There were four sets of very steep and narrow stairs to climb before we got to the apartment. Fortunately the host carried our luggage bag up the stairs. And I think he felt lucky that we only had one. The apartment was in a rustic looking building in the old part of Monterosso. There were two ensuite bedrooms on one floor and the lounge and roof terrace on another. From the terrace, we had a beautiful view of the town and church tower. Perfecto!
When I was planning the holiday, I wasn't sure what Cinque Terre would be like in winter. It was in and out of my draft itinerary. Would there be decent restaurants opened or just convenient stores selling cold pizzas? Would it be creepy with everything closed and nobody around? Would the kids find it too challenging to do any of the hikes? Would I get grief for not allowing them to play on the beach? And would there be much point coming to the seaside if we were going to avoid the sea? I looked through a number of articles about Cinque Terre in winter and decided to take the gamble. The national park is a UNESCO heritage site after all.
But then there are choices to be made - five towns to pick from, where do we set base camp? The most picturesque or the largest? The first, middle or last on the regional railway line? I kept forgetting what each town offers and what they look like. Every blogger and vlogger has a different opinion on which town is the most beautiful and they will all tell you that they have biased views. I initially settled on Riomaggiore because the apartment was in a location featured in postcards, and supposedly less than 10 minutes from the station. Eventually, I switched to Monterosso because it is the largest and has all the necessary amenities, which is important when travelling with young kids.
We set out to visit the other towns the next morning. The host told me that it was going to be wet over the next 2 days. He also said that the hikes would be too challenging for the young kids. Great start to this leg of the holiday! We bought a family pass which comes with unlimited travel on the regional trains for a day. We stopped at all the towns except Corniglia because it was raining heavily at that time. All of them were beautiful even though the weather did not hold up. Manarola was particularly charming from a popular lookout point just 500 meters to the right of the town.
There was a bit of excitement when we travelled from Manarola to Riomaggiore. It was probably only a minute ride before the train came to a halt in a tunnel. There were no announcements so we thought the train would be on its way again soon. Then we saw people trying to get out of the train. The doors would not open so they ran through several carriages in front. We realised that we were already at the station and ran after the others. It would have been nice if Trenitalia told us to stick to the front carriages due to the short platform in this town.
After getting off the train, we followed the path out of the station. It led to a slope up the hills with a beautiful view of the sea and the train station below us. We passed by homes with lemon trees in the gardens. Eventually, we had to make our way down to the town centre through very steep and narrow steps, where rain water was streaming down. As we were making our way down those steps, I was thinking about the effort required to get back up on our way back. But I was also relieved that we did not book our accommodation here. It would have been a disaster if we had to carry the huge luggage up and down those steps.
Although we just had some pastries in Manarola, we were famished when we finally got to the Riomaggiore town centre. We had a hearty lunch and tried to wait out the rain. When we were leaving the restaurant I asked the waiter for directions to the station. It turns out that the station was only five minutes away via a tunnel. No slopes nor steps needed whatsoever. To think that I vlogged about this town being beautiful but difficult to access.
So is Cinque Terre worth a visit with the kids in winter? It is a beautifully rustic place in rain or shine. Whilst there would have been much more to see in the summer, it is not jammed packed with tourists on the trains, alleys and restaurants at this time of the year. And you can always create excitement for yourselves if you wanted some by sitting in the wrong train carriage or taking a long footpath to town.
When I was planning the holiday, I wasn't sure what Cinque Terre would be like in winter. It was in and out of my draft itinerary. Would there be decent restaurants opened or just convenient stores selling cold pizzas? Would it be creepy with everything closed and nobody around? Would the kids find it too challenging to do any of the hikes? Would I get grief for not allowing them to play on the beach? And would there be much point coming to the seaside if we were going to avoid the sea? I looked through a number of articles about Cinque Terre in winter and decided to take the gamble. The national park is a UNESCO heritage site after all.
But then there are choices to be made - five towns to pick from, where do we set base camp? The most picturesque or the largest? The first, middle or last on the regional railway line? I kept forgetting what each town offers and what they look like. Every blogger and vlogger has a different opinion on which town is the most beautiful and they will all tell you that they have biased views. I initially settled on Riomaggiore because the apartment was in a location featured in postcards, and supposedly less than 10 minutes from the station. Eventually, I switched to Monterosso because it is the largest and has all the necessary amenities, which is important when travelling with young kids.
We set out to visit the other towns the next morning. The host told me that it was going to be wet over the next 2 days. He also said that the hikes would be too challenging for the young kids. Great start to this leg of the holiday! We bought a family pass which comes with unlimited travel on the regional trains for a day. We stopped at all the towns except Corniglia because it was raining heavily at that time. All of them were beautiful even though the weather did not hold up. Manarola was particularly charming from a popular lookout point just 500 meters to the right of the town.
There was a bit of excitement when we travelled from Manarola to Riomaggiore. It was probably only a minute ride before the train came to a halt in a tunnel. There were no announcements so we thought the train would be on its way again soon. Then we saw people trying to get out of the train. The doors would not open so they ran through several carriages in front. We realised that we were already at the station and ran after the others. It would have been nice if Trenitalia told us to stick to the front carriages due to the short platform in this town.
After getting off the train, we followed the path out of the station. It led to a slope up the hills with a beautiful view of the sea and the train station below us. We passed by homes with lemon trees in the gardens. Eventually, we had to make our way down to the town centre through very steep and narrow steps, where rain water was streaming down. As we were making our way down those steps, I was thinking about the effort required to get back up on our way back. But I was also relieved that we did not book our accommodation here. It would have been a disaster if we had to carry the huge luggage up and down those steps.
Although we just had some pastries in Manarola, we were famished when we finally got to the Riomaggiore town centre. We had a hearty lunch and tried to wait out the rain. When we were leaving the restaurant I asked the waiter for directions to the station. It turns out that the station was only five minutes away via a tunnel. No slopes nor steps needed whatsoever. To think that I vlogged about this town being beautiful but difficult to access.
So is Cinque Terre worth a visit with the kids in winter? It is a beautifully rustic place in rain or shine. Whilst there would have been much more to see in the summer, it is not jammed packed with tourists on the trains, alleys and restaurants at this time of the year. And you can always create excitement for yourselves if you wanted some by sitting in the wrong train carriage or taking a long footpath to town.
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