Vernazza

Along the Cinque Terre there used to be five completely isolated fishing villages dotted along the coast between La Spezia to the south and Levanto to the north. First only a footpath connected these hamlets, then a train was installed, and now civilization is encroaching, with a road under construction, which will open them up to greater commercialism. Three of these little villages, (Riomaggiore Monterosso and Manarola) are already accessible by road. Still completely cut off from car traffic are the colorful fishing hamlets of Vernazza and Corniglia. 

If you have time to see only one of the scenic town, Vernazza, which clings perilously to a rocky headland above a tiny harbor, is the most picturesque. This colorful jewel has brightly painted fishermen’s houses, quaint restaurants, a harbor with small boats bobbing in the clear, turquoise water, and a maze of twisting narrow steps that lead up to the promontory overlooking the village.