Punta Bonfiglio, a short uphill hike, has fabulous views and a playground with a bar (or a bar with a playground, depending on your priorities). The bustling main street and waterfront promenade are still lined with fishing boats and other such reminders of everyday village life.

It's also awash with priceless medieval relics, supporting claims that it is the oldest village of the five. The beautiful cliffs of Manarola spill into the sea © Sky Sajjaphot / Getty Images Manarolaīequeathed with more grapevines than any other Cinque Terre village, Manarola is famous for its sweet Sciacchetrà wine. What you need to know about traveling to Italy right now The five villages are no longer the isolated hamlets they once were, but there’s still a feeling of authenticity here, with few roads, perfectly preserved architecture and a network of stunning coastal and mountain trails. Cars have been banned within the villages for more than a decade. Sinuous paths traverse seemingly impregnable cliff sides, and a 19th-century railway line that's cut through a series of coastal tunnels moves people from village to village. Set amid some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, these beautiful, colorful towns can bolster the most jaded of spirits. Tucked away in a particularly mountainous kink at the eastern end of the Italian Riviera, the villages of the Cinque Terre (pronounced chin-kwe ter-re, with a rolled 'r' sound) were shaped by their profound isolation.

The Italian Riviera is not short of rugged coastline or romantic towns and villages, but the five fishing communities of the Cinque Terre are its most iconic highlight.

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