When people used to tell me that their favorite country is Italy, I never understood what the hype was about. Sure, the architecture is beautiful and timeless. But with the dizzying amount of crowds and expensive travel price tag, it didn’t appeal much to me – not until we visited Cinque Terre.
Johnrick and I were on a train to Milan and was going to stay there for a few days. I was on Pinterest, trying to find things to do in Milan, when all of a sudden I stumbled upon a photo of Vernazza in Cinque Terre. For a moment, I suddenly remembered how I have been wanting to go to Cinque Terre but just couldn’t find the right timing. I immediately asked Johnrick if we can go to Cinque Terre instead of staying in Milan for a while and once we got to our hotel in Milan, I checked out train schedules and booked accommodation in Vernazza.
We booked through Booking.com and found Camere Fontanavecchia. I can’t recommend this place enough because the owner is super nice and the most important thing that we liked about the place is its location. Centrally located in town, literally a few steps away from the start of the hike where you can find the famous views of Vernazza, stores just below the apartment, and just 2 minutes walk to the train station. The whole apartment was fully furnished and we even had a kitchen so we would buy groceries and cook sometimes, which lessened the cost of our expenses while we were there.
If you are planning on going to Cinque Terre (which I highly recommend) and are pressed on time and just wanted to go straight to the photography spots, save this blog post for the best Instagram spots while you’re there.
- RIOMAGGIORE – right after getting off the train, you’ll pass by a bustling street lined up with restaurants that will lead you to the harbor, which is the main focal point here. *Tip: you can grab a pizza to go in one of the stalls and eat it while watching sunset.
Wearing Lana dress from Miss June Paris. Get the must have Eyelet Maxi dresses here.
2. VERNAZZA VIEWPOINT #1 – this is probably the most popular view of Vernazza (or probably Cinque Terre) that you can see on most postcards. To get to this spot, you can either hike the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza or if you’re coming from Vernazza, the hiking trail starts from the main square (just beside our apartment). It was super accessible for us that we went twice. I heard people had to pay here to get on the trail. I’m not sure if it was just seasonal, but when we went in March, there wasn’t any guard so we didn’t really have to pay to go. *Tip: I suggest going for sunset for better lighting. The sun is pretty harsh during the day and even in the morning when we went for the first time.
Wearing Lucy dress from Red Carter
3. VERNAZZA VEWPOINT #2 – this view is just across the stairs going to the first viewpoint. You wouldn’t have a hard time finding it because people go here to continue their hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. I like this spot because you can see the whole of Vernazza from here and you can even see the beach. We didn’t even know Vernazza has another beach till we went up here.
My cute clutch/purse is from Ilha Philippines. You can also check out other fun clutches here. Hat from Lack of Color but you can check out other straw hats from Shopbop. Some of my favorite brands are Brixton and Hat Attack.
4. NESSUN DORMA RESTAURANT – located in Manarola, there’s no other restaurant that can offer such stunning view of the town as that of Nessun Dorma. I heard that the place can get packed especially during sunset. So we went a little bit earlier for dinner to get seated to the tables with the view and ordered food and ate very slowly till it was time for sunset. *Tip: don’t forget to order Aperol Spritz. Their bruschetta is pretty good too.
Wearing Stripes Set in White from Bisou Bisou Store. Find the cutest matching sets here.
5. VERNAZZA HARBOR – You can probably guess by now that Vernazza is my favorite out of all the towns in Cinque Terre. Johnrick and I would walk to the harbor from our Airbnb and buy the best gelato in all of Cinque Terre at Il Porticciolo.
Wearing Front-Tie Maxi Dress from Auguste the Label
Other than these IG famous spots, here are some other tips/recommendations that I have if you plan on going in the future:
- If you’re planning on walking the path, make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes, hat or scarf. Also bring a water bottle.
- Bring swimsuits so you can swim right after a sweaty day of walking
- Shoulder season – between May and September – is a good time to visit the Cinque Terre, with warm days and less people than during peak season
- Stay in one of the villages so you an enjoy the calmness right after all the day-trippers are gone – make sure you try to book early because accommodation can get pricey
- Make sure you try the local seafood, with cones of fried calamari, shrimp and anchovies available everywhere
Hope you put Cinque Terre on your list of “Must Visit” places. It is definitely one of my favorite places in the world and I can’t wait till we go back again someday.
xo,
Cherrie
