destination

Cinque Terre

Another jaw-dropping place to visit in Italy is Cinque Terre in the north. Cinque Terre is a string of five seaside villages located on the rocky Italian Rivera coastline. The five villages all have colorful homes and shops that are built into the cliffs, making it inaccessible to drive through this UNESCO World Heritage site and protected national park. Luckily, there is a train that will get you from La Spezia Centrale station (entrance into the park) to each of the villages. If you want to experience Cinque Terre in its full glory, I recommend opting to hike between the villages instead. The trails are well-marked and will bring you alongside the turquoise coastline. When I visited in August, my friends and I hiked from the fourth village, Vernazza, to the fifth and last village, Monterosso al Mare. The hike was difficult and took about two hours, but the award of swimming in the crystal-clear, warm ocean, followed by a gelato made it all worth it.