The Best Places to Stay in the Cinque Terre, Italy

A celestial fresco rises over the stairway in the swankiest room in this handsome old house in Monterosso al Mare, but it’s the part-shaded rooftop terrace that elevates Locanda il Maestrale. Sit back on a lounger, flick through a guidebook with a spritzer in the shade, or just soak up the village views, then slip away to tasteful rooms decorated in bright, sunshiney colours.

A fragrant Italian garden envelops this pink-and-white 19th-century mansion in Monterosso al Mare. It’s on the hillside behind the seafront, set back from the beach bustle, and the neat, tiled bedrooms are calm, modern spaces to retreat to after jostling with the crowds to nab towel space on the sand. The buffet breakfasts feature local cheeses and charcuterie, and the garden comes into its own at sunset, which is best enjoyed alongside a glass of sweet local Sciacchetrà wine.

Agriturismo Buranco casts a watchful eye over Monterosso al Mare from a lush green vantage point on the hillside, ringed by cascading grapevines. Split between the vineyard and an old home in Monterosso al Mare, rooms are bright and elegant, with exposed ceiling beams, but you’ll probably spend more time on the bucolic terrace admiring the views. Guests can sample all sorts of farm-produced treats as part of home-cooked tasting menus.

Riomaggiore is stacked almost perpendicular to the harbour, and this snug guesthouse is right in the heart of things, just 20m (66ft) back from the waves. Rooms and apartments at this hotel in Riomaggiore are uncluttered and functional, with wooden floors, stylish bathrooms and eye-popping views of the harbour dropping away in front of you. Friendly local staff complete the Cinque Terre picture.

Rising over a sea-sculpted stretch of cliffs, Hanging Garden does indeed seem to float magically above the Cinque Terre coast. There are two self-contained apartments with all the mod cons – fast wifi, flat-screen TVs, new kitchens and icy air conditioning – set in a tall yellow house, just a gentle stroll from Corniglia or an easy shuttle bus ride in the opposite direction. It’s peaceful and private, and there are swoon-inducing sea views from many windows and the patio garden.

At the top of the village, beside the road plunging down to the harbour, Locanda Ca Da Iride serves up outdoor space with every room, from a pretty patio garden to a stylish flagstone terrace gazing longingly towards the sea. Rooms at this hotel in Riomaggiore are simple but decorated in appealing single colours, and the friendly owners go out of their way to immerse guests in the Cinque Terre experience.

Tiny Manarola is little more than a single road dropping down to a boat-filled harbour, where Arpaiu nestles into the cliffs, balanced perfectly above the ocean. This guarantees spectacular views over the sea and the rainbow-coloured fishing boats at the village quay. The breakfast terrace and bedrooms offer soaring vistas of a hazy sweep of coastline. Interiors are calm, white spaces with wooden floors and windows admitting the salty sea air.

Away from the hubbub this hotel in Riomaggiore, Cinqueterre Residence has an environmental ethos, based on saving energy and water. There’s also an onsite enoteca (wine shop), plus a sun-blessed terrace looking out over the village’s pretty cascade of houses, where you can crack open a bottle. Tidy, tiled rooms are daubed in bright, summery colours, and some have terraces – the apartment with its own private garden overlooking the village church is a dream.

The pastel-coloured village of Volastra is set high on the cliffs between Manarola and Corniglia, with commanding views over a blue swathe of sea. Set in a mustard-yellow, castle-shaped villa on the hillside, Luna di Marzo is topped by an expansive stone terrace and filled with spic-and-span bedrooms decorated in modern tones that make the most of the salty sea views. It’s a gentle 1km (0.6mi) walk downhill to Manarola; get back uphill on the bus.