Why Vernazza is the best town in the Cinque Terre.
Vernazza, one of the 5 villages in the Cinque Terre, is idyllic in many ways. In other ways it is another example of rampant tourism.
Geographically it is gorgeous. The town is built up on the steep cliffs that surround the harbor. Pastel colored houses, small windy alleys decorated with potted plants, laundry hung out to dry from green-shuttered windows. A small fort on the harbor. It is a walker’s delight, each alley seems to bring yet another beautiful view on the town and harbor. A photographer’s dream, Vernazza is ideal, picture-perfect Italy. in our opinion it is the prettiest town in the Cinque Terra (Rick Steves agrees with us).
Accommodation: We stayed at Affittacamere Elisabetta. Recommended.
The problem is that it is far from being undiscovered. There are lots of tourists, especially on weekends, but also on weekdays when daytrippers come in. Only on weekday evenings do you get a sense of what Vernazza was like before mass tourism. Forget about trying to find a room last minute – I booked 3 months in advance and even then I had many rejections before finding anything. Restaurants and bars are jam packed at mid-day with daytrippers, you may even have to make a reservation to sit down for lunch.
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Anyway, forgetting about all the tourists we still really enjoyed Vernazza. It is a beautiful spot, one of the most beautiful anywhere. We climbed a lot of steps, took tons of photos, and drank beer / wine / expressos while people-gazing. The gelatos were also great. Vernazza was still many of the things I expected coming here.
Below: Lots more photos. I couldn’t stop taking them here.
Practical Information:
I really, really recommend staying at least one night in Vernazza and seeing the town after all the day trippers have left. We stayed at Affittacamere Elisabetta (good prices, comfortable place, incredible views). A couple of other recommendations: La Polena – Affittacamere (much of the same views but higher end), MaDa Charm Apartment Terrace & Carugio (in the heart of the town, high end, very nice). Finding a place in Vernazza can be difficult so book early.
Organized Tours. You really can’t stay a night in Vernazza? Then I recommend taking an organized tour such as this one from Florence which includes all the main towns of the Cinque Terra.
Have you been to Vernazza?
Related: The Best day trips from Lecce (Puglia)
Related: A Local’s Travel Guide to Italy
Related: 12 Surprising Places to See (that you may never have heard of)
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What amazing photographs! We have three nights in the Cinque Terra towards the end of June and would have made it longer except for all the accounts of how touristy and crowded the area now is. I hope the beauty of the area will make up for the jadedness of the locals though – I will let you know if this is the case. Thanks for making such a lovely blog.
Hi Celina. Please let me know how you find it, it’s been a few years since we went. I think you’ll love how pretty it is though 🙂
Beautiful photos. We stayed in Riomaggiore while visiting Cinque. It’s not quite as popular as Vernazza. Still, the village was so much more pleasant in the evenings when all the daytrippers left.