La Spezia, Cinque Terre, Italy

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Day 4 - La Spezia is a huge port town with cruise ships coming in and out every day, and it also is a base for the Italian navy. Needless to say, there are no shortage of boats around here (hehehe). While you won't find as much art and history as say a Rome or Florence, there are still a surprising number of museums to check out. All in all, La Spezia is a nice little town.

Cinque Terre - to describe as an area of land, not one place. The Cinque Terre is actually a national park, a protected waterway and a UNESCO World Heritage site. No vehicle traffic is allowed inside the villages. This explains why the area is well preserved, it has a way of transporting you to a simpler time… a time before McDonald, KFC and STARBUCK.

Riomaggiore - Is our first stop by train. It has one main street, a harbor, a rocky beach, a castle, a church, a pharmacy, and a dozen restaurants. It also has good train connections and is the closest to the main city of La Spezia.

Manarola. Next stop, It also has a one-street town, with a small harbor where you can swim. It has an incredible spit of land where the most famous Cinque Terre photos are taken from. It’s very similar to Riomaggiore.

Corniglia. Located on the top of a panoramic hilltop, features fantastic panoramic views, an intriguing history and delicious white wine after a steep hike. 280 steps ups, to be exact! Hungry and exhausted, we settled fro a restaurant inside town were we ordered a bowl of pasta with anchovy and spaghetti with clams. OMG! OMG! OMG! So, so GOOD!



Vernazza. This village is the most popular village. Vernazza is also a one-street town with a church built on the water. She has a castle, the remains of the old wall that protected against pirates, a gorgeous waterfront piazza and a harbor with a spit of sand I would even call a beach.

Cinque Terre, love this place. We would visit this place over and over if we have the chance. We love the the serenity, the churches the fishing port and most of all the scenic the beauty of this place, minus the tourist!

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