Monterosso al Mare
©
Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso al Mare

Largest Cinque Terre village, with sandy beaches, a fishing old town, and local anchovies and Sciacchetrà wine.

Monterosso al Mare is the largest and most westerly of the five Cinque Terre villages, and the one most geared to visitors. Unlike its more vertical neighbours, it spreads out along a proper sandy beach — two beaches, in fact, separated by a rocky headland — which makes it a genuine resort as well as a historic fishing village. The old town, huddled behind the headland, has narrow caruggi lanes, a medieval tower, and a handful of good restaurants serving anchovies caught right off the coast.

Monterosso grows the lemons and grapes that define Cinque Terre cooking. The local anchovies (acciughe) are cured with sea salt and eaten as a starter or tossed through pasta; the white wine Sciacchetrà, made from partially dried grapes, is sweet and powerful. Both are worth seeking out before you leave.

The village draws more day-trippers than the others precisely because of its beach and relative accessibility, so early morning and late afternoon are the best times to wander the old town. Stay overnight and you get the place to yourself once the ferries have gone.

Local tip

Monterosso is the largest and only real beach town of the Cinque Terre — the one with actual sand and sunbeds, split into an old and new town by a tunnel. It's the easiest of the five for families and the trailhead for the scenic walk to Vernazza. Try the local anchovies and pesto, both regional specialities. Come by train, not car.

Guide

Beaches

Monterosso has the only real sandy beach in the Cinque Terre. Fegina Beach, in front of the new town, is a broad stretch of sand with both free public sections and private stabilimenti where you can rent umbrellas and loungers. The water is clear and the swimming is good. On busy summer weekends the beach fills up fast — arrive early or try the rocky coves west of the old town for more space.

Guide

Eating Out

Monterosso's signature ingredient is the acciuga — the anchovy — and the ones caught in these waters are considered among the finest in Italy. They appear on every menu in multiple forms: marinated in lemon, stuffed and fried, packed in salt, or layered with herbs. If you eat nothing else here, eat the anchovies.

Beyond the anchovies, the Ligurian kitchen is present in full: fresh trofie pasta with pesto made from local basil, focaccia baked soft and glistening with olive oil, and plates of fried fish from the day's catch. To drink, look for Sciacchetrà, the local sweet wine made from sun-dried Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino grapes — it's produced in small quantities from the steep terraced vineyards above the village and rarely travels far. A glass at the end of a meal is the correct way to finish.

Guide

Getting There

Monterosso has its own railway station on the Genoa–La Spezia line, and this is far and away the easiest way to arrive. Trains from La Spezia run frequently (about 20 minutes); from Genoa the journey takes around an hour and a half. The station sits in the Fegina district, a short walk from the beach and a tunnel away from the old town.

Ferries run seasonally from Genoa, Lerici, and La Spezia, docking in the small harbour at the old town. This is a fine way to arrive if the weather is calm — the view of the village from the water is as good as advertised.

Driving is not recommended. The road into the village is narrow and congested in season, and there is essentially no parking in either the old town or Fegina. Cars must be left in the hilltop car parks above the village and a shuttle or steep walk taken down. Unless you are arriving from somewhere inaccessible by train, leave the car elsewhere.

Guide

Things to Do

Monterosso is the only one of the five Cinque Terre villages with a proper beach, and for many visitors that defines what they do here. But the old town — the medieval part on the eastern side of the headland — offers something beyond sunbathing: a medieval church, a network of narrow caruggi, a ruined giant on the cliffs, and paths that lead up through terraced vineyards toward the coast trail connecting the villages.

The other four villages can each be reached on foot via the Sentiero Azzurro, by ferry, or by the short train ride that runs the length of the coast. Monterosso makes a good base because it has the most accommodation and the best beaches, but the villages are close enough to spend time in all of them in a few days.

cinque terre