So, which is the best Cinque Terre town to stay in?
Last updated: June 2026
You only need to see one photo of the Cinque Terre to know it’s a place you want – scratch that – need to visit. You may have read that Cinque Terre means five towns in Italian, so once you’ve made the easy decision to visit – a harder one comes to mind: ‘Which Cinque Terre town is the best to stay in?’.
I’ve thought about this question a lot, as well as which is my favourite Cinque Terre town in general. For the record, the answer to both of these for me is the same: Vernazza.
But each of the five Cinque Terre towns is an absolute gem and if you’re lucky enough to stay in any of them, you’ll love it. The towns are all quite small and it’s easy and quick to get between them by train, so my main piece of advice is don’t agonise too much over which is the best to stay in. But in this article, I’ll try to help by explaining what each is like to help you decide which is the best to stay in for you.
I've added a hotel pick for each of the three towns I've stayed in along the way, plus two more options at the end in La Spezia and Levanto if you're struggling to find accommodation in the Cinque Terre itself. Wherever you decide to stay, book early. The villages are small, the best places fill up months ahead, and several have minimum-stay requirements in peak season.
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Riomaggiore
Best for:
Sweeping views
Watching the sunset
Best pizza in Cinque Terre
If you’re coming from Pisa or La Spezia, Riomaggiore is the first of the five towns. I’ve read others call it a party-town, but I’ve stayed there a number of times and in my experience, Riomaggiore is one of the calmest and quietest towns in the Cinque Terre. It’s often busy at sunset down by the water and its main street is busy with al fresco dining at dinner, but the crowds rarely linger long into the night.
While Riomaggiore is well-loved, it’s unlikely you’ll hear many people declare that it’s their favourite town in the Cinque Terre; it just doesn’t quite have the pizazz of Vernazza or Manarola. But, I personally think it’s one of the best towns to stay in. If you can find an apartment or hotel room that is high up in Riomaggiore with a balcony (see my recommendation just below), you’ll get sweeping views of its colourful buildings, steep hills lined with vineyards and olive groves, and boats sailing by on the calm Ligurian Sea down below, all at once. It’s an incredibly beautiful town to wake up in.
If you stay in Riomaggiore, make the most of it by spending a late afternoon walking up to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montenero church that sits high above the town and offers a panoramic view of the coastline and stunning unobstructed views of the sunset. Afterwards you can walk down through the vineyards as the town begins to light up and sparkle below you. It’s not an easy walk up or down, and you should ensure you’ve got phone battery so you can use your phone light on the way down so you don’t trip – but it’s worth it. Finish your evening by getting a takeaway pizza from what I consider to be the best pizza in the five Cinque Terre towns: Kepris Pizzeria.
Where to stay in Riomaggiore
Cinqueterre Residence sits high above Riomaggiore with the whole village and the sea spread out below. Davide and his family run it, and they've thought of everything. A panoramic terrace, a hot tub, breakfast served outside in the morning. A big plus is that there's a luggage lift up from the centre (which matters because the climb up the hill isn't for the faint hearted!). There is a four-night minimum, but that’s about right for the Cinque Terre anyway.
Manarola
Best for:
Foodies
Easy to reach viewpoints
Sunbathing
If you’ve seen photos of the Cinque Terre, you’ve probably seen photos of Manarola. On a podcast I listened to recently with American travel writer Rick Steves, he said ‘Nobody goes to Manarola, and all of a sudden everybody's going to Manarola’. And he is right: these days, Manarola is the place to be – largely due to its reputation for foodies.
Much of this reputation is down to Nessun Dorma, which is without a doubt, the spot to eat in Cinque Terre. Everybody will tell you that you have to go there. And, I agree. Considering the food served there is quite simple – cheese, charcuterie, focaccia, etc. and they don’t do reservations, meaning you have to line up, sometimes for hours under the hot Italian sun, at first I didn’t really understand the cult-like appeal. The restaurant has a stunning view over Manarola, but you can get that view or an even better one standing in the garden above. So, what is all the fuss about? Well, after doing on their pesto-making class the last time I was in Cinque Terre – I’m a convert. I loved the owner Simone and his story and dedication to high quality local produce. I think it’s worth lining up (but I’d never wait more than 30 minutes) – or even better – do the pesto-making class which is really fun and guarantees you the best seat in the house without having to line up, when they open for lunch.
But I digress, because Manarola wouldn't be my first choice to stay in Cinque Terre. In my experience, it's one of the most expensive towns to stay and it's so small, it's easy to explore without staying there. It wouldn't be my first choice to stay unless I really wanted to splash out and pay for an amazing Airbnb. The walk to Corniglia remains closed until at least 2029. However, the Via dell'Amore to Riomaggiore has reopened — it's the easiest and flattest of all the Cinque Terre walks and only takes about 20 minutes. You now need to prebook a timed entry slot online, which actually works in your favour if you're staying in Manarola as you can book an early slot and who knows, maybe you’ll have it all to yourself.
Corniglia
Best for:
Authenticity
Best gelato
A laid back vibe
Longer stays
Lots of people don’t visit Corniglia when they visit the Cinque Terre. Why? Because you’ll hear account, after account of how it’s hard to get to compared to the other four towns and that you’ll have to wait for a bus to take you from the train station to the town or climb more than 350 stairs to get there. And, yes that is true. But in my opinion, it’s worth the 15-minute walk from the station (I would always walk, over a bus, plus the stairs aren’t steep and the views are amazing). I adore Corniglia. It’s the fact that it’s hard to get to and isn’t on the water that make it he most unique of the five towns. It’s an oasis, away from the tourist hustle and bustle of the other busier towns. It also has the best gelato in the Cinque Terre – and yes – I did the hard yards on this claim and personally checked this by spending a whole day going to each town and sampling the gelato available.
That said, if you’re only in the Cinque Terre briefly – which many tourists are – Corniglia might not be the best place to stay. Its location means it is less accessible than the other towns, and fewer trains stop at its station, meaning you often have to wait longer to get to the other towns and plan more precisely around the train timetable. I think Corniglia is best if you’re staying for a bit longer and you’re looking for a more laid back and authentic experience. If you decide to stay in Corniglia, or just visit while you’re in the Cinque Terre, make sure you get a homemade gelato – or two or three – from Alberto Gelateria.
Vernazza
Best for:
Great breakfasts
Easy to reach viewpoints
Starting point for walks
Swimming
Let me get something out of the way – Vernazza is my favourite town in the Cinque Terre. And that makes me pretty cliché – it’s a lot of people’s favourite. Venazza seems to be the most popular town in the Cinque Terre, and with good reason. It has a natural port and two beaches where you can swim, restaurants, bars, and multiple lookouts that are relatively easy to reach where you can take amazing photos. Because it’s so popular, Vernazza can be extremely busy during the day. So if you stay here, you can enjoy it when all the other tourists have gone home for the day.
In my opinion, Vernazza is the best Cinque Terre town to stay in. At the moment, it’s also the only town in the Cinque Terre where you can hike easily to two other towns on either side of it: you can walk north to Monterosso and south to Corniglia. Staying here makes it a bit easy to get up early and do these hikes before the crowds turn up.
If you choose to stay in Vernazza, make sure you have a pastry and granita breakfast from Il Pirata — they're to die for. The Belforte is a great place to enjoy lunch or dinner with uninterrupted sea views. And if you fancy trying your hand at one of Liguria's most iconic dishes, this pesto making class in Vernazza is genuinely one of the most fun things I've done anywhere in Italy. I've actually done two pesto making classes in the Cinque Terre (the other at Nessun Dorma in Manarola) - so if you ever need a pesto consult, I'm your person.
This one is tucked inside a charming little wine bar in the heart of Vernazza - which is ideal if you don't have the best weather. We did ours on a rainy day and it was a perfect way to still enjoy an Italian experience without feeling like we were wasting the day.
Where to stay in Vernazza
Camere Giuliano Basso is the standout pick in Vernazza, where accommodation is tight. The owner built the place himself using traditional dry stone walling (the same technique that holds up the terraced vineyards across the Cinque Terre) and you can feel the care in the detail. It's tucked on the hillside above the train station, which is a win: you escape the day-tripper crowds but stay only five minutes from the harbour piazza. The family will meet you at the station and help with the luggage, so you don’t have to navigate the stairs yourself. Just book ahead: there are only four rooms and they go fast.
Monterosso al Mare
Best for:
Beaches
Accommodation choices
Starting point for walks
Easy to reach wineries
Monterosso is the biggest of the five towns and to me – feels like the least Cinque Terre-ry town. With its long, sprawling sandy beach packed with colourful umbrellas, it has much more of a beach resort feel than the other towns. So if you love the beach – Monterosso is the place to stay. The walk from Monterosso to Vernazza is beautiful and since it’s open, it’s a popular one, so another advantage of staying in Monterosso, is that you can get up early and do the walk before it gets too crowded. But be warned, it’s a pretty steep walk with lots of steps.
If you’re a wine-lover, Monterosso also has an easily walkable winery nearby, when you can sit on the large patio watching over beautiful scenery and try some local wines.
Where to stay in Monterosso
I stayed at Locanda Il Maestrale and absolutely loved it. It's a small six-room B&B in a restored 18th-century building in the old town, two minutes from the beach and five from the train station. Stefania and Giovanni run it and they're wonderful hosts. Breakfast is on the terrace with freshly-squeezed orange juice and made-to-order cappuccinos. One practical heads-up: check-in closes at 8pm, so message them a few days before to confirm your arrival time (we didn't realise and only made it in the nick of time).
Other options for where to stay in the Cinque Terre
If the villages themselves are fully booked, or you’d just prefer somewhere a bit cheaper and quieter, La Spezia and Levanto are both excellent fallbacks (I’ve stayed in La Spezia and my husband has stayed in Levanto). You're a 15-20 minute train ride into the Cinque Terre, which isn’t much when the trains run every few minutes. La Spezia is a proper port city with frequent connections and a wider range of hotels; Levanto is more of a relaxed seaside town with a long sandy beach and a lovely evening atmosphere.
In La Spezia, Hotel Firenze e Continentale is directly opposite Centrale station, which means you can roll out of bed and jump straight onto a train to the Cinque Terre in minutes. It's in a beautiful, historic central building, with breakfast, a gym and a bar downstairs. It’s worth knowing that it's more of a city hotel than a seaside escape — the vibe is quite Italian but business-y rather than beachy.
In Levanto, Hotel Carla is a six-minute walk from the station and ten from the beach. It's a small modern three-star hotel with free bikes, and the reception staff will sort restaurant bookings and train timetables for you (I’ll take less admin any day!). Levanto is also lovely to come back to in the evening after a day battling for space in the villages. Eat in at La Picea or take their pizzas to the beach.
A note on booking
There aren't many hotels in the Cinque Terre, so book months ahead. If you're flexible, La Spezia and Levanto are easier on both availability and price.
And if you're passing through Milan on the way to or from Cinque Terre — the train from Milano Centrale to La Spezia takes about three hours — it's worth adding a night to see Da Vinci's Last Supper. Tickets are notoriously hard to get, so here's how the booking system works and what to do if your dates are sold out.
