Sentiero Azzurro

The Blue Trail is the coastal footpath linking the five villages of the Cinque Terre, running about 12 km along the Ligurian cliffs from Monterosso al Mare through Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola to Riomaggiore. It is the most famous walk on this stretch of the Riviera and can be done comfortably in a day, village to village.

The setting is the draw: pastel houses stacked above tiny harbours, terraced vineyards clinging to near-vertical slopes, and the deep blue Ligurian Sea below. The northern segment between Monterosso and Vernazza is the most dramatic, climbing over headlands with sweeping views back along the coast to the painted rooftops.

Walking is moderate — plenty of stone steps and undulating cliff path rather than serious altitude — though some sections close periodically for landslide repair, most notably the low Via dell'Amore near Riomaggiore. The trail lies within a national park, so a Cinque Terre card or trail ticket is required, funding maintenance; trains between villages offer easy bail-out points.

These paths began as links between farming and fishing communities, later protected as a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site for their terraced landscape. The best months are spring and autumn — April to June and September to October — when the terraces are green or harvest-gold and temperatures are pleasant; midsummer is hot and crowded, and winter storms often shut sections.