"Cinque Terre: 5 Beautiful Island... " a Riomaggiore Travel Page by Lhenne1

After two weeks in Florence, a very busy, congested city, we needed a break and it was suggested by our professor that we check out Cinque Terre. So we skipped class and hopped a train to the coast. The train was old and didn't have any A/C so we were baking, but by opening all the windows we were able to get some breeze. After a 3 hour trip, we arrived at the main station outside Riomaggiore (one of the 5 towns)

We decided to each buy a ticket (5 euros for train/trail ticket) and hike from one end to the other. This covers the local train to the water and the natioanl park fee. You'll need a few hours (and if it's summer, a lot of water) to hike all 5 towns but it can be done. The first three towns are fairly close together and you get to see the gorgeous water and fishing villages.

One of the first things you notice here are the homes. As in Burano, Venice, the houses are multi-colored and bright so that the fishermen coming back can recognize their home immediately.

Built into the cliffs overlooking the water, the houses are unique and just plain pretty. It's amazing how many home they cram onto one cliff.