Teacup visits the Cinque Terre

In a couple of weeks, the Cinque Terre will be a mad house. But for now, these five little villages on Italy’s coast are somewhat accessible – without the craziness of peak season. With my teacup in tow, I explored Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.

Riomaggiore was my home for three days. It turned out to be my favourite of the five villages. There is a path through the Cinque Terre National Park that links all five, but because of landslides in recent years, not all of it is open. Manorala is a short, 10-minute stroll along Lover’s Lane, the path that connects it to Riomaggiore.

The Cinque Terre trail would usually give tourists a beautiful, if a bit rugged, trek along the coastline. But that’s not possible at the moment, nor will it be anytime soon. There is a second track between Manarola and Corniglia, but it goes way up the mountains and is quite challenging. There is no track between Corniglia and Vernazza. So it was with a combination of walking, trains and hiking that I made it to Monterosso.