Liguria · Wine route · 2 days
Cinque Terre Terrace Trail Five car-free villages, one ticketed cliff path and the steepest vineyards in Italy, walked from Levanto to Riomaggiore.
22
km end to end
2
days
6
stops, Levanto to Riomaggiore
1
denomination crossed
Why this drive: No car, and that is the point: the Cinque Terre's wine is farmed from terraces a vehicle cannot reach, and the path between villages is the vineyard tour. You walk beneath dry-stone walls holding up Bosco and Albarola vines, pass the monorack trolleys that carry the harvest down the cliffs, and finish each stage in a village pouring the DOC and its rare passito, Sciacchetra. The train covers any leg your knees decline.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 6 · Levanto
Day 1
Day 1 · Levanto to Vernazza
1
Stop 1 · Park here, not there
Levanto
The parking-and-provisions town before the park: Colline di Levanto whites at the local cantina, then boots on.
What to taste here
- Vermentino The warm-up glass before the DOC proper starts past the headland
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC The terraces begin one ridge south
The Punta Mesco path leaves from the east end of the beach: three hours over the headland, past the ruined San Antonio hermitage at the top. Buy the Cinque Terre Card before you set off.
2
Stop 2 · Anchovies and the long beach
Monterosso al Mare
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe only village with a proper beach, plus lemon terraces, anchovies and Sciacchetra flights at Buranco's amphitheatre of vines.
What to taste here
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC Bosco-led whites for the anchovies the town salts
Buranco's tasting garden sits five minutes up the valley behind the old town. On peak days the onward stage to Vernazza runs one-way from here: check before lingering over lunch.
Where to eat
Monterosso anchovies, then chitarra pasta
Ristorante Miky. Via Fegina 104, on the seafront by the station. Michele and Simonetta's family kitchen since 1980, built on the morning's boats.
3
Stop 3 · The harbour everyone photographs
Vernazza
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe postcard harbour, with the Cantina Cinque Terre's tasting room above it and the best-kept stretch of terraces on the climb in.
What to taste here
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC Poured on the harbour wall it grew above
The path from Monterosso lands you above the castle tower, and the classic photograph is fifty metres before the village gate. The Doria castle and a harbour-wall glass of the co-op's cru bottlings close the stage.
Where to eat
Daily pesto in a sea tower
Ristorante Belforte. Via Guidoni 42, terraces stacked up a medieval tower over the water; the pesto is pounded in-house every day.
Day 2 · Corniglia to Riomaggiore
4
Stop 4 · The high village
Corniglia
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe one village the sea cannot reach: a hundred metres up, a belvedere town ringed by vines.
What to taste here
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC The one village without a harbour keeps wine bars instead
- Sciacchetra Attic-dried Bosco; tiny production, honest price
The Lardarina's 377 steps climb from the station platform; a shuttle bus takes the lazy. San Pietro's rose window and a terrace gelato before the day's big climb to Volastra.
5
Stop 5 · Terraces and the monorail
Manarola
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe most photographed of the five, its harbour framed by the Manarola amphitheatre with Volastra's high vines above.
What to taste here
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC The steepest plots above town feed the co-op cellar at Groppo
The direct coastal path from Corniglia is closed indefinitely, so you arrive the honest way: up through Volastra's vineyards on the high route, the best wine-terrace walking in the park. Nessun Dorma's aperitivo has the view; the descent to the harbour explains every euro of Sciacchetra.
Where to eat
Seafood antipasti above the village
Trattoria dal Billy. Via Rollandi 122, three terraced levels at the top of Manarola looking down the coast. Its website was unreachable when we checked, so ring ahead.
6
Stop 6 · The last stairs
Riomaggiore
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe last and steepest village, its harbour a paint-box slot in the cliff; sunset Sciacchetra and acciughe al verde.
What to taste here
- Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC Possa farms the cliffs above town by boat and monorail
Arrive by the reopened Via dell'Amore from Manarola, half an hour of flat, ticketed cliff path. Possa's cellar sits in the upper village, visits booked ahead, and the co-op's winery at Groppo is on the hill road above.
Where to taste
Azienda Agricola Possa
60 minutes
Booking required
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
Late September, when the cliffs are picked
April to June and mid-September to October: walkable heat and the terraces in leaf or harvest. The Sciacchetra grapes come off the cliffs in late September, the most spectacular fortnight to be on the path. July and August mean queues at the trail gates by mid-morning; winter brings storm closures and short days, with the train still running past it all.
Booking reality
One cliff estate, booked ahead
Possa, the one estate on this trail with bookable visits in our data, requires booking ahead: Samuele Heydi Bonanini's cliff plots above Riomaggiore are worked by boat and monorail. The Cantina Cinque Terre cooperative at Groppo and the village enoteche pour without an appointment.
Driving notes
The train is the car
Leave the car at the Levanto or La Spezia station car parks; the villages are closed to visitor traffic and their approach roads end in tiny paid lots that fill by nine. The Cinque Terre Card covers the ticketed trail stages and unlimited trains between the villages. On peak days the Monterosso to Vernazza stage runs one-way southbound, and the Corniglia to Manarola coastal stretch is closed indefinitely, with the Volastra alternative a genuine climb. Check section status with the national park before committing a day.
ZTL
Car-free villages, full stop
Not a ZTL but something stricter: the five villages are effectively car-free, with resident-only access and almost no visitor parking. Treat Levanto and La Spezia as the route's car parks and arrive by rail from there.
Getting a car
Skip the car entirely
Arrive by rail: the Genoa and Pisa lines meet the villages through La Spezia and Levanto, and the Cinque Terre Express does the rest. If a road trip delivers you here anyway, the station car parks at Levanto or La Spezia are the only sane place to leave the car, because nothing between the villages wants it.
Leave the driving out
Do this route with a guide
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Guided along this route
Someone drives the whole itinerary above
From Levanto or Monterosso: Guided Cinque Terre Boat Cruise
Join a boat cruise from Levanto or Monterosso and see the picturesque Cinque Terre. Marvel at centuries-old villages from the water and swim in the pristine waters of ...
3 hours
From €116
Book via
Getyourguide
Cinque Terre: Hybrid Boat Tour with Swimming Stop
Explore Cinque Terre's bays and colorful villages on a boat tour from Monterosso. Enjoy prosecco while soaking in stunning UNESCO site views with a small group. Swim i...
3 hours
From €119
Book via
Getyourguide
La Spezia: Cinque Terre & Portovenere Open Bar food & Swim
Escape the crowds on a luxury small-group cruise. Swim in hidden bays, enjoy Prosecco & focaccia with open bar. Max 12 guests. Often fully booked.
7.5 hours
From €152
Book via
Getyourguide
Before you ask
Cinque Terre Terrace Trail, answered
Technically a high road exists, but the villages are closed to visitor cars and parking is scarce to nonexistent. Park at Levanto or La Spezia and use the Cinque Terre Express and the coastal path instead; every village is a five-minute hop by train.
The Cinque Terre's dried-grape passito: Bosco-led, with Albarola and Vermentino, the bunches raisined into November in village attics. Production is tiny and the price reflects the labour, because every bottle is farmed off a cliff by hand and monorail.
Yes, from spring to autumn the Sentiero Azzurro stages between Monterosso, Vernazza and Corniglia are ticketed, and the reopened Via dell'Amore runs on timed entry. The Cinque Terre Card bundles the path with unlimited local trains.
At the station car parks in Levanto or La Spezia, the two ends of the trail. The village approach roads end in tiny paid lots that fill by nine, and the centres themselves are closed to visitor cars.
The Cinque Terre Express, which hops every village in about five minutes a leg. Most walkers do the stages one way and ride back, and the Cinque Terre Card bundles unlimited trains with the ticketed path.
The coastal Corniglia to Manarola stretch is closed indefinitely, with the Volastra alternative a genuine climb through the vineyards. On peak days the Monterosso to Vernazza stage runs one-way southbound; check section status with the national park before committing a day.
Take it with you
Save the one estate on this road as a trip
They land in a trip named after the route, in drive order. Reorder them, drop one, add a night, before you book anything.
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