastline — Vernazza visible to the north, Manarola to the south) and the bar at the top of the Lardarina (the reward for climbing the steps, the first cool drink with a sea view) are the village's essential experiences.
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Tramonti (Sunset Points) — the Best Photography Positions
The Cinque Terre's most celebrated photography positions require arriving on site before the tourist crowds at 10am (which means taking the first train from La Spezia at 7:15am or the first ferry from Portovenere at 9am): the hillside vineyard path above Manarola (the position above the village on the Volastra trail, 20 minutes above the village, the classic angled view of the tower houses above the harbour), the Punta Bonfiglio (the headland south of Manarola village, accessible via a path through the cemetery, free, the sunset position looking north along the coast) and the sea-wall terraces in Vernazza harbour (the tables of the Ananasso Bar at the mouth of the harbour, the classic position for the view into the village square from the sea).
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Monteosso Anchovy Festival — the Sagra dell'Acciuga
The Sagra dell'Acciuga (the Anchovy Festival of Monterosso al Mare, held in September each year, the celebration of the fresh anchovy season — the Engraulis encrasicolus of the northern Ligurian Sea, harvested June-September in the Cinque Terre fishing grounds by the traditional lamparo method using lanterns to attract the fish to the surface at night) is the most authentic food festival on the Cinque Terre coast. The anchovy preparations (the fresh anchovy marinated in lemon juice and olive oil for 24 hours, the salted anchovy preserved in terracotta with Sicilian sea salt for 3 months minimum, the anchovy under oil with garlic and parsley, the acciughe al verde with salsa verde — the definitive Ligurian anchovy preparations) are available at all 5 village restaurants year-round but at their freshest in August-September.