10 Things to Do in Cinque Terre in Summer

Cinque Terre is famous for its beaches, for its picturesque cliffs and for the beauty of its natural landscapes, which you can discover from viewpoints or on hiking excursions along the region's trails, especially if you visit the Italian Riviera in summer, when the weather is warm and ideal for swimming in the Ligurian Sea.

Some of the best things to see and do in Cinque Terre in summer include visiting the beaches of Monterosso al Mare, dining in a restaurant overlooking the sea and enjoying the cool breeze, walking the four sections of the Blue Trail, taking a boat trip along the Italian Riviera and discovering the sunsets of Manarola.

Beaches are the main attractions of Cinque Terre during the summer, however there is only one completely sandy beach on the Italian Riviera and that is Fegina, which is the largest and is located in Monterosso al Mare, the most popular town of La Spezia. This beach stands out for its warm waters, for the rock that separates it from the small area that includes the statue of the Giant and for the number of services it offers.

In Fegina you can enjoy not only the sun and the beach umbrella rental, but also the restaurants in the surrounding area and the beach's connection with the rest of the Cinque Terre villages, as it is located at the foot of the train station of Monterosso al Mare, which is the ideal alternative for touring the Italian Riviera, as most places are restricted to private vehicles.

The beaches of Monterosso al Mare, which are divided by the rock but bear the same name, are included in the best Cinque Terre tours and are the most visited places on the coast during the summer by tourists, so you can't miss them during your trip.

Italy's exquisite cuisine knows no season, but if there's one thing that can enhance the flavours of Cinque Terre, it's dining on a restaurant terrace overlooking the Ligurian Sea while enjoying the cool breeze. You can do that in any of the region's villages to sample the seafood, anchovies, antipasti and pasta marinara that are the local speciality.

If you plan to dine in Manarola, visit Nessun Dorma, which not only specialises in cured meats, cheeses and bruschettas, but also has a lookout point with an open view of the horizon.

In Riomaggiore you can discover the best seafood at Il Pescato Cucinato, and in Monterosso al Mare you 'll marvel at the pastas of Gastronomia San Martino, but there are plenty of other places to go.

In addition, seaside restaurants are often included in the itineraries of the best food tours of Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre is built on the cliffs and is surrounded by winding routes, so hiking trails are very popular in the region. Among them, one of the most famous is the Blue Trail, which has a total length of 12 kilometres distributed in four sections that cross all the villages of the Italian Riviera.

The first section, only 1 kilometre long, is the best known and is called Via dell'Amore, and runs along the border between Riomaggiore and Manarola. The second section, which is 3 km long, crosses Manarola and Corniglia. The third, also 3 km long, passes through Corniglia and Vernazza. The last section, which is the most demanding at 4 kilometres, goes as far as Monterosso al Mare.

Walking along the Blue Trail, especially in summer, when the weather is hot but ideal for discovering the landscapes from the heights of the paths, is the best option for getting to know the five villages of Cinque Terre on foot, and also for reaching the centre of each one of them.

Keep in mind that the Blue Trail is very busy in summer and some sections can often be cut off, which can cause delays along the way due to the number of visitors, which could affect your itinerary if you are planning a short stay in the city. If that's the case, here's a list of things you can do to discover Cinque Terre in 2 days.

In the summer, the weather is very hot in Cinque Terre and the beaches become the most visited places in the area, so organising an excursion could be difficult, but the Ligurian Sea has a very interesting marine fauna and a snorkelling and diving excursion is one of the best activities available.

If you get a little further away from the coast and the hustle and bustle of the main beaches, you can spot many marine life such as rays, octopus and even dolphins during excursions. Some boat tours along the Cinque Terre coast also include free time for a swim and snorkelling experience.

Among the beaches you can visit for snorkelling and diving are Fegina and Neptuno, in Monterosso al Mare, and Canneto, in Riomaggiore, which is ideal because it offers a quieter and wilder context in the Italian Riviera.

Guvano is one of the most famous beaches in Cinque Terre, but it is also one of the few beaches in the region that is located in a completely wild area, in Vernazza, in a sector far from restaurants and services. Moreover, to reach Guvano, you have to cross a single stone road that marks the border of the village with Corniglia, the only one of the Cinque Terre sites that does not have a direct exit to the sea.

Guvano is a calm water beach with no sand and stony ground, and during some parts of the summer it also has a nudist section, so keep that in mind when visiting, but it also offers some of the best open views of Vernazza and a wild environment that none of the other beaches on the Italian Riviera do.

The difficult access to Guvano will guarantee you some peace and quiet even in the summer months when the region is most crowded, so if you want to experience something different on the Italian Riviera and also stay away from the crowds, Guvano can provide the solution.

If you plan to visit Cinque Terre in April or during the spring months, you can also discover another of Guvano's best sides, which is highlighted by the greenery and colours of the surrounding trees.

One of the best alternatives to discover Cinque Terre is from the coast, to get to know a different profile of the region, in perspective and from the beauty of the Ligurian sea. This can be done during a boat tour, which are traditional on the Italian Riviera, especially during the summer months.

You can also use boat tours to get around the different villages of Cinque Terre, but this is usually a much less effective option than the Express Train, so I recommend that you enjoy the boat trips, but then tour the different sites by train to get the most out of your visit.

The boat trips offer a number of different tours, although the most famous are those that travel from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore or those that sail from La Spezia or Porto Venero, which is located at the southern tip of the Italian Riviera and is considered the sixth element of the region.

Interesting details

• Price: boat tours start at approximately 18 euros per person.
• Duration: the trip from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore takes approximately 1 hour.

Manarola is the star of the region at Christmas time, so if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in December you can see the crib on the Hill of the Three Crosses, which is a giant nativity scene of more than 300 figures, some of them over 3 metres high, which are illuminated at night to form one of the most beautiful spectacles on the Italian Riviera. However, in summer you can also discover the magical sunsets of Manarola.

The town has a promenade that wraps around the sea and meanders at heights averaging 200 metres above sea level, so in summer, on clear days, you can watch some of the most beautiful sunsets of the summer period on the Italian Riviera.

In addition, you can also discover the sunsets from the viewpoints of Vernazza, from the Doria Castle or from the heights of Corniglia, which sheltered between Manarola and Vernazza offers some of the most dazzling wide views of Cinque Terre from its cliffs.

Cinque Terre is not only known for its gastronomy but also for its vineyards, so if you want to taste the most famous local wines, which are the Bianco DOC and the Sciacchetra, a very sweet red wine, you can make excursions to the wineries or visit them on your own for tastings and to learn about wine production.

Most of the vineyards are located in Riomaggiore and Manarola, but if you want to visit a winery in the Monterosso al Mare area, you can opt for Cantina Sassarini, which is the best known in the region and one of the main exporters of Ligurian wine. If you plan to visit Cinque Terre in October, you can also visit the wineries during the harvest season.

Most of the wineries, in addition to tastings, offer local cuisine, so you can also sample the salty anchovies, pastas, risottos and seafood of Cinque Terre while enjoying the ideal weather in the surroundings of the Italian Riviera.

Summer is the best time to enjoy Cinque Terre, but it's also the busiest time for tourists, so at times you may feel exhausted from waiting for excursions and trains. To avoid the crowds, you can choose to visit Corniglia, which is the only village in Cinque Terre that does not have a direct access to the sea and is therefore empty of visitors who prefer the beach areas.

Corniglia also offers one of the most picturesque landscapes because it is located on a promontory over 100 metres high, and to reach the village you have to cross La Landarina, a staircase of almost 400 steps that will lead you directly to the main square.

In Corniglia you can also go on trekking excursions, visit the Piazza Largo Taragio, where the two local churches are located, and discover a place with a long literary tradition, as the village was mentioned by Giovanni Boccaccio in the Decameron.

One of the best ways to escape the heat of Cinque Terre is to cool off with an Italian gelato, which you can try in the many gelato parlours in the local villages. One of the best and most famous is Gelateria Vernazza, which is located in the centre of the town of the same name and is characterised by a wide range of flavours and a strong artisan style.

Gelateria Vernazza is known for its artisan-style gelato and also for its long tradition in Liguria, so you won't be surprised to find that the shop is actually a small stall in a house dating back to the Middle Ages. Moreover, at Gelateria Vernazza, as in most gelato parlours, you can try the most famous Italian desserts, such as tiramisu or cannoli.

Ligurian gelato is one of the most delicious in Italy and I recommend you don't miss it, even if you plan to visit Cinque Terre in winter.

Summer in Cinque Terre is intense and presents an ideal climate for swimming on the beaches of the region or for excursions in the Ligurian Sea. The hottest month of the summer is August, with maximum temperatures of 31 °C, minimum temperatures of 20 °C and average temperatures of 26 °C.

In June and July the temperature is similar, with a few degrees less, and only towards the end of September, with the beginning of autumn, the average temperature decreases to 20 °C, so if you like summer weather, in Cinque Terre you will be able to enjoy it widely.

Summer marks the beginning of the high season in Cinque Terre and therefore a flood of tourists flock to the region to enjoy its beaches and scenic trails. So if you plan to visit the region during the summer season, be aware that public transport, excursions and all activities will be crowded with visitors.

If you want to opt for a season with fewer visitors, you can visit Cinque Terre in April or during the spring months, although you will hardly be able to make the most of the beaches and mountain excursions.

However, you can still get away from the crowds by doing some of the activities that are less popular in summer such as visiting Corniglia, the beach at Guvano or some of the more remote sections of the Blue Trail.

Summer is the most expensive time to visit Cinque Terre, so excursions and especially accommodation will have their highest prices. If you want to opt for a budget trip to the Italian Riviera, you may want to travel in winter or autumn, but not in the summer season.

If you still want to bear the cost of visiting Cinque Terre in summer, because the beaches and scenery are really worth it, you can book excursions and accommodation in advance to get better discounts and avoid last-minute price increases.

Summer is the hottest time of the year in Cinque Terre, so I recommend packing the following in your suitcase:

• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Swimwear
• Comfortable shoes
• Sun hat
• Light T-shirt
• Lightweight trousers
• Rain jacket