Cinque Terre

CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

While everyone talks about Cinque Terre as if it is just one place, it is in fact made up of five incredibly picturesque little villages (hence the name, which translates to “Five Lands”). Stretching along the Italian Riveira coastline in the country’s West, running from south to north are the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Monterosso and Vernazza which are home to some 4,000 inhabitants. This area does however draw in an astonishing 2.4 million tourists per year, who travel to this now-listed National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site to see its beautiful but rugged landscape, terraced agricultural land and pretty pastel-coloured coastal towns that appear to rise from the Mediterranean Sea, each showcasing its perfectly preserved architecture and its own different character.