Manarola: A Charming Village On the Italian Riviera
Manarola, Italy is one of five tiny towns in a section of the Italian Riviera known as Cinque Terre. Although Cinque Terre translates to "five lands," it actually refers to five villages that are all connected by a walking path: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
My family had the honor of being able to visit Manarola in June of 2008. It was an experience we'll never forget.
Cinque Terre
As you can see from the map, Manarola is in the middle of the five villages of Cinque Terre. Each village has it's own unique personality. We would have loved to have explored them all, but did want to see some of the rest of Europe too!
How do you get there?
Not likely by car!
One of the things that makes Cinque Terre unique is it's absence of cars. For our entire stay in Manarola, the only vehicle we saw on the roads was a shuttle bus that carried people from the parking area to the center of the village.
There is a train that connects the five villages, and that's how we got to Manarola. After getting there, we walked every where we went. The hills are steep, but it's so wonderful to have that freedom from cars! No traffic lights. No horns going beep! No screeching of tires or car accidents or traffic violations.
Yes, you can drive there if you'd like, but you must park your car outside Manarola and either use the shuttle bus or walk into the village on foot. Apparently those few residents who have a car park it somewhere (although we never saw any of their cars), but unless you are a resident, you must have a load/unload permit to bring a car into the village.
Other options for getting there include by foot or ferry boat.
There is a train that connects the five villages, and that's how we got to Manarola. After getting there, we walked every where we went. The hills are steep, but it's so wonderful to have that freedom from cars! No traffic lights. No horns going beep! No screeching of tires or car accidents or traffic violations.
Yes, you can drive there if you'd like, but you must park your car outside Manarola and either use the shuttle bus or walk into the village on foot. Apparently those few residents who have a car park it somewhere (although we never saw any of their cars), but unless you are a resident, you must have a load/unload permit to bring a car into the village.
Other options for getting there include by foot or ferry boat.
The Walking Trails
A walking trail connects the five villages. The trail runs along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. My family walked the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore (that part of the trail is called Via dell'Amore, which means Love's Trail, or Love's Way or Lover's Lane) as well as part of the trail between Manarola and Corniglia. The views are absolutely incredible! Be sure and checkout the photo gallery below for some of the photos we took along the trail!
There is a small charge for walking the trail between some of the villages, but not between others.
Scenes from the trail
Where to Stay
We stayed in a youth hostel on the top of the hill at Manarola. It was a hike up there, as you're climbing almost constantly on the way up. And the hostel isn't exactly a Hilton Hotel once you get there, yet it certainly met our needs and was clean and inexpensive! We enjoyed our stay there very much and do recommend it! If staying in a hostel every now and then allows your stay in Europe to be longer, go for it!! There's no pool, but hey, you've got the Mediterranean Sea to swim in!! Who needs a pool!!
There were five of us along, so we reserved a room that had six bunks in it. No one else stayed in that room except us (unlike when we were sound asleep on a night train between Venice and Munich - as sound asleep as you can get on a little tiny bunk bed on a moving train, that is - and someone came into our very small train cabin and climbed into the one empty bed around 2 in the morning!). Our Hostel room had it's own (clean) bathroom and shower for which you use shower coins. Lockers were provided for storing your stuff. Although they might not be necessary if you've reserved the whole room just for your party, it's certainly nice to have if you're sharing a room with others.
In addition to the six bunk rooms, they also have twin and quad rooms available, also with a private bathroom and shower.
A small restaurant is available in the hostel for breakfast and dinner, but the hostel is closed during the day. Pasta pesto & Co. Restaurant
Hostel Cinque Terre
There are, of course, other places to stay in Manarola too.
Places To Stay In Manarola
There were five of us along, so we reserved a room that had six bunks in it. No one else stayed in that room except us (unlike when we were sound asleep on a night train between Venice and Munich - as sound asleep as you can get on a little tiny bunk bed on a moving train, that is - and someone came into our very small train cabin and climbed into the one empty bed around 2 in the morning!). Our Hostel room had it's own (clean) bathroom and shower for which you use shower coins. Lockers were provided for storing your stuff. Although they might not be necessary if you've reserved the whole room just for your party, it's certainly nice to have if you're sharing a room with others.
In addition to the six bunk rooms, they also have twin and quad rooms available, also with a private bathroom and shower.
A small restaurant is available in the hostel for breakfast and dinner, but the hostel is closed during the day. Pasta pesto & Co. Restaurant
Hostel Cinque Terre
There are, of course, other places to stay in Manarola too.
Places To Stay In Manarola
The Mediterranean Sea
A ladder is provided, but the water's so cold, most of our family found it easier to just jump right in. You go numb within just a minute or two and then don't have to worry about the cold!
The swimming area is nestled in this little cove, although it certainly seems bigger when you're in it than it appears in this photo!
Guide Books On Italy
If you're making a trip to Italy, I highly recommend you purchase a guidebook. They are well worth the expense, in my opinion, and come with valuable tips and insights that can help make your trip more enjoyable (as well as less expensive too, at times!)
Our personal favorite was the Rick Steve's series of guide books, although we used several others as well and they all had something to offer! We found that Rick Steve never steered us wrong.
Our personal favorite was the Rick Steve's series of guide books, although we used several others as well and they all had something to offer! We found that Rick Steve never steered us wrong.
Comments? Questions?
Have you ever been to the Italian Riviera?
Everyone is welcome to leave a message here,
whether a member of Squidoo or not.
I'd love to hear from you!
submit
-
Reply
- bdkz bdkz Jul 14, 2009 @ 7:23 pm
- Looks live a beautiful place to visit!
-
Reply
- lakeerieartists lakeerieartists Jul 14, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
- This is a gorgeous spot. Thank you for sharing it with us. Blessed by an Angel. :)
-
Reply
- ajgodinho ajgodinho Jul 14, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
- Beautifully done and I like the personal touch you gave it by describing many fine details. It's as if I was right there! Excellent work!
-
Reply
- seashell2 seashell2 Jul 14, 2009 @ 11:25 am
- Wonderful lens! Pretty cool swimming area! Great job!
-
Reply
- sandyspider sandyspider Jul 14, 2009 @ 10:41 am
- I find it amazing how all the buildings are stacked. Very nicely done. 5*
Enjoy this site? FInd it interesting or helpful?
- Rate this lens:
- Email it
- Favorite it
- Lensroll it
Contact Me
Here's my lensography, an organized collection of all of my sites on Squidoo! Click the link to find out about or visit some of my other Squidoo pages!
Visit my blog, Laughing, Loving, & Learning, on
homeschooling activities, vegetarian recipes, and more!
Copyright © 2009.
About The Author
My Bio
Hi! I'm an author currently writing a book about various types of spiritual experiences women often report having during pregnancy.
Do you have a story to share?
Have you experienced a dream, spiritual sign, or intuition about your pregnancy or unborn baby? If so, would you like to share it for potential use in my book? I also have an online pregnancy experiences survey, if you'd like to help me out by taking it! It's short and easy!
In addition to my spiritual pregnancy pages, I also have some recipes lenses, travel lenses, nature/homeschooling lenses, and more! Sweet And Savory Crepes, Cinnamon Apple Baked Beans (and Other Baked Bean Recipes), Raising Painted Lady Butterflies, Tadpoles To Frogs, Venice: One Of The Most Fascinating Cities In The World! and others.
Check out these great lenses...
-
- 10 Ways To Make Math Fun
Has math become a battle at your house? Are you searching for ways to make math be more fun, as well as educational? During my years of teaching in the public schools, as well as my more recent homeschooling years, I've come up with a variety o... view lens -
- Manarola, Italy: A Beautiful Village On The Mediterranean
Manarola, Italy is one of five tiny towns in a section of the Italian Riviera known as Cinque Terre. Although Cinque Terre translates to "five lands," it actually refers to five villages that are all connected by a walking path: Monterosso... view lens -
- Pregnancy Intuition And Inner Pre-Birth Communication
Did you KNOW you were pregnant, even before you were far enough along to do a pregnancy test?Perhaps you KNEW the gender of your unborn child, or that you were having twins? Or maybe you knew that you would be experiencing certain pregnancy complicat... view lens -
- Janiece's Newest Lenses
I'm a Squidoo lensmaster. A Squidoo lensmaster is someone who writes mini websites (called lenses) on Squidoo. Below is a collection of my 10 most recent lenses. I hope you enjoy them! view lens -
- Janiece's Lensography
Welcome to my site! I'm glad you're here! I am a member of Squidoo, an online group of people (called lensmasters) who make webpages (called lenses) for fun, business, charity, or just to share something with others. No matter the main focus of thei... view lens
by Janiece
Hi! I'm an author currently writing a book about various types of spiritual experiences women often report having during pregnancy.
Do you have a stor... (more)
Do you have a stor... (more)
Explore related pages
Interesting Facts about Venice- Venice also known as the Queen of the Adriatic, La Serenissima, City of Bridges...
Venice! One of the Most Fascinating Cities In The World!- I've always held a special fascination for Venice, Italy. With it's gond...
Tuscany, Italy: Beautiful Countryside, Art, History and Wine- Tuscany is beautiful part of Italy; a favourite destination for British and Amer...
Connestee Falls: In the Land of Waterfalls!- Transylvania County, in North Carolina, has often been referred to as the "...
Ash Grove Resort Cabins and Camping - A Camper's Review- Ash Grove Resort Cabins and Camping is nestled deep in the woods in Brevard, NC....
10 Things Kids Can Do On A Vacant Lot!- Many kids today seem nearly glued to their X-Boxes, DSs, Playstations, Gamecubes...
