Levanto and Cinque Terre

Levanto is a larger and more exciting town than the Cinque Terre villages and is a better base for travelers. You can easily drive in and out of Levanto and you are connected to the Cinque Terre villages by train. You can also get to many other Ligurian towns by train.

In Levanto there are more than fifteen high quality restaurants and many shops. Our piazza has a weekly open air market attended by people from far and near. The population of Levanto is about 5,000. As there are only a few hundred rooms available to tourists, Levanto never loses its charm and intimacy, no matter when you choose to visit.

Levanto offers castles, public gardens, and incredible architecture. Historic churches ring their bells to signal the time of day.

There are many outdoor activities available: tennis, scuba diving, surfing, bike rentals, paddle boats. Levanto has sandy beaches and a swimming pool (that overlooks the Mediterranean for sun worshipers). You can go walking or hiking into our magnificent mountains right from the town.

With all that to offer, Levanto still moves slowly and few people are ever in a rush here. It is a charming and fun location for your vacation.

The Cinque Terre is the name given to five small villages at the very end of the Levante (Easter) side of the Ligurian Riviera. Cinque means "five", terre means "lands". The villages from north to south are:

Monterosso al Mare

Vernazza

Corniglia

Manarola

Riomaggiore

Levanto is the next town north of the Cinque Terre and is the doorway to the region. The landscape here is so special that in 1998 the area was listed as a world heritage site under the protection of Unesco. A nature park and a marine park have been created to preserve the environment.

The villages are small and old and are perched on the edge of steep hills that run down to the sea. All, except Corniglia, are close to the sea. Corniglia sits on a cliff maybe a thousand feet above the sea. Until the 1960's, these villages were not accessible by road.

Try the famous white wine of the Cinque Terre as well as the "Sciacchetra" (a dessert wine).