My husband and I have wanted to visit Cinque Terre for several years. It is a beautiful rugged portion of coast along the Italian Riviera. There are "Five Lands" which make up five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We stayed in an apartment in Riomaggiore, which ended up being my favorite village.
Traveling with a toddler, too much luggage, and a stroller is tiring, especially when arriving and departing. We took the train from Pisa, which was super easy. After making several trips up and down the stairs to get to our apartment we were set to enjoy the beauty. Most of the towns were stroller friendly after you walk up and down the steps to get to them. We took our full size German stroller rather than our travel umbrella stroller. One day we did not use it, we just let our son walk and we carried him. The next day it was worth bringing it.
Our favorite villages were Riomaggiore, Vernazza, and Manarola. Although visiting all five is worth doing if you ever go. There are a few parks in various villages. We saw one in Vernazza and one in Monterosso. Needless to say, that was our son's favorite part of Cinque Terre besides hanging out with us.
Hiking is popular in Cinque Terre as is relaxing. There are few things to see besides the beautiful coast and villages such as a black and white church in Monterosso and a church in Vernazza. Other than that, enjoy the food, rest, and bring a book.
Here are a few pictures from our time in Cinque Terre. We walked from Riomaggiore to Vernazza along the "Via dell'Amore" - or Lover's Lane, a track winding along the cliff-tops, high above the sea. Our apartment overlooked the coast and was in a great location. We found an apartment recommended by Rick Steve's through a company called Edi. The location was great. We had a nice sea view and it was close to everything. The only downside was all the stairs.
