Cinque Terre Adventures: Manarola
- Amin Esmaily
- Jan 9, 2024
- 2 min read
After Corniglia, we continued our exploration of the Cinque Terre by visiting Manarola, the second smallest and oldest of the five villages.
Manarola is famous for its colorful houses that cling to the cliffs above the sea. From Corniglia, it's only a 2-minute train ride to Manarola. You can hike the 3.6-mile journey, but it is a challenging one.
When we got off the train, we followed signs to the center of town. We walked along the main street, Via di Mezzo, which is lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants. The streets are quite narrow and even in the off-season, it was quite crowded.
We then decided to hike up to the Punta Bonfiglio, a viewpoint that offers a spectacular view of Manarola and the coast. The hike was not too difficult, and it took us about 20 minutes to reach the top. There are public restrooms at the top (although like almost all of Italy, they will cost you) and a restaurant called Nessun Dorma. This restaurant is so popular that you have to make a reservation in advance.
After our hike, we headed back down to the village and hung out by the harbor. While Manarola does not have any beaches, we did find some people swimming in the marina.
Our last meal in Manarola was at Trattoria La Scogliera, a restaurant on Via Renato Birolli. The place was cozy and the staff was friendly, but the food was average and not very memorable. We weren’t surprised by the quality, since the area was very touristy. The portions were generous, though. The worst part of our dining experience here and all throughout Cinque Terre was the flies. They were everywhere, especially when we ate outside. I’m not usually bothered by such things but the sheer number of flies was really startling. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really enjoy our food at our own pace because we had to keep waving them away.
Well that's a wrap from Manarola! In my next post, I'll detail our last stop in Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore!
With gratitude,
Amin
Comments