le cinque terre - inside guide to the seaside town for foreigners

Let's speak about Monterosso.

If you happen to live up North and would like to see a clean sea without scary fish creature things stinging your legs, creepy crawlies nor crabs biting your toes and plastic bottles floating everywhere, you should try stopping at Monterosso seaside village. It's similar to Capri down South but set up in the North. Not only is the town centre very pretty offering good restaurants, souvenir shops, authentic five lands beer and typical food you could also visit the Church of San Giovanni Battisti built around 1307. If you don't fancy bathing in the lovely deep sea (not for the faint hearted) you could always go trekking on the sentiero high up on the mountains which will take you to almost all five lands on foot. It will take hours to walk and remember to bring your hiking boots. Please note you will have three kinds of walking routes on offer - for strollers like myself, for those who love walking with trekking knowledge and for experts who have no problem going up and down rocky narrow paths admiring the seaview and surrounding villages. May and June would make the perfect holiday time as July and August gets far too overcrowded and so much so making your holiday experience more annoying than enjoyable.

In Monterosso, you could climb some steps or go up a pathway into the woody area near the sea and visit the frati cappucini convent built around 1619. 

PortoVenere is also a fantastic place to visit but please note hotels can be pretty expensive so I would personally recommend getting a bed and breakfast in Monterosso. You can easily get to PortoVenere by boat and take a day drip there or choose your destination. You could also get the train to four of the locations but unfortunately you would have to go to La Spezia in order to get to Portovenere...go by boat.. costs a lot more but well worth it. when you actually get there remember to take another boat to LA PALMARIA - lovely seaside area for swimming. A lot of people prefer to swim in this area and believe it is actually better than Monterosso.

If you are celiac and you would really need to find a restaurant catered for your needs, I suggest going to LA BARACACCIA in Monterosso. It is the only place available offering an accredited celiac menu and...  just to top up your experience you could try booking HOTEL PUNTA MESCO close by. Not only does this hotel offer free parking it is also close to the local train station, sea and town centre on foot.

If you go by train, it will probably take hours to reach the five lands. I recommend taking the car to LA Spezia - park and get the train to the five lands. You can also find free car parking at La Spezia. Please contact me for details. Why pay 15 Euros per day when you could park for free?

Monterosso has a small, clean beach. You can also find a free beach near IL GIGANTE statue carved out of rock . Remember to bring specific shoes as you will only find stony beaches and believe me it half kills your feet!! Don't get your towels and sit on any beach without paying as you could risk getting a fine nor walk around the town in a bikini and pareo - the locals don't like it.

Typical foods worth trying - La Focaccia - pasta with genovese sauce. 

Enjoy your stay....ideal for the spring season....