So the man and I are thinking about doing our 5 year anniversary in Cinque Terre in late June or so (since we’re on this side of the pond this year and it’s his parents’ favorite place ever, so he’s very interested and I just don’t know too much about it). I’m a little worried about it being horribly over-touristed-- is it much worse than, say, Venice or Bruges or Amsterdam or Paris or other tourist centers, or better (I know it’s been ‘discovered’ by Americans in the last few years, ala Prague. . .)? Is it cool? What should one do? Suggestions for eats/ sleeps? We’re thinking about heading down there via Turin (I have some work I need to do there)-- is this a good option? Which town should we try to stay in? What is there to do aside from hike and eat fish? Any good links to follow, please feel free to post.
Thanks in advance!
I will never forget the feeling I had when I walked down into Vernazza for the first time. I’ll never forget it.
I can’t speak to how “touristy” it has become, since I was there in the relative off-season and it felt like I had the run of the place to myself. I don’t know what it’s like in the busy season.
The hiking was fantastic, if a little demanding in places. The long trail between the second and third towns (can’t remember all the names right now) was a long way uphill, but the view was spectacular. There are less demanding hikes. Be careful in the vineyards–I managed to fall off one of the terraces and was lucky that it wasn’t a very steep one.
Get the Rick Steves book on Italy–I’ve already passed mine on, so I can’t refer to it. He recommends a great place to stay in Vernazza that I ended up in–it was a nice room at a great price, but was up a shitload of steps. (You should be noticing a pattern here by now.)
And, of course, be sure to drink plenty of the local wine and eat the local fish and pesto.
I’m going to once again advise to check the “europe” discussion board on www. fodors.com. , and either make a search or ask away. There are very often threads about Cinque Terre. This board is extremely active and full of very aknowledgeable people. That’s why I usually don’t miss a chance to mention it when people ask a question about an european destination (or to mention www.eurotrip.com for young backpackers).
Caveat : it’s a great board for travel-related questions (and apparently the non-Europe boards on this site aren’t as good by a long shot). For any other topic, forget about it.
I know nothing about Europe but just wanted to say…
5 years…Cinque Terra? It’s kismet, you gotta go!