Destination: Levanto, Cinque Terre, Italy
I was super excited for Day 5 as I was finally going to reach Italy. That being said, I was still kind of sad to leave Mont Blanc Plage. I’d had such a wonderful time while I was in France, and especially during the previous days adventures.
I was planning to leave quite early as my route was taking me through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and this gets quite busy. It would be even busier today as it was due to be closed from the following day for a 12 week maintenance window.
Still … one last look …
I had a lot lined up that day, so having said my goodbyes I left Passy and headed for my next ‘stop’. As I was going to be doing quite a lot of miles on my ambitious Day 5, I’d built in a few breaks along the way.
Stop 1: Mont Blanc Tunnel
I had read a lot about the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which is a phenomenal feat of engineering. At over 7 miles long it was going to be the longest tunnel I had ever driven. There is a toll to use the tunnel, and unlike other European tolls you can’t get a tag for it. The fee has to be paid at the tunnel, and I’d forgotten to keep my telescopic rod debit card holder (an ebay find) handy. This meant I had to get out of the car and run round to the booth but I think they’re used to that. You just remember to leave enough space to get to the card reader!
The road up to the tunnel is lovely to drive, lots of hairpins, which I was beginning to really enjoy, probably not so much fun in a bigger vehicle though. When you get there, you are directed into one of the lanes by an operative in hi-viz, and then wait a while before you get to the toll booth.
If you are going to use the tunnel, it’s definitely worth getting the TMB app from your app store of choice. It will tell you about any closures, and what the traffic is like at particular times through the day. According to the app, the tunnel was not that busy when I went through and I was waiting around 30 minutes to get to the booth.
When you are in the tunnel, as well as a reduction in speed limit there are rules about how close you can be to the car in front. There are handy blue spacers so that you don’t get too close, and as this is for everyones safety it’s a good idea to stick to the rules. There have been some quite grizzly accidents and I was keen not to get into one of those.
If I’m honest, the thrill of driving in a really long tunnel wore off quite quickly, but I’m glad I did it. Eventually emerging from the Italian side of the tunnel was very special, there were some awesome stilt roads and fantastic views.
And even though many of the place names still sounded very French, I was finally in Italy!!!
Stop 2: Big Bench no.131
I had read so much about the ‘Big Bench‘ project before my trip, I was determined to visit at least one of the 300+ benches. Given my long drive was going to take me very close, I decided to visit Big Bench no. 131 near the tiny hamlet of Tana D’Orso in the hills above Ronco Scrivia.
The windy narrow roads approaching the bench were challenging even for my little Mini, and in some places the road dropped away treacherously. But that wasn’t going to stop me!
Having reached what I thought might be the closest point on the road (turns out it was), I parked up. There was a lovely shaded area, that gave some welcome respite from the relentless heat.
I had a choice of 2 tracks … hmmmm, I had a 50% chance of picking the right one! I set off up a track opposite, where I could see a sign I thought might point me in the right direction. Jackpot!
As I huffed and puffed my way up the last part of the track, I was delighted to see the bench come into view!
I don’t have the words to describe the view, which despite the hazy day was like nothing I’d seen in terms of the distance and scale.
It was also a really peaceful and picturesque location, the only sound being the occasional jingle of cow bells from the free roaming cattle.
I was particularly lucky with the timing of my visit. I met a wonderful lady at the bench who was local to the area. Not only did she give me some incredible insights to the local geography, she was also very forgiving of my attempts at Italian!
Stop 3: Genova
For the next part of my trip I was heading to the coastal port of Genova. I didn’t have much time to explore, but I’d found a lovely ‘punto panoramico’ online that would give me a tremendous view. To reach the viewpoint, I had to drive through the bustling town and busy port, so I did get a teensy taste of the city.
The viewpoint itself is located on the Via del Peralto that winds its way up the hills behind Genova, offering fantastic panormic views all around the city. It is reached via the ‘Percorso Ginnico’ entrance opposite Cancello dell’Avvocato and there’s a handy parking spot a few yards down the road. Having become somewhat overgrown in recent years, the trail does require a bit of a hike. But if you persevere you will totally be rewarded!
There are many lovely views from the Via del Peralto and lots of places to park. It’s a great place for a stop if you are looking for somewhere shaded away from the hustle and bustle of Genova.
Overnight: Levanto
The last part of my drive would take me to the town of Levanto which is in the ‘Cinque Terre’ national park in northwest Italy. My plan was to get camped as quickly as possible and then head out to visit the Cinque Terre by train.
My campsite for the evening would be the family run site ‘Pian di Picche’. I had booked the pitch direct via the website and it was easy enough with the help of Google translate. Pian di Picche is a nice site, in a quiet location on the outskirts of Levanto town. It was quite busy with good facilities and the staff were friendly and helpful, and spoke great English. So no more dodgy Italian from me on that day at least!
The train station was just a short walk from the campsite and having showered and changed I was soon on my way to explore the Cinque Terre.
Visiting Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is made up of 5 absolutely stunning coastal villages
Given the coastline, some of the villages are difficult to reach by car, but there is a great train service connecting them. It’s definitely worth getting the Cinque Terre railcard which is available from any of the Cinque Terre stations. Alternatively, you can just buy a single ticket for each stop, if you do this, don’t forget to stamp your ticket before you get on the train, to validate your journey. This is required whenever travelling on a train/tram in Italy and there are little ticket machines for this in every station.
I started by visiting Riomaggiore then working my way back up the coast. Although it was late in the season it was still absolutely packed with tourists and all the restaurants and bars were very busy.
It was lovely to see how all of the touristy locations were still very much authentically fishing villages.
I was travelling quite late into the evening, and the trains were still very busy with tourists well after 11pm. Luckily they were double deckers (very cool for anyone used to crowded UK trains) so I never struggled for a seat and felt very safe wandering around by myself.
I found a few lovely little bars to while away the time between trains in the various villages. The Italian service is phenomenal, literally nothing is too much trouble. There was never a time when I didn’t feel 100% comfortable and appreciated.
The Cinque Terre is beautiful and I’d so love to spend more time there. I will definitely visit again, it deserves so much more than a couple of days. I’m looking forward to hiking the coastal trail and visiting a LOT of the restaurants in the future.
I’d had an absolutely magical evening, very content with my adventuring I wandered back to Pian Di Picche.
