Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso al Mare is the northernmost and largest of the five Cinque Terre villages, and the only one with a proper sandy beach, which makes it the most resort-like of the group. It divides into two halves linked by a short pedestrian tunnel: the atmospheric medieval old town, with its narrow carruggi, the striped Church of San Giovanni Battista and the hilltop Capuchin convent, and the newer Fegina district, where a long beachfront promenade runs past lines of striped umbrellas to the colossal early-20th-century statue of Neptune, known as Il Gigante, carved into the rock. Visitors come to swim and sunbathe on the sand, wander the old-town lanes, eat the village's celebrated salted anchovies, and start or finish the coastal trail to Vernazza. A relaxed visit takes a half day, longer if you settle in on the beach. Much of the seafront sand is run as private lidos with paid loungers, though free public stretches remain. The village is reached easily by the Cinque Terre Express train and, in summer, by ferry. Monterosso is busiest from late morning through the afternoon in July and August and on cruise days; June and September are warm but calmer, and early mornings are peaceful. The best photographs look back over the old town and beach from the trail towards Vernazza, or along the Fegina promenade to Il Gigante. As the flattest and most accessible of the Cinque Terre villages in eastern Liguria, Monterosso makes a comfortable base for families and for hikers tackling the Blue Trail.