Section I · The Ranked Eleven
From best to eleventh.
Sorted by what each base town does well at its price point. The number-one pick is the one we would book first given a free pick from all eleven.
No. I
The Levanto villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Levanto, the town just north of the park. Peak rate: $20,000 to $42,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool where present, parking. Usually not: chef, the five villages on foot.
Why it ranks here: Levanto is the resort town immediately north of Monterosso, with a real sandy beach, restaurants, parking, and the largest stock of proper villas with gardens and pools, and the Cinque Terre Express reaches Monterosso in about 4 minutes. It clears the rest because it is the one base that pairs a true villa, a beach, and a 4-minute train into the park.
What we would change: Levanto is a town in its own right, not one of the five villages, so the postcard hamlets are a short train away rather than out the door. Book it as the comfortable base, not as a window onto the painted houses.
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No. II
The Portovenere and Gulf of Poets villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Portovenere, the southern gateway. Peak rate: $22,000 to $45,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, sea-view terrace. Usually not: chef, a pool in the old town, the five villages on foot.
Why it ranks here: Portovenere sits at the southern end, a UNESCO town of tall painted houses, the church of San Pietro on its point, and the Gulf of Poets opening east, the most beautiful base outside the five and a boat or short drive from the villages. A five-bedroom here is the pick for grandeur and a harbor town that rivals the five themselves.
What we would change: Portovenere reaches the villages by boat or by a drive to La Spezia and the train, not by a direct line, so it is a touch less connected than Levanto. The old-town houses rarely have pools. Book it for the setting, with the villages a boat ride.
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No. III
The Monterosso hills villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: the hills above Monterosso al Mare. Peak rate: $20,000 to $42,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool where present, garden. Usually not: chef, parking at the door.
Why it ranks here: Monterosso is the only one of the five villages with room for villas, a broader beach town with a few stone houses on the vineyard slopes above it, the rare chance to be in the park itself with a garden and a view. A five-bedroom in the hills here is the pick for the postcard with a little ground around it.
What we would change: the hill villas above Monterosso reach the village by a steep walk or a transfer, and parking is tight to none in the village, so a car is parked above and arrivals are on foot or by porter. Book it for being inside the park, accepting the climb.
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No. IV
The Lerici and Tellaro villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Lerici / Tellaro, the eastern Gulf of Poets. Peak rate: $18,000 to $40,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, sea-view terrace, pool where present. Usually not: chef, the five villages on foot.
Why it ranks here: Lerici and the smaller Tellaro sit on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Poets, elegant villa towns with a castle, a harbor, and grand houses on the hillsides, the most refined base on the gulf and a drive or boat from the five. A five-bedroom here is the pick for a quieter, more residential gulf setting.
What we would change: Lerici and Tellaro are on the far side of the gulf from the park, so the villages mean a drive to La Spezia and the train. Book them for the gulf towns and the calm, with the five a planned day out.
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No. V
The Bonassola and Framura villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Bonassola / Framura, the coast north of Levanto. Peak rate: $18,000 to $36,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, garden, pool where present. Usually not: chef, a big beach.
Why it ranks here: Bonassola and Framura are the quiet coves just north of Levanto, joined to it by a flat cycle-and-walk tunnel along the old railway, calmer villages with small beaches and far fewer visitors, the pick for a group that wants the coast without the park's summer crowd. A four-bedroom here is the pick for quiet a short hop from the train into the five.
What we would change: Bonassola and Framura are small, with limited dining and small beaches, so they are a calm base rather than a lively one. Book them for the quiet, with Levanto and the train a few minutes south.
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No. VI
The Vernazza and Corniglia hill villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: the vineyard hills above Vernazza / Corniglia. Peak rate: $18,000 to $38,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, terrace. Usually not: chef, a pool, vehicle access at the door.
Why it ranks here: the terraced vineyards above Vernazza and Corniglia hold a handful of restored stone houses on the hillside paths, the rarest stock in the park, a chance to wake inside the five with the sea below. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the purist who wants to be in the postcard, not beside it.
What we would change: these hill houses are reached only on foot or by the village shuttle, with no road to the door, no pool, and a long carry of bags, so they suit light packers and good walkers. Book them for the location, accepting the access.
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No. VII
The La Spezia hills and Biassa villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: the hills above La Spezia and Biassa. Peak rate: $18,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool where present, parking. Usually not: chef, a beach.
Why it ranks here: La Spezia is the gateway city to the south, with the main train station for the five villages, and the hill villages above it like Biassa give a villa parking, a pool, and a view over the gulf, the most practical base for a group with a car. A four-bedroom here is the value pick for easy access and a real garden.
What we would change: La Spezia is a working port city rather than a resort, so the appeal is the access and the value, not the town itself. Book the hills above it for the view and the parking, with the station a few minutes down.
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No. VIII
The Riomaggiore and Manarola hill villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: the hills above Riomaggiore / Manarola. Peak rate: $18,000 to $36,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, terrace. Usually not: chef, a pool, parking at the door.
Why it ranks here: the southern villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola have a scatter of restored houses on the vineyard terraces above the harbors, near the famous Manarola viewpoint, the southern equivalent of the Vernazza hill stock for a group that wants the southern end. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the southern villages and the sunset over Manarola.
What we would change: like the other in-park hill houses, these are reached on foot up steep lanes with no road or pool, so they reward walkers and light packers. Book them for the southern setting, accepting the climb and the carry.
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No. IX
The Fezzano and Le Grazie villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Fezzano / Le Grazie, the inner Gulf of Poets. Peak rate: $18,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, garden, pool where present. Usually not: chef, a sandy beach.
Why it ranks here: Fezzano and Le Grazie are the small harbor villages on the inner gulf between La Spezia and Portovenere, quiet residential pockets with sea-view houses and easy access to both the boats and the train, the pick for a group that wants the gulf without the Portovenere rate. A four-bedroom here is the value pick on the inner gulf.
What we would change: Fezzano and Le Grazie are workaday harbors rather than show towns, so the appeal is the calm and the value. Book them for the quiet gulf base, with Portovenere and La Spezia both a few minutes away.
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No. X
The Deiva Marina and Moneglia villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Deiva Marina / Moneglia, the coast west of the park. Peak rate: $18,000 to $32,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, garden, pool where present, parking. Usually not: chef, the five villages on foot.
Why it ranks here: Deiva Marina and Moneglia are the beach towns just west of the park, with longer sandy beaches, parking, and lower rates, joined to Levanto and the five by the coastal train, the pick for a family that wants a real beach and value within reach of the villages. A four-bedroom here is the value pick for a beach base.
What we would change: Deiva Marina and Moneglia are 15 to 20 minutes by train from the park, a stop or two further than Levanto, so they trade a little access for the beach and the price. Book them for the sand and the value, with the five a short ride east.
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No. XI
The Sarzana and Val di Magra villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Sarzana / Val di Magra, inland southeast. Peak rate: $18,000 to $30,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, garden, pool, parking. Usually not: chef, the coast on foot.
Why it ranks here: Sarzana and the Val di Magra inland from the gulf hold the larger country houses with real gardens, pools, and parking at the lowest rates on this list, near the Tuscany border and the marble towns, the contrarian pick for a group that wants space and a pool over a sea view. A four-bedroom here is the value pick for room and a proper garden.
What we would change: Sarzana is inland, so the coast and the five villages are a 20 to 30-minute drive or a train from La Spezia. Book it for the space, the pool, and the price, with the villages a planned day trip.
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