The five cliff side villages of Cinque Terre comprise a region of sheer rocky coastline in northern Italy, with terraced hills and vineyards sloping steeply down to the sea. Five little villages are built into the rocks between the beach and the hills. Centuries old footpaths and mule tracks wind about 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, leading through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods.
Each village has its own character. They are a few minutes apart by train. Some of the villages have very easy walks between them, beautiful beyond description. Others have arduous paths that require extremely good physical condition in order to traverse them. If you have trouble walking up steep inclines, this trip is not for you. There are almost no cars as the villages are not easily accessible by road, but trains and boats access each village continuously throughout the day.