Cinque Terre National Park: What It Is, What It Costs and How It Works

The Five Villages

The park contains five villages, listed here north to south: Monterosso al Mare (population 1,301), Vernazza (670), Corniglia (195), Manarola (353) and Riomaggiore (1,250). Population figures come from the Italian Wikipedia village articles. All five sit in La Spezia province in Liguria. They are linked by a railway line, by ferry (Corniglia excepted, it has no pier) and by the trail network.

Each village looks after its own streets, but the land around them, the terraced slopes, the mule tracks and the coastal path, belongs to the park. That is why a card is needed to walk certain sections. See our overview of the five villages for what each one offers.

The Trail Network

The park maintains a trail network of over 120 kilometres. For centuries these paths were the only link between the villages and the inland valleys. Today the park grades every trail on its live status page as Turistico (easy), Escursionistico (hiking) or Esperto (expert), or marks it Chiuso (closed). The park's own advice is blunt: walk only in good weather, in suitable footwear, and with real hiking experience for the harder grades.

The best-known route is the coastal Sentiero Azzurro with its four numbered segments, from the 25-minute Via dell'Amore between Riomaggiore and Manarola up to the 2-hour Esperto-grade leg from Vernazza to Monterosso. Full segment detail is on our Sentiero Azzurro page. The park also lists a higher inland terraced-vineyard route, Riomaggiore to Manarola to Groppo to Volastra to Case Pianca to Corniglia, official time 3 hours 15 minutes, graded Escursionistico. It is a separate route, not a detour on the coastal path.

Trail status is published live, dated to the hour, and changes with weather and maintenance. We never print today's status as a fixed fact. Check the park's status page the morning you go, and read current conditions on our hikes page.

The Sea and the Protected Sites

The same authority, the Ente Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, also runs the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area, covering the coastal waters off the five villages and Punta Mesco. On top of that the park administers four Natura 2000 sites: IT1344210 Punta Mesco, IT1344323 Costa Riomaggiore to Monterosso, IT1345005 Portovenere to Riomaggiore to S.Benedetto, and IT1344270 Fondali Punta Mesco to Riomaggiore. In plain terms, the protected area continues underwater. Rules that apply on land, such as trail closures, have their equivalents at sea.

One honest gap: the exact park area in hectares is not published on the pages we checked. Rather than guess a number, we leave it out. The park headquarters sits at Via Discovolo snc, c/o Stazione di Manarola, 19017 Riomaggiore (SP). Phone +39 0187 762600, email infopoint@parconazionale5terre.it. There are park Info Points in the villages where you can buy cards and ask questions.

Weather Shapes Everything

The park's regime is driven by rain. In the ERA5 reanalysis averages for 1995 to 2024 for the coastal grid cell, July is the driest month at 42mm and October and November are the wettest at 194mm each. Heavy rain is exactly what closes trails, triggers landslide risk and buries paths in mud.

The flood of 25 October 2011 showed the stakes: nine people died across the area, Vernazza's railway station was buried in mud and damage in Monterosso was estimated at about €37 million. This is why a card does not override a closure, and why the park asks for suitable footwear and good judgement. Month-by-month figures are on our weather page.

Most visitors give the park a single day and try to see all five villages. That is possible by train but leaves no time for walking. The routings below assume you are using the Treno MS Card or buying individual train tickets.

Walking times are the park's official figures. Note that Corniglia has no ferry pier, so it is reached by train and then the Lardarina staircase of 33 ramps and 377 steps, or the park bus.

If you want to hike rather than ride, the guided hike from Manarola to Corniglia covers one full coastal segment with a guide and the connecting trains included. For a gentler, shorter taster, the Vernazza vineyard hike with wine tasting puts you on the terraced slopes above the village. If you would rather cover ground without the climbing, the Monterosso e-bike tour rides park trails above the northern coast.

A few facts that change how you plan a day in the park.

• The park also runs the sea. The same Ente Parco manages the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area off all five villages and Punta Mesco, plus four Natura 2000 sites, so protection continues below the waterline. [parconazionale5terre.it]
• The park gives two official walking times for the Via dell'Amore. The trail table lists segment 592-1 at 25 minutes while the Via dell'Amore page says about 30 minutes. Both figures come from the park itself, so plan around the longer one. [parconazionale5terre.it]
• There is a second official route between Riomaggiore and Corniglia. The terraced-vineyard itinerary, Riomaggiore to Manarola to Groppo to Volastra to Case Pianca to Corniglia, takes 3 hours 15 minutes and is a separate inland path, not a detour off the coastal trail. [parconazionale5terre.it]
• Some local guests walk free. Residents of Riomaggiore, Vernazza and Monterosso use the Via dell'Amore free and without booking, and guests of some park-certified CETS accommodation get discounted cards. Your card money funds the maintenance they benefit from. [parconazionale5terre.it]
• Corniglia sits about 90 metres above the sea on a promontory and has no ferry landing, which is why the Lardarina staircase with 33 ramps and 377 steps exists. It is the only one of the five villages you cannot reach by boat. [navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it and Italian Wikipedia]