The most famous length of the Cinque Terre path is Via Dell’amore, or Lover’s Lane, which is a short, flat stretch from Riomaggiore to Manarola. The path isn’t particularly romantic, the scenery is so-so and it is often crowded, but for a couple it can be quite nice. After all, you don’t want your lover to see you panting and sweating up a hill! It is worth visiting for those who can’t hike or aren’t properly dressed for a real trek.
A lot of the path is covered in graffiti, and instead of forbidding it, it has been embraced. Murals of love notes and paintings of faces and shapes line a long corridor.
The walk is very short and easy, perhaps 15 minutes, then you arrive in Manarola. Manarola is one of the smaller towns, with an adorable marina and surrounded by dramatic cliffs. To get to the city you must go towards the train station and go down a long, ugly tunnel. Take a left up some stairs to see a little Piazza overlooking the Marina. The path to the sea is lined in restaurants and I stop in Manarola for a Foccacia. The little shop serves foccacia, farinata and torta pasqualina, all specialities of the area. The man heats up the fresh foccacia I picked, with spinach and lots of mozzarella cheese. It is a cheap, quick lunch, about 5 euro with a drink. A poem written on butcher paper on the wall explains how foccacia is the true flavor of Liguria, with a feeling of summer sun and fragrant olive oil.
From the shop I go around the corner to get to the Cinque Terre path again.