Lerici – Italian Riviera

30 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Lerici

Tags

Cinque Terre, Gulf of Poets, italy, La Spezia, lerici, Photography, portovenere, San Terenzo, travel, Tuscany

Each time I visit Cinque Terre I like to spend time in Lerici. On my first visit here we drove to Lerici where we found easy parking in one of the car parks and then it was an easy walk to the beach. It will cost you about 10 euro for the day but make sure you have coins as it is almost impossible to obtain change from any of the businesses in the area. Or, there is a large pay parking lot between Lerici and San Terenzo with a shuttle bus that takes you into town or you can walk to either village from the parking area.

Lerici can also be reached by ferry from La Spezia, Portovenere, and Cinque Terre. Small ferries between the Gulf of Poets villages run mainly in summer.

Lerici is a town in the province of La Spezia in Ligura, and part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia. It is known as the place where the poet Percy Shelley drowned.

Once into Lerici you will marvel at the quaint town clinging to the seaside cliffs above the marina. If you are a keen swimmer, try the blue mile swim across the bay, conveniently marked by buoys. But, you don’t need to be a keen swimmer to enjoy the beautiful clear, clean water.

A little paradise where you can manage what to do depending on your budget: it is a free beach and if you wish you can hire a sunbed and umbrella.

On the beach there are plenty of beach beds, chairs and umbrellas, but I was always happy to lie on a large rock and jump in to the beautiful crystal clear water regularly to cool off.

The coastline has a great walking path along the water and plenty of bars and restaurants to visit.

Laze away an afternoon gazing at the lovely buildings in Tuscan yellows and oranges, or take the stairs up to the castle, or enjoy yet another yummy gelato.

There are excellent views from the famous castle of Lerici, San Terenzo and across the bay to Portovenere. You can take the stairs or there is a lift to the top. The views of the poets gulf are worth the effort.

The castle is at the end of the beach, very close to the centre of San Terenzo.

While in Lerici, I rarely heard English spoken here as Lerici is mainly an Italian tourist town. It has become one of my new favourites. It is easy to park and walk down to the centre, very dog friendly everywhere, not crowded and stunningly beautiful

It is a beautiful location at night time right after sunset and there is plenty of action late into the night.

My reasons for travelling to Italy – Series – Viste (sights)

06 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Lyn Douglas in My reasons for travelling to Italy, Viste

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

alberobello, amalfi coast, Angera, assisi, Bagni di Lucca, Barga, Camerino, Cinque Terre, Isola Bella, italy, Lago Maggiore, Photography, Pievebovigliana, Rome, Santa Caterina, Siena, sorrento, Southern Italy, travel, trevi fountain, trulli, venice, vieste

After many years of travelling to and around Italy, I have put together a snapshot of some of the beautiful places where I have spent time. These are not always the places that first come to mind when one thinks of Italy. In fact they are places that were special to me and have left wonderful memories in my mind and heart. Some of the photos you will recognize and some you may never have heard of.

So here are 25 reasons to visit Italy. Maybe these photos will make you want to jump on a plane right now and fly to Italy.

Amalfi Coast – this is where dreams are made. Is a stretch of coastline on the southern coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula in Southern Italy. The Amalfi coast consists of many beautiful little townships and villages. I rented an apartment here for 2 weeks and really experienced the area, especially the beaches.

Vieste – Is a glorious marine resort on the southeast Adriatic coast of Italy. It appeared to be a very popular holiday destination for Italians as we felt as though we were the only English-speaking visitors. We took a jet boat ride out to the caves which were very beautiful although we were concerned about the lack of safety precautions by the jet boat company.

Venice – one of my favourite major cities in Italy. I have visited this fabulous city many times and each time I discover more and I like it more.

Trulli – Alberobello. These are traditional Apulian dry stone huts with a conical roof from the 19^th century.

Pievebovigliana in Marche is a commune within the Monti Sibillini National park. I rented a house here for a month.

Camerino – An impressive small hill town on the border between Marche and Umbria. It is home to the University of Camerino founded in the Middle Ages. I visited this great little town many times as I was staying in Pievebovliana which was only about 20 mins drive away.

Monti Sibillini – part of the central Apennines situated between Umbria and Marche

Norcia – Umbria is located in the plain of Monti Sibillini

Assisi – In Umbria was the birthplace of St Francis

Florence – the capital of Tuscany (Toscano) is considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance

Pisa – a definite tourist destination but it is a must at least once when visiting Italy

San Gimignano – I love hilltop towns and this is by far one of my favourites. Great restaurants, great views and great shops.

Siena – in Tuscany is famous for its Palio, a horse race held twice a year.

Milan – one of the most famous fashion cities in the world.

Lago Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps in northern Italy on the border of Switzerland.

Isola Bella is one of the beautiful islands on Lake Maggiore where I saw white peacocks for the first time

Stresa – on the shores of Lake Maggiore. After spending 8 days in this beautiful part of the world I ended up with hundreds of gorgeous photos of its spectacular views.

Santa Caterina del Sasso Ballaro – a monastery perched on a rocky ridge on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore

Fortress of Angera – Castle on Lago Maggiore

Bagni di Lucca – I rented an apartment and stayed here for a month. Every day was a day of new discoveries, meeting new people, visiting many of the towns and villages in the area and “living” the local life. This was definitely living the dream.

Barga – This medieval hilltop town is just a short drive from Bagni di Lucca. Another place that took my breath away.

Cinque Terre – The 5 lands. This is a definite must when visiting Italy. I have stayed here several times and enjoy every minute of it every time. It is very easy to access by train from almost anywhere in Italy.

Rome – view from Castel San Angelo

Trevi Fountain – in Rome is one of the most famous fountains in the world. It is a popular tourist attraction and I might add, almost impossible to take a photograph free of people.

Lake Albano – Looking down from Castel Gandolfo where the pope has his summer residence – 24 kilometres from Rome

Sunset over Rome

If I have missed one of your favourites, please let me know and I will add it next time.

Belforte – Vernazza

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Vernazza

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Belforte, Cinque Terre, italy, Ligurian Sea, Photography, Porto Venere, Vernazza

If you have been to Cinque Terre, you will know there are hundreds of places to eat. These include, bars/café, pizzeria, gelateria, restaurants and more.

While we were staying in Porto Venere we took the boat to Monterosso and later headed off to Vernazza for lunch.

When we arrived, the restaurant Belforte, which is high up on the rocks, caught our eye so we climbed the stairs to ask if there was a table available for us to have lunch there. Our timing was perfect as we were immediately seated at a table with a great view. Mind you, there are even better positioned tables than the one we had but we were very happy.

This was one of our best meals in Cinque Terre for so many reasons.

Firstly, the atmosphere, the view, the breeze, the ambiance.

Secondly, the food. The menu is not over-priced and offers many great options for both food and beverage.

Finally, the service. The staff are amazing, friendly, helpful, and do not rush you. They want you to stay, enjoy your wine…and possibly order more!

We all ordered the fresh bream, which was actually “plated-up” right at our table. And it was perfect. Our meal was just like the view, fantastic.

This was simply an amazing experience to eat a meal while sitting right on top of the sea and waves.

If you think about dining at this restaurant I would recommend that you make a booking and request a table on one of the small terraces overlooking the Ligurian Sea.

The view from this restaurant cannot be effectively described. You just have to see it to believe it. It is magical.

La Fontana – Stresa

27 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by Lyn Douglas in La Fontana, Stresa

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, cold drinks, La Fontana, La Spezia, Lago Maggiore, Lake Maggiore, Stresa

I don’t normally write about hotels that I stay in but this time I make an exception to my rule.

After a long full day of travel by train from La Spezia near the Cinque Terre to Stresa, via Milano, we were all tired and hot.

We arrived at La Fontana and were greeted as if we were friends returning.

Signore Giuselle greeted and welcomed us warmly and offered us a nice cold drink. A cold glass or 2 of Prosecco. Perfecto. While we sat in the cozy and comfortable sitting room enjoying our nice cold drinks he took our passports, checked us in and did all the necessary paperwork without interrupting us from our prosecco.

La Fontana is a family run hotel on the foreshores of Lago (lake) Maggiore with stunning views and easy access to anywhere.

We found that nothing was too much trouble for the owners. Each and every morning we were personally greeted with “Buongiorno” as we went in to breakfast which was always, fresh with an excellent selection.

As we headed out each day, we were always wished “have a lovely day” and asked if there was anything we needed. Speaking of, any tourist information that we required for our trips was always readily available. It was good helpful information, in fact, better than we were able to get from the tourist office.

view from my room

I am always sad when I leave Italy but leaving Stresa was a different kind of sad, this time I felt like I was leaving home.

It is less than an hour by shuttle coach from Stresa to Malpensa airport, Milano. Very easy.

One day visit to Cinque Terre

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by Lyn Douglas in One Day visit to Cinque Terre

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Bagni di Lucca, Cinque Terre, corniglia, La Spezia, Lucca, manarola, Monterosso, province of La Spezia, riomaggiore, trenitalia, treno, Vernazza

Early one morning we left Bagni di Lucca for a one day visit to the Cinque Terre.

We took the 7.50 bus from our little village Ponte a Serraglio to Lucca, which took about 50 minutes. Then from the main train station in Lucca we caught the train to Pisa Centrale where we then changed trains and took the train to La Spezia Centrale. This entire trip took about 2 ½ hours and we arrived at La Spezia train station at 10.30.

We went directly to the Cinque Terre information office at the entrance to the train station where we asked questions and bought our all day train tickets for the 5 villages which cost 12 euro each. We had planned to take the ferry-boat from La Spezia up to Monterosso but due to rough seas this particular boat was not running.

With our all-day train passes we were able to take the trains as it suited us. We travelled to the first village, Riomaggiore, where we had coffee and explored.

From Riomaggiore we took the train to Manarola where we stopped for lunch at a restaurant down close to the water, Marina Piccola. I had the fried anchovies and fried potatoes with mixed salad. This was definitely the best anchovies I have ever eaten.

After this delicious lunch we headed off on the train once again to Vernazza where we enjoyed gelati.

We had a quick look around Vernazza and then back on to the train to the furthest village, Monterosso.

We chose to skip Corniglia as there are several hundred steps up to this village.

From Monterosso we planned to take the boat back to Portovenere which was running however we were late getting to it and without tickets we could not get on.

Then after a fabulous 6 hours at the Cinque Terre it was time to head back home to Bagni di Lucca. We took the train from La Spezia back to Pisa Centrale.

While we were sitting on our train and waiting for it to depart we learned that our train had been delayed severely so of course we were very late arriving in Lucca. This meant that we missed the last bus back to Bagni di Lucca. Fortunately there were taxis so we were able to take a taxi back.

As you can imagine this was a whistle-stop visit to these villages but it was fun and it worked. We also knew that we must return and spend longer.

After 4 weeks in Bagni di Lucca we learned so much including how to do this one day trip to Cinque Terre more easily.

Lerici – San Terenzo

14 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Lerici, San Terenzo

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, gelato, Italian riveriera, lerici, lerici castle, Liguria, portovenere, Portovenere Lerici, san terenzo

During my stays in La Spezia, I visited Lerici and San Terenzo many times. It is very easy to take the local bus, which takes about 35 mins, from La Spezia to Lerici and then walk to the beach at San Terenzo. I sat and chatted with the locals on the bus, and met lots of friendly people. You can also take the train from any of the Cinque Terre.

We also drove to Lerici where we found easy parking in one of the car parks and then it was an easy walk to the beach.

There is also a ferry connecting Lerici to Cinque Terre and Portovenere

Lerici is in the Italian Riviera in Liguria.

There is lots of delicious food in pretty restaurants on the waterfront and amidst long, curvy streets. We walked to the pier end at Lerici and to the adjacent tiny beaches. The sea here is super clean and warm, so inviting.

On the beach there are plenty of beach beds, chairs and umbrellas, but I was always happy to lie on a large rock and jump in to the beautiful crystal clear water

Laze away an afternoon gazing at the lovely buildings in Tuscan yellows and oranges, or take the stairs up to the castle, or enjoy yet another yummy gelato.

From trip advisor

There was an exhibition about dinosaurs which did nothing for me. I really was interested in the lovely views.

The castle is at the end of the beach, very close to the centre of San Terenzo.

I really liked this small romantic town.

Riomaggiore – Cinque Terre

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera, italy, riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the first of the Cinque Terre one meets when travelling north from La Spezia.

It does not have its own beach but it still is on the water. The sea is not visible from the village’s main street.

If you would rather not sit or lie on the rocks to sun tan or swim in the sea at this village, I suggest you take the train to the sandy beaches of Monterosso or go to Portovenere.

Walking track between villages

Riomaggiore is known for its locally produced wine.

There are many seafood restaurants and affordable bars and numerous shops.

Riomaggiore has an exciting feel about it, certainly not to be missed when visiting the Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore at dusk

Manarola – Cinque Terre

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Manarola

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera, manarola, walking tracks

After lunch in Monterosso, and coffee in Vernazza we enjoyed our gelati in Manarolo

Manarola is the second smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists and is possibly the oldest village. The main industries are fishing and wine making.

In recent years, Manarola and its neighboring towns have become popular tourist destinations, particularly in the summer months.

Part of the walking path

Manarola, is another gorgeous village with mostly all of the houses bright and colourful.

I found the best way to see the villages completely is by boat. We went by boat up to Monterosso and then walked or caught the train back passing through all of the villages.

So, go by boat to see the villages from the water and then explore them individually by foot .

Corniglia – Cinque Terre

06 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Corniglia

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, corniglia, Italian Riviera

Corniglia is not directly adjacent to the sea like the other 4 villages of the Cinque Terre. Instead, it is on the top of a promontory about 100 metres high, surrounded on three sides by vineyards and terraces and the fourth side descends steeply to the sea.

The first time I visited the Cinque Terre was by boat. This way you see the villages and really, the best way to see Corniglia is from the water.

To reach Corniglia, there is a climb of steps composed of 33 flights with 382 steps or, otherwise follow a vehicular road that, from the station, leads to the village. Sometimes a small bus runs up and down here.

The village stretches along the main road.

Corniglia is characterised by narrow roads and a terrace obtained in the rock from which all other four Cinque Terre’s villages, two on one side and two on the other, can be seen. The town planning structure presents also original characteristics compared to those of the other villages: the houses are lower set, and only more recently higher, similar to those of the villages of the hinterland.

There are houses in the Cinque Terre that are so isolated that the only way to reach them is by climbing or descending hundreds of steps. These houses are usually holiday cottages for those who are looking for complete privacy.

Vernazza – Cinque Terre

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Cinque Terre, Vernazza

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera, italy, Vernazza

Vernazza is one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region. It is the fourth town heading north, has no car traffic and remains one of the truest “fishing villages” on the Italian Riviera

There are many great restaurants and cafes with spectacular views overlooking the sea. If you are looking for a place to stay in Vernazza or any of the villages in the Cinque Terre, there usually are signs outside of places offering accommodation and rooms for rent. Of course you can also book accommodation prior to visiting.

It is a fortified town which was once an active maritime base for one of the Italian families of nobility.

Tourism in Vernazza is the biggest industry, however, fishing, wine production and olive oil production are still main industries

On 25 October 2011, Vernazza was struck by torrential rains, massive flooding and mudslides that left the town buried in over 4 metres of mud and debris, causing over 100 million euro worth of damage. The town was evacuated and remained in a continued state of emergency. There has been another bad storm recently which has meant that the walking tracks have been closed.

The last time I was in the Cinque Terre my friends walked the tracks between each village however I chose to take the train. The tracks are mostly narrow, rocky and not always an easy walk and can be very hot even in spring or autumn.

Vernazza’s beach is off Piazza Marconi, within the protected harbour on the north western side.

Mosaic on walls in tunnels between villages

Vernazza offers expansive views of the hillside vineyards and the coast.

Looking back at the Cinque Terre from a boat

Travelling with Lyn

~ My experiences in Italy and the world

Tag Archives: Cinque Terre

Lerici – Italian Riviera

My reasons for travelling to Italy – Series – Viste (sights)

Belforte – Vernazza

La Fontana – Stresa

One day visit to Cinque Terre

Lerici – San Terenzo

Riomaggiore – Cinque Terre

Manarola – Cinque Terre

Corniglia – Cinque Terre

Vernazza – Cinque Terre