The Cinque Terre consists of five well-know fishing villages perched over the sea in the region of Liguria, Italy, and coastal area also known as the Italian Riviera. They have been incorporated into the smallest Italian National Park called Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, for which you will pay an entrance fee.As the villages have little or no parking, it’s best to reach the Cinque Terre by train. You’ll likely change trains in La Spezia if you’re coming from other destinations in Tuscany. More on La Spezia below.
Notes on Walking the Cinque Terre Trails
The numbers on the map are trail numbers. Trail markers and maps will refer to these numbers.
Notice that each town has its local church. Once you’ve walked the Sentiero Azzuro, you might find it interesting to walk to one or more of the shrines located above each village.
- Nostra Signora di Soviore
- Nostra Signora di Reggio
- Nostra Signora delle Grazie e di S.Bernardino
- Nostra Signora della Salute
- Nostra Signora di Montenero
- Cinque Terre’s High Path
The wide Red Path shown in the map is known as the Cinque Terre’s High Path or C.A.I. n°1 path. It begins in Portovenere and ends in Levanto, following the spine of the coastal range. There is an 800 meter elevation gain (and loss!). You probably shouldn’t try to do the whole walk in one day; it’s 40 km long and recommended for experienced walkers. The views are superb.
How to get in
Since the Cinque Terre is now a national park, you will pay a fee to walk the trails. You will do this buy buying a Cinque Terre Card. The card comes in two flavors, with and without unlimited train service, and two durations, one or two days. Special discounts are available for families and children.
Cinque Terre Card
Get a Cinque Terre Treno MS if you want to combine your trekking with unlimited train use. It will cost about 5 euro more than the Carta Parco card, which doesn’t provide access to train service.
