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
Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore
Each of the five villages in Cinque Terre 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 in Manarola
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?
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- Kalvinmeg Kalvinmeg Dec 8, 2009 @ 9:54 am
- Nice information, keep it coming some good things learned here, thanks twin over full bunk bed
http://www.twinoverfullbunkbed.info
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- bdkz bdkz Jul 14, 2009 @ 7:23 pm
- Looks live a beautiful place to visit!
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- lakeerieartists lakeerieartists Jul 14, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
- This is a gorgeous spot. Thank you for sharing it with us. Blessed by an Angel. :)
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- 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!
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- seashell2 seashell2 Jul 14, 2009 @ 11:25 am
- Wonderful lens! Pretty cool swimming area! Great job!
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- sandyspider sandyspider Jul 14, 2009 @ 10:41 am
- I find it amazing how all the buildings are stacked. Very nicely done. 5*
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