Od Sestri Levante do Cinque Terre
From Lavagna around the bay there is a road to SESTRI LEVANTE, one of the most commercialized holiday resorts south of Genoa. A narrow isthmus here divides the coast into two distinct parts: "Bay of Fairy Tales", supposedly so named by Hans Christian Andersen himself and "The Bay of Silence". In the castle situated between the bays, per year 1897, performed his first experiments with Marconi radio waves. He sent messages remotely by means of short waves 19 kilometers, to ships anchored near La Spezia. In the Bay of Fairy Tales, the beach is wide and sandy, but it is full of sun loungers and is dominated by a number of seaside hotels. Bay of Silence, even though the season is not that, as the name suggests, it is generally more enjoyable, and has a narrow beach, where many fishing boats are standing.
There are two small churches on the cape, including the restored Romanesque church of San Nicolo, and there is a park nearby, where cork oaks and other Mediterranean plants grow (V-IX, closed. 12.00-16.00). The most attractive accommodation places are also here. Pension Jolanda, Via Pozzetto 15 (* 0185/41354) has rooms with balconies for approx. 30000 L. The cost of the stay is similar in Via Palestro, near the Bay of Silence, San Floor (* 0185/41279). But in standing even closer to the sea, on the main boulevard, Locanda Trattoria L’Approdo, Piazza Francesco Bo 17 (*0185/47367) rooms cost approx. 40000 L.
The best bars and restaurants are on Via XXV Aprile, which runs the entire length of the headland, expanding into Corso Colombo. Example, Octopus Mario restaurant, Via XXV Aprile 18, specializes in fish dishes, in Buon Geppin on Corso Colombo (closed. pn.) serves good fish entrees. Takeaways, from Ligurian delicacies to fries with ketchup, you can get at the premises on Via XXV Aprile 61/63 (open daily. during normal dining hours), and a selection of wines from Liguria and other Italian regions is offered by Enoteca II Leudo (codz. into 20.00).
The nightlife in Sestri is also rich. Lots of bars open to 3 in the morning, and the Ca di Ferrae video bar on Via Nazionale hosts music bands every Friday.
From Sestri to the countryside
Buses run from Sestri to the market town of VARESE LIGURE, situated in the upper part of Val di Vara. The town, built on a circular plan, is centered around a 15th-century castle and a medieval one, supported on pig-shaped supports, the bridge over the river Gresino. The local Augustinian sisters traditionally live off the production of scivettes, that is, marzipan flowers, and the city also produces grappa, a special type of grape vodka. Having your own car is essential, if you want to see the rest of the valley. You can then drive a winding 13 km stretch of road to the Passo di Centro Croci (1053 m.), and from there or take the exit back to the coast, or cross the border of the region and go to Bedonia and Borgo Val di Taro in Emilia Romagna.
Along the coast
For the Levante Sisters, behind the cape and the shipyards of RIVA TRIGOSO, the railway line and the coastal highway disappear in tunnels stretching almost to La Spezia. Traveling by bus takes patience here, because its route deviates first to the coast to the holiday resorts of MONEGLIA and DEIVA MARINA focused on family holidays, then inland, where you pass the red marble quarries, olive groves and burned parts of the forest, and finally returns to the coast. The last town before Cinque Terre is small, having a long, sandy beach, and next to it a number of LEVANTO bars. This normally quiet town comes alive on Wednesdays, when local residents come here for a market organized on a grand scale.
Cinque Terre
On a fast train, it swiftly flies through all five Cinque Terre villages and between the tunnels you can only take a few cursory glances at the steep cliffs and the turquoise sea. Passenger trains, however (run every hour. in both directions), they stop in turn at all five villages and by the time you finish Litoranea delle Cinque Terre it is the most convenient way to get here. There are also ferries from La Spezia. Relative distance from larger towns and charming location of villages above small ones, coves limited by cliffs make, that coming here is a real highlight.
Initially, these villages were fishing ports, but now they also produce great amounts of wine and olives, which is grown on steep slopes, often only accessible from the sea on the slopes. Tourism has recently become an equally important industry.
Closest to La Spezia is the relatively large village of RIOMAGGIORE, which is the best place to start your tour. There are no two buildings here, that would be at the same height, because the village is amazing, but captivatingly pressed into a rocky cliff.
Further along the high bank leads the path to MANAROLA, where lemon trees grow literally in every yard, and in the spring, before the sun can burn everything but the grapevines here to ashes, the cliffs are covered with wild flowers. Hence, every now and then passing stairs carved in the rock to the sea, leads less popular, but a more picturesque path to MONTEROSSO (12 kilometers). It is the largest and least charming village, which, however, is the only one adjacent to a relatively wide beach. CORNIGLIA i VERNAZZA są podobne do Riomaggiore, but much smaller.
There is one thing to remember in Cinque Terre: if you follow - the example of Italians - from coastal rocks to the sea, watch out for unexpected motorboats.
It is relatively easy to find relatively inexpensive hotels here (especially in Monterosso and Rionlaggiore), but first you shouldn't count on very low prices, and secondly, you have to take into account the problems with accommodation in August. Asking people you meet in the villages, you can sometimes find a room in a private house. The restaurants here are ordinary trattorias, whose owners use a slightly exaggerated decoration as an excuse to demand exorbitant coperto fees from guests. At worst, Monterosso, the only place with a fairly pleasant interior is the cafe of the "rebellious alternative". Most of the bars though, even in the most frequented places, it is relatively inexpensive.