Cinque Terre

The five villages of the Cinque Terre are only part of this journey along the Ligurian coast. Beginning in Camogli, you'll explore the wooded Portofino peninsula and quieter stretches of the Riviera before reaching the Cinque Terre itself. Pine forests give way to terraced hillsides, sheltered coves and colourful fishing harbours, with time to explore the villages along the way. Short train journeys connect selected walks, allowing you to discover more of this varied coastline before your final day's walk to Portovenere, overlooking the Gulf of Poets.

From the hills above the Cinque Terre, the villages look quite different from their busy waterfronts. Colourful houses cluster around small harbours, while vineyards and olive groves occupy terraces supported by centuries-old dry-stone walls. The paths crossing these slopes once connected villages with their farmland, and following them gives you a closer understanding of how people have shaped this coastline. A morning spent climbing through woodland or descending old stone steps might end with lunch beside a harbour, the hills you have crossed rising behind you. This close connection between the landscape, the walking and everyday village life gives the Cinque Terre much of its character.