Terra & Tide
Italy
Italy rewards travelers who slow down and eat well. Along the Ligurian coast, the five villages of the Cinque Terre cling to cliffs above the sea, connected by footpaths that make for some of the best coastal walking in Europe. Further south, the pace shifts again — long lunches, quiet piazzas, and towns built for wandering without much of a plan.
Trains make the coast easy to cover without a car — Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso are all a short ride apart, each with its own harbour, its own colour palette, and its own reason to stop for a while.
Highlights
- Walk (or take the train between) all five villages of the Cinque Terre
- Watch the evening light turn Manarola's harbour gold from the cemetery viewpoint
- Swim off the rocks below Riomaggiore before the day-trippers arrive
- Eat pesto trofie and focaccia at a harbourside table in Vernazza
- Base yourself in one village and day-trip to the rest by train or ferry