Market Day in Monterosso al Mare

We walk down into the main square in the old town of Monterosso al Mare and find a real treat.  It's market day and the square is full of trucks and stands selling anything you could want, from kitchen appliances to clothing to fresh fish and produce.

Let's do a tour of the stalls and stands.

  Household linens, clothing, and accessories

 Fresh produce

Mushrooms and dried fish

Cheese and pesto

Housewares

 Food to go:  rotisserie chicken and fried fish

The next day, there is a evening band concert in the main square of Monterosso's old town.  To accompany the concert, a meal is available in the square, fried fish (8 euros), pork sandwich (5 euros), or lasgne (6 euros).  A good deal and a great way to spend a warm evening.  We listen to the concert over a glass of wine overlooking the city toward the Mediterranean on our balcony at Hotel Villa Steno.

 Concert announcement and menu

 Bandstand set up on the harbor

 Cooking and serving

View across Monterosso from our balcony at Hotel Villa Steno

There is a lot going on in Monterosso and we never tire of exploring and discovering the riches of this city and region.

Continuing on to Levanto

At the half-way point in our hike from Monterosso al Mare to Leavnto, we have already hiked up to the ridge above Monterosso at the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Soviore, then circled around Monterosso, passing through Colle de Gritta to the Mediterranean, ready to trek along the sea for the rest of our journey.

The path proceeds north along the ridge, with the Mediterranean on the left, popping in and out of the forest, sometimes heading down into a valley, then back up to the top of the ridge.

 Hiking the ridge along the Mediterranean

 Occasionally through the forest

Every now and then, we run across a house with the path going through the property.  These people certainly have a long walk for groceries, but an incredible view!

 House with great views on the trail

After our short urban trek through the yard, we continue along the Mediterranean, with Levanto starting to appear in the distance.

Continuing along the sea

As we get closer, we run across more urban settings, some stone paths past other houses and vineyards, and views of Levanto getting closer and closer.

 Stone path and steps - we're getting there

 Levanto getting closer and closer

The final descent into Levanto is down a stairway leading to the beach and the grand villas on the boardwalk.

 Stairway into Levanto

Reaching the beach

 Grand villas on the Levanto waterfront

But, we're not here to swim or admire the housing.  It's time for lunch and we take a short walk into the center of Levanto to see what we can find.  We pass an artist painting on an overpass wall as his canvas and enter the main square, quickly spotting a row of restaurants, where we settle into Café Roma for pizza and local white wine.

 Artist at work

Restaurants on the main square

 Lunch is Speck Pizza (with cheese) and 5 Terre Pizza, with anchovies and capers.

5 Terre Pizza and Speck Pizza

 An appropriate reward for the hike!

After lunch, we wander through Levanto to the train station and catch the next train back to Monterosso, where we reward ourselves (again) with a lemon gelato.  Another great day in paradise!

Hiking to Levanto

Our second-favorite hike in Cinque Terre is another hike away from the five towns, from Monterosso al Mare to Levanto, the gateway town to the north.  This hike can be started from Monterosso's new town, heading straight up to the ridge and joining the path along the Mediterranean.  However, we like to take a different route, one that leaves from Monterosso's old town and initially leads us away from Levanto, up to the Santuario di Nostra Signora di Soviore (Sanctuary of the Madonna of Soviore), 466 meters (1529 feet) above the city, where there has been church since the 8th century.

When we reach Soviore, we are at the top of the ridge and then circle around Monterosso from south to north.  Then, when we finally reach the sea north of the city, we join the path along the Mediterranean to Levanto (where we would have hiked up to if we left from the new town).

But, first, the invigorating part (as always), up, with great views of Monterosso as we hike up from the city to Soviore.

 Heading up (again)

Montererosso growing smaller below us

From Soviore, we head down the road for a half hour or so to the small intersection at Colle di Gritta, where we will catch the path (restarting from inside the hotel parking lot, just to make it interesting to find) around Monterosso from the south side to the north side.

 Great map  in Colle di Gritta, with elevations

Colle de Gritta, hotel and gateway to Cinque Terre

 View of Monterosso from the ridge

The trail across the north of Monterosso is flat for a while (where we find black berry bushes), but soon becomes rocky stretches of up and down.  From the top of the ridge, we can see Monterosso on the left as we complete our loop around the city and Levanto on the right, still two hours away.

But first, fresh berries

Flat trail along the ridge (for a while), with rest area

Monterosso on the left, Levanto on the right

 Path gets steep and rocky (again)

Finally, we reach the trail above the northern end of Monterosso's new town.  We merge with the path up from Monterosso (that would have saved us two hours) and appreciate the hikes and views of Monterosso that we just experienced.

 Left to go back down to Monterosso, right to Levanto

To be continued - turning right to Levanto.