All About Manarola Cinque Terre

Manarola, the charming village

Manarola is one of the 5 of the Cinque Terre, a great village, the village we love. If you wish to know all about it, this is the right page for you. It is the one that will charm you, either you visit it just for a few days or you decide to spend a long holiday. It is also the village that will always offer you a relaxing stay even in the most crowded season. And it’s the place that will give you the most romantic and unforgettable sunsets.

Manarola: the village you’ll love, no ifs and buts!

In Manarola all locals and travelers love swimming in its crystal clear waters

In this village it’s so lovely lay down on its rocks and get an amazing tan

It is also the perfect place for diving from the cliffs

All kids love this and won’t ever leave this place.

Manarola Views are breathtaking, wherever we turn our eyes

Manarola is undeniably charming

Its rustic setting means it’s slightly less populated with tourists during the high season. Manarola is a perfect spot for your Cinque terre holiday and to give those Ligurian anchovies a try! And to convince this is the place for you, there’s no better key to open your heart than picture of this amazing and unique village.

Manarola Rentals

Manarola offers a wide selection of unique, high value properties for rental. This is the village where guests love stay longer than 3-4 days. People who choose Manarola usually rent apartments for one or two weeks and come year after year to get a rewarding and relaxing holiday.

Manarola has History

Buildings perched on the rocks talk about their history.  Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. Sunset lights up the bell tower in front of San Lorenzo Church.

San Lorenzo Church[/caption]

Manarola old houses are like fortress walls that, in ancient times, meant to protect the village from pirates attacks. From them villagers had control of the sea and defended themselves throwing boiling water and oil over the attackers.

The local dialect is Manarolese

which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name “Manarola” is probably dialectical evolution of the Latin, “magna rota”. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to “magna roea” which means “large wheel”, in reference to the mill wheel in the town. Today, visitor can still see a stone old mill wheel walking along Via Discovolo.

Manarola Restaurants

Tourists in Manarola love living as locals and adore Manarola food served by the amazing restaurants that the village offers. One for all, for instance, A Pie’ de Campu, located a bit over the Church square on the way to the car parking.

That’s the best place for profession al wine tastings and fantastic pesto, pasta and focaccia classes. Under the pergola and amidst the lemon orchard you’ll have the opportunity of tasting authentic flavours of our culinary and wine tradition.

Trattoria Dal Billy is located at the top of Manarola and consists of three levels “terrace”: two indoor rooms plus a large open space from where you can admire the sea, the village and the hill with gardens.

Trattoria “Dal Billy” conserves and rediscovers the image of the fisherman, not only the tastes and smells of the sea, but also the flavours of the land between the terraces. Three generations of fishermen and an excellent cook cook and serve at the tables of the products one of the most beautiful villages of the 5 Land preserving traditions and simplicity.

Other great dining opportunities are offered by Marina Piccola Restaurant, that, as the name says, remains near the village Marina.

Gourmet can also

And if you are looking for wine tasting, pay a stop at Zio Bramante on the way to the Marina

Don’t miss curios things when in Manarola. Here the square dedicated to “dead birds” (in Italy birds is another term fro “cock”, from here the pun . in the sign).

Manarola is famous all over the world for it huge Manarola Nativity

The huge Nativity Scene on Manarola Hill is the unique creation of amazing Mario Andreoli. He’s now and old man in his eighties that for years has kept on building characters to create the magic every local and tourist waits for. The Scene is lit at Christmas, Easter and on St, Lawrence Day on Aug 10th.

How to reach Manarola

It’s easy to reach Manarola by train, even though not all the local train on the Cinque Terre line stop in Manarola, so carefully check trains stops before jumping on your train. But in case you made a mistake, no panic! Get off in Monterosso or La Spezia and take another train to Manarola. Second time you won’t make mistakes.

The Dog Stone

And while waiting in Manarola for your train to Monterosso, Vernazza or Riomaggiore and Corniglia do not miss to take a look at the Dog Stone watching the waters.

And for those willing to reach Manarola by car, that’s not so bad, since the coastal panoramic road that connects La Spezia to the Cinque Terre is really spectacular and, till Manarola, easy to drive on.

There’s a large car parking at the end of the road (the second one you meet going down to the village) right before the first traffic bar. If you arrive during the day (from 7 a.m. to 6:00 p.m approx.) you will always find a Park Assistant to help with car parking payments. Otherwise, you can buy tickets from a machine. In case you arrive late at night and you are going to stay in Manarola for many days, we suggest you buy just an overnight ticket till the following morning, when you can reach the car parking  booth and check with the parking staff the best ticket for your needs.

 All Cinque Terre Riviera guests will receive detailed INFO to reach Manarola PROPERTIES after booking so that Manarola, the charming village will be for them a unique and unforgettable experience.