Food & Wine in the Cinque Terre

With sweeping ocean views, picture-perfect cliffside villages, and endless sun, sea, and sand, the Cinque Terre is one of Italy’s most idyllic getaways. But a visit would be incomplete without Italian cuisine and wine, so here are our top picks.

Must-Try Dishes & Drinks

Thanks to scenic coastal hikes and steep hillside villages, it’s easy to work up an appetite in the Cinque Terre, and there’s plenty to satisfy all tastes. Tuck into a bowl of frutti di mare (seafood spaghetti), enjoy fresh-from-the-ocean anchovies, or sample some Italy’s best pesto, used in a variety of tasty pasta dishes. Other local specialties include pansotti (ravioli with ricotta and walnut), focaccia (herbed flatbread), and farinata (chickpea flatbread) accompanied by local wines such as vino delle Cinque Terre or the famous dessert wine, Sciacchetrà.

Must-Do Experiences

• Explore the wine cellars and vineyards around Riomaggiore, then indulge in an expert-led wine tasting.

• Learn the secrets of Liguria cuisine or make traditional Italian pasta from scratch with a small-group cooking class in La Spezia.

• Sample an array of focaccia breads, olives, anchovies, olive oils, and pestos on a food tasting tour of Riomaggiore.

• Discover how pesto Genovese is made with a one-hour pesto-making class in Levanto.

• Tuck into fresh seafood as you watch the sunset from an oceanview restaurant in Monterosso or Vernazza.