After the Portofino Marathon: Cinque Terre and Portovenere

The Route: Santa Margherita Ligure → Monterosso al Mare (1 night) → La Spezia or Portovenere (1 night) → Santa Margherita Ligure Logistics: Regional trains run along the coast to Levanto and La Spezia, and a local train links the five villages. Journey time depends on the service and the change. Check the timetable, and check the Cinque Terre park's website for open paths before you go. Marathon Month: January Duration: 2 nights

Santa Margherita ──(train, about 1 hr-1 hr 30)──> Monterosso al Mare
                                                      │
                          local train through Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola
                                                      │
                                       Riomaggiore ── La Spezia
                                                      │
                                       bus or boat to Portovenere

The five villages of the Cinque Terre hang on a coast so steep that the people who settled it built walls of dry stone to hold up small terraces for vines and lemons. The walls, stacked without mortar over centuries, run for kilometres and are the real monument here. The area, with Portovenere and its islands, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1997. The railway came in the nineteenth century, and the trains still run through tunnels between the villages.

This is a trip for sore legs in the wrong way. The villages are small, and almost every one involves steps: from the station, between the houses and down to the harbour. A day in Monterosso al Mare is the gentlest, because it has a flat seafront and a long promenade. Vernazza and Manarola need stairs. Corniglia sits on a cliff, and the way up from the station is a very long flight of steps, so most people use the shuttle bus or skip it after a marathon.

January in the Cinque Terre: the crowds are gone, and so are many of the boats and some of the restaurants. Walking paths are often closed after rain or landslides, and the sea can be too rough for the ferries. The days are short and cool, and some shops and hotels shut for the winter. In exchange, you can see the villages with space to walk. Expect to use the train for most of the movement.

Getting there

From Santa Margherita Ligure, take a regional train south along the coast to Levanto or to La Spezia. At Levanto, change for the local trains that stop in each of the five villages. Journeys of about an hour to an hour and a half are typical, but they depend on the day. Buy a ticket in advance, and check the Cinque Terre Card options, which cover the trains and the park paths, on the park's website.

Night one: Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso is the largest village and the only one with a proper beach, split into the old town and the newer Fegina quarter by a headland. The seafront is flat. Hotels and guesthouses are close to the station in Fegina, and in the old town there are steps and cobbles. Two choices to check are Hotel Pasquale, on the seafront in the old town, and Hotel Porto Roca, on the cliff path, which involves a climb. Many places close for the winter, so confirm that a hotel is open before you plan around it.

Local specialities are salted anchovies, which the village is known for, and sciacchetrà, a sweet wine made from dried grapes grown on the terraces. Look for a trattoria with a short menu and ask for the fish of the day.

The villages by train

On the next day, use the local train to move between the villages, and decide at each stop whether to get off. Vernazza has a small harbour and a castle tower, and the walk from the station to the sea is short and downhill. Manarola is the most photographed of the five, a cluster of tall houses on a rock above a small slipway. Riomaggiore is the last village and the steepest in its layout.

Paths between the villages are variable in winter. Some sections of the Sentiero Azzurro, the blue trail, are often closed for maintenance, and none of it is easy on tired legs. Check the park's current status before you set off, and treat the train as the main route.

Night two: La Spezia or Portovenere

For the second night, move on to La Spezia, a working port town with a flat centre, regular trains and more year-round hotels. From La Spezia, buses and, in season, boats run to Portovenere. Winter boats are limited, so check the schedule. A bus is the reliable option.

Portovenere is a harbour town with a row of tall coloured houses facing the water, and a black-and-white church, San Pietro, perched on the rocks at the tip of the headland. The walk from the bus stop to the church is mostly flat and then up a short flight. Lord Byron is said to have swum across the bay to Lerici from here, which is why one of the grottoes carries his name. Several hotels close for the winter, so check availability first. Grand Hotel Portovenere is the best-known option; confirm that it is open on your dates.

Getting back