Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre—one of Italy's most spectacular coastlines—is best enjoyed on foot, and is indeed one of the most beautiful coastal walks in Europe, along with being the most accessible. A string of ancient villages—Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza—lace the coast connected sometimes by vertiginous walkways. You can start in a number of locations but for ease of access, the train from La Spezia dumps you in Riomaggiore, where a popular and often crowded stroll—the Via d'Amore (Lovers Walk) takes you to Manorola. This is the beginning of 'walk number 2', the most popular, but also the most commercial (the tourist authorities charge a fee for this walk, which runs all the way to Monterosso), and it can be completed in two days. It gets more interesting the further you go—from Manarolo, an hour and a half takes you to the next village, Corniglia, close to a quiet stretch of beach before taking a steep zigzag path up to the village. Beyond Corniglia, things get truly spectacular, winding through olive groves and dappled woods and then up some extremely steep inclines. The view from the top, back towards Corniglia (where there's a bar for the thirsty hiker) is amazing. From there it’s a steep descent into the pretty beachside harbour village of Vernazza. The following day can be spent walking to the busier resort of Monterosso, an hour and a half away. For more adventurous walkers, there are plenty of free walks on this coast—the stretch to Portvenere in the other direction, south of Riomaggiore, being the best.