Italy's coast is blessed with a number of beautiful regions - Amalfi is probably the most famous, but Cinque Terre doesn't come far behind. It is quite close to the nice port city of La Spezia, which makes a good base for exploring this region. The mountains reach as far as the coast, resulting in a breathtaking landscape of cliffs, islands, and forests. 4 of the 5 villages are on the coast, only one (Corniglia) is up in the hills. The villages are all connected by hiking trails (even though 2 of them, including the famous Via dell'Amore, are currently still closed because of the lasting impacts of the devastating landslides of 2011), but the best way for non-hikers to discover them is by train. There are regular connections (at least once an hour) between all villages, and the rides only take a few minutes each. The downside is that the trains are all very crowded and you have the feeling that you are on the Tokyo subway during rush hour (My guidebook advised to avoid summer and any weekend between Easter and September - well, I went there on a weekday in October and it was still extremely crowded...). My favourite villages were Manarola and Vernazza (most picturesque), and I also liked Corniglia (great views and not so crowded because you have to walk uphill to get there - or take a shuttle bus from the train station). Riomaggiore and Monterosso are also nice, but I didn't find them as attractive as the others. I went from La Spezia to each of the villages, and finally took the boat ride from Monterosso back to La Spezia, which is really very scenic and gives you a whole new perspective. The next day, I took the bus to the pretty village of Portovenere, which is famous for the church of San Pietro with its exposed seaside location. I had planned to take a boat ride to or around the 3 islands off the coast that are also included in the WHS, but there weren't any rides offered on this day (even though the sea was very calm, but there were probably not enough people). Anyway, after a very brief visit to the area in 2006, I am glad that I finally had more time to spend in this beautiful region.