Pink, yellow and ochre tower-houses piled on a black rock above a slipway, with boats winched out of the water and vineyards climbing behind. The oldest of the five, and the one that looks most like a painting at sunset.
Manarola has no beach and no grand monuments. What it has is the view, and the view is enough.
The tower-houses rise straight from the rock above a small harbour, where a slipway runs into the sea and the fishing boats are winched up into the main street. The best view is from Punta Bonfiglio, the headland path north of the harbour, past the cemetery and a playground. The Nessun Dorma bar on the way fills up at sunset.
Swimming here means the marina rocks: deep, clear water reached by a metal ladder. Behind the village, terraces of vines climb to the hamlet of Volastra.
From early December the hillside above the village becomes a nativity scene of thousands of lights, laid out by one man, the retired railwayman Mario Andreoli, over forty years.
Come in the late afternoon and stay until the lights come on.
Walk through the tunnel from the station up into the main street.
Walk down to the slipway where the boats are winched out of the sea.
Climb down the ladder into the deep, clear water off the marina rocks.
Follow the path north past the cemetery to the classic viewpoint.
Find a spot early, watch the houses turn gold, then pink.
Regional trains and, from late March to early November, the hop-on boats.
The one-way path from Riomaggiore arrives here; book a slot in advance.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
