Last Sunday I had the amazing opportunity to go to Cinque Terre for the day. Cinque Terre is located in northern Italy in Liguria.

I had heard of this interesting city before coming to Italy.  In my Italian class last spring semester our final project was a presentation on a region of Italy. One of the girls in my class did her project on Liguria and spoke a lot about Cinque Terre. She showed pictures of the most beautiful beaches and towns and I knew right away that I wanted to go there.

When I arrived in Florence I learned about a couple different companies that offer cheap weekend and day trips for students studying abroad.  They both offered day trips to Cinque Terre so I quickly booked a trip for only 40 euro with a large group of my friends.

Cinque Terre literally translates to five lands and that is exactly what it is.  There are five different sections and you can either hike to get from one to another or take a train. We took the train to Cinque Terre and walked from the first section to the second. Once we got there we walked around the town, got some lunch and then took the train to another section. We then had the option to go on a longer more difficult hike with some amazing views of the towns or to take the train to the last section and spend a couple of hours at the beach. I went with the second choice and spent a few hours laying on the beach and walking around the shops and restaurants that lined it.

Spending the day in Cinque Terre was one of the best days I have had so far since I’ve been in Italy. The towns are so different from anything that I have ever seen in America. The bright blue water, amazing hiking paths and stunning architectural landscapes are all extremely beautiful and I would absolutely recommend spending some time in Cinque Terre if you are ever in Italy and have the chance to do so.

Location: Florence