We can't believe it. We are sitting at a table, at an outdoor terrace, at the far end of a cliff in Cinque Terre. Sea View. A cold beer in hand. How could we be so lucky? Is this happiness? Our last stop in Cinque Terre is Riomaggiore, which both charms and surprises.
It scents of rosemary and grilled fish. The sun gasses from the April sky and we navigate our way through crowds, fishing boats and dripping ice cream cones. Riomaggiore is the southernmost of the five Cinque Terre villages and the first village you meet when you arrive here by train from La Spezia. For us it is the last village we visit in Cinque Terre, after Vernazza, Manarola and Monterosso al Mare. I quickly got over the familiarity with Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza tickled my stomach a little. Manarola, on the other hand... Mama Mia! What a beauty! Should I stay in Riomaggiore at all, when I have already seen the most beautiful village of the Cinque Terre?
I get off the train. Set for this to be a quick stop. But I was wrong.
A tunnel of blue fish mosaics takes us through the mountain to the heart of the village. Towards the harbor and the famous view of the steep, pastel-colored village. The village located in a narrow little ravine, surrounded by vines, lemon trees and olive groves. I'm a little surprised. There are not as many visitors here as in Vernazza or Manarola.
The boats are pulled up in the small viken in the middle of the village. Here there is no real fishing harbor with bobbing small fishing boats like in the other villages, there is no beach either, Rather just a place for boats to be launched and pulled up. On one of the boats is a worn sticker with the word Hammarplast. Swedish Hammarplast from Tingsryd, here in little Riomaggiore? They never made boats did they?
We go up towards the cliff and the sea to look at the view of Riomaggiore. This is probably the steepest of the five villages in Cinque Terre and the houses are close together. We are approaching the viewpoint. A small cafe with small square tables is located right at the edge of the cliff. One of the small tables is free. Best view. Three chairs. We look around. Is there no one about to take the vacant place? It takes a few seconds. The place is still available. I start walking there, with rather determined steps. I may be walking a little faster than usual, but the table is still free when I arrive. We settle down and order a pastry for the younger traveler and two cold beers for us older travelers. The sunglasses go on. The view of the striped cliffs and the village is incomparable. The prices at the cafe were also affordable.
We sit for a good while on the outdoor terrace and enjoy the people's life, the sun and the boats that pass by in the turquoise water. The laundry sways in the wind, as it has probably done ever since the village was born in the 13th century. I watch crowds of tourists defying death sitting on the ledge above the harbor trying to take the perfect selfie. A girl is about to fall off the cliff to get her selfie. I myself don't take a single card on myself. I'm just sitting here. And enjoying.
WHERE IS RIOMAGGIORE?
Riomaggiore is one of the five villages of the Cinque Terre. The village is located 1,5 miles west of La Spezia in Liguria, Italy. The train journey from La Spezia takes 6 minutes.
DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT ITALY AND THE CINQUE TERRE?
- Look into my Italy page
- Do you want to read more about the villages of Cinque Terre? Check out my post about Vernazza, Manarola or Monterosso al Mare.
- The easiest and fastest way to travel around Cinque Terre? The answer is trains! Read more at my train side!
Want to read more of my travel tips? do not forget to like Rucksack on Facebook!
Do you want to read more from Liguria?
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8 Comments
Daniel | Discovering The Planet
10 September, 2019 at 23: 50Definitely our favorite village after Vernazza. Unfortunately, there were far too many people in Manarola for us to appreciate the village :). Beautiful pictures as usual.
Eva Gyllenberg
16 September, 2019 at 22: 22Thank you Daniela! Yes, not entirely easy to appreciate Cinque Terre when there are too many people. I almost panic if I have to go and crowd with other people, it doesn't matter if I'm in the most beautiful place in the world. I cannot appreciate beauty when I am surrounded by a crowd of people.
Madeleine Wreath
11 September, 2019 at 7: 44Msn loves Cinque Terre! We stayed in a penthouse with a huge terrace in Riomaggiore and wandered between the villages. Often we were completely alone on the trails! Even though it was during an Ascension weekend. The trains, on the other hand, were packed.
Eva Gyllenberg
16 September, 2019 at 22: 25But oh so dreamy! Had you rented via airbnb? Ascension probably a better weekend to visit Cinque Terre, we were there the week before Easter. Long vacations are usually not good if you want to visit popular destinations 🙂
Ann-Louise Paulsson
12 September, 2019 at 22: 37Wonderful colors and pictures! Oh how I long for Italy now!
Eva Gyllenberg
16 September, 2019 at 22: 26Thank you! You must go here soon - you would love all the colors and all the good food!
Marie
13 September, 2019 at 18: 28Oh I have to go there too! 🙂
Eva Gyllenberg
16 September, 2019 at 22: 27It really is as nice as it looks in the pictures! 🙂 Try to go here when it's not a high weekend only - I had missed that Easter is the biggest weekend for Italians to travel around the country…