The Cinque Terre is a small area of dramatic coastline between Genoa and La Spezia.It is a national park and –you guessed it-a Unesco World heritage site. Unesco describes it as “An area covering some 15km of jagged steep coastline, which the work of man over the centuries has transformed into an intensively terraced landscape, so as to be able to wrest from nature a few hectares of land suitable for agriculture, such as growing vines and olives. Most of these terraces were built in the 12th century”
From the north, the 5 villages giving the name to this area are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglio, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
From the start it was clear that driving to these places would be unthinkable by car, let alone by van. But they are all easily accessible by train, as the main rail line from Genoa to La Spezia runs through all of them, though a series of tunnels, just 200 metres from the sea, and the local stopping trains halt at all the villages.
I re-joined the motorway above Genoa, which showed no sign of running out of tunnels and viaducts ,several of the tunnels being more than 2km in length. My road journey today was just 60km,and I think I might have spent more than half of it in tunnels .Dropping down from the motorway and winding down towards the coast I found the campsite I was aiming for ,"Campeggio Arenella" , at the sleepy little seaside village of Deiva Marina, just north of the Cinque Terre. There was no-one to be found anywhere on the site but I left the van there and walked the 1km down to the station.
Don’t take this rail line if you want to see the scenery ,for the whole run is almost completely through( even more) tunnels, with the train emerging into the daylight only at stations, a bit like the Circle Line in London. Even some of the stations are in tunnels.With local trains running through every hour or so ,and with less than 5 minutes between village stations, it would be possible to see all five villages in a day.With only a short afternoon to spare,though, I managed to visit only Riomaggiore and Vernazza
From the north, the 5 villages giving the name to this area are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglio, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
From the start it was clear that driving to these places would be unthinkable by car, let alone by van. But they are all easily accessible by train, as the main rail line from Genoa to La Spezia runs through all of them, though a series of tunnels, just 200 metres from the sea, and the local stopping trains halt at all the villages.
I re-joined the motorway above Genoa, which showed no sign of running out of tunnels and viaducts ,several of the tunnels being more than 2km in length. My road journey today was just 60km,and I think I might have spent more than half of it in tunnels .Dropping down from the motorway and winding down towards the coast I found the campsite I was aiming for ,"Campeggio Arenella" , at the sleepy little seaside village of Deiva Marina, just north of the Cinque Terre. There was no-one to be found anywhere on the site but I left the van there and walked the 1km down to the station.
Don’t take this rail line if you want to see the scenery ,for the whole run is almost completely through( even more) tunnels, with the train emerging into the daylight only at stations, a bit like the Circle Line in London. Even some of the stations are in tunnels.With local trains running through every hour or so ,and with less than 5 minutes between village stations, it would be possible to see all five villages in a day.With only a short afternoon to spare,though, I managed to visit only Riomaggiore and Vernazza
 Riomaggiore |  |
Vernazza
These villages are breathtakingly scenic. Because of their easy access by rail they clearly have the potential to be rammed with tourists in the summer and there were quite a few American voices even now , even though half the shops in the villages have yet to open for the season. In some ways the villages resemble some of the smallest Cornish fishing villages .They look very photogenic, and the little streets have a high concentration of restaurants, ice cream shops, and a few little boutiques and art galleries. They still retain a very primitive air, though. Keeping the Cornish analogy alive, there were pictures up in Vernazza of a huge flash flood that had torn through the place in 2011,much like that which Boscastle suffered.
 Manarola |  Corniglia (not my pictures) |
There is a coast path that connects all the villages, and there are little hotels and guest houses you can stay in, in all of them-so maybe a return is due one day!
Monterosso,which seems to be the largest and most upmarket of the Cinque Terre towns. Note the railway line and tunnel just behind the beach.
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