There are five towns in the Cinque Terre (literally 'five lands'), all of them abutting steep ocean cliffs. Historically, these towns typically only had to worry about Saracen raiders in the 12th and 13th century. Other than that, they remained isolated, until today. Now they are loved by hordes of tourists. This happened because the rail line came through in 1971, and soon after Rick Steves stumbled upon them. Through his TV series the five towns have become well known, Americans are everywhere. The towns still retain their 16th century architecture, a snapshot back in time.
Between the towns there is a hiking trail called the Sentiero Azzuro (the "blue trail") which joins them together into a full day hike. In addition there is train service between all but one of the five towns. The trails can become overcrowded in the afternoon. Go early and the trail is practically all yours, at least for a while.
Each town has its own charming corners to explore. All of them are welcoming to tourists and hikers. And they have a nightlife -- good restaurants and bars. A fun area, a good place for a day or two.
The people of Cinque Terre typically have a small plot of land for growing food. The man below the room I rented had lemon trees, basil, tomatoes, grapes and onions growing on his balcony overlooking the sea (photo above was taken from my balcony). He would go out each evening and gingerly water each plant.
On the slopes and hills of Cinque Terre you will typically see plots of lemon and olive trees, grape vines, basil, tomatoes, etc. They proudly, and with justification, point out the hard work that has gone into creating these plots on the steep and rocky slopes. Note the height of the walls in the photo above -- some of them appear to at least 12 feet high. All done by hand.
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