One Day in Manarola: "The Best Town in Cinque Terre"

Way back in June of 2018 my husband signed me up to attend a retreat for women working around the world in various capacities, and while working on travel logistics, we discovered that it would work best for me and my travel companions to leave the day before the retreat began.  My friend, Kristen, asked, "Is Cinque Terre nearby?"  A quick Google search revealed it was!

I'm not very good at planning ahead, so I didn't do any research into Manarola--the second smallest of the five towns making up Cinque Terre--until a couple of weeks before, and I couldn't believe the beauty we would get to see!  

Tourists aren't allowed to drive cars into Manarola; we paid to park just outside of the town.  It's good to know ahead of time that you might be walking up and down several sets of stairs in tight places with your luggage, so pack lightly.  It's not the place for your big rolling suitcase, as we realized when our Airbnb host took one look at our suitcases and told us it was "a very bad idea."  We stuffed our backpacks with what we needed for the night and left the big suitcases in the car, totally the right call.

Our Airbnb host has lived in Manarola his entire life.  Referencing the stairs and the hills he said, "It is beautiful but very difficult."  He also told us the best place to get a good view of the sunset this time of year, which was such great information to share.  It's a great question to ask a local if you're traveling to a beautiful place.

This was my first time to see the Mediterranean.  The air was so cool and fresh coming off the sea.  We ate lunch near the harbor outside where I enjoyed maybe the best tomato of my life, and a lady spontaneously began singing a selection of Italian opera at a back table in the restaurant's pavilion.  The chatter of all the other customers slowly faded away, and when her song ended, everyone clapped and cheered.  As Elwood P. Dowd said, "Harvey and I warm ourselves in these golden moments."

Brightly-colored citrus fruit hung from trees, cactus and succulents grew out of the rocks, and the terraced hillside was covered in olive trees.  We only had 24 hours, but it was enough time to walk around and enjoy this beautiful place.  If you have more time, there's a train pass you can buy that will carry you between each of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre.  If your knees are in good shape, and you're feeling intrepid, you could hike the trail between the towns and have some amazing views!