Corniglia's tiny marina is not really a marina at all — there is no jetty and almost no flat ground, just a few rocks and a slipway at the base of the cliff where the fishermen still pull their wooden gozzi out of the water with a winch. A narrow path zigzags down from the railway station, drops past a small cement platform, and ends at a rocky landing where in summer you can swim if the sea is calm.
It is not the place for a day at the beach — there is no sand, no shade, and the rocks are sharp — but the swim is the real thing, in deep clear water with the cliff towering directly above. The path is unmarked and the descent is steep; turn back if it is wet.