CINQUE TERRE-110km/70mi

Set amid some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, these five ingeniously constructed fishing villages are a Unesco World Heritage site since 1997.

Sinuous paths traverse seemingly impregnable cliff sides, while a 19th-century railway line cuts through a series of coastal tunnels ferries the footsore from village to village.

Cinque Terre’s five villages date from the early Medieval period. Monterosso, the oldest, was founded in AD 643, Riomaggiore came next and then Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola.

Much of what remains in the villages today dates from the late High Middle Ages, including several castles and a quintet of illustrious parish churches.

Cinque Terre’s unique historical feature are the steeply terraced cliffs bisected by a complicated system of fields and gardens, marked by artificial contours called “muretti” (low stone walls).