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Cinque Terre, Italy - Liguria - On the Riviera di Levante, Hotel Stella Maris is the perfect answer for those who want to be in the heart of things, yet escape the bustling crowds.
You will awake in a four-poster bed in an ancient palazzo, as the church bell tolls and the smell of freshly baking bread permeates your room - everything is home-made here, from the jams and conserves to the ice cream, and there is a special American buffet breakfast. Throw open the windows and look upon the green sea breaking onto the rocks.
Walk along lanes so narrow that you can touch both sides by stretching out your arms. And return at night for a very special meal prepared by your host – Ligurian specialities are always on the menu.
The Cinque Terre are five extraordinary villages, each quite unique, each poised above its own bay. Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Rio Maggiore are the realm of fishmermen and wine producers (Cinque Terre produces its own white wine). As ever in Italy, for every five houses there is a church, two bars and a restaurant. Even the smallest village has its marketplace with stalls where everybody congregates by night. The old people play cards and knit, while the children finally get that ice cream!
[ View on Google Map | map of Liguria ]Here the pedestrian rules, and cars are forbidden. You’ll travel mostly by train or on foot, and you can easily walk from one village to another. You will follow a mule track amongst flowering bushes, scented rosemary and hardy vines. Car drivers can leave their vehicles in Levanto, the 900-year-old town nearby.
