Judging by a quick walk down its primary street, Vernazza is a small
haven for seafood restauranteurs, colorful umbrellas, and tourists who like to be in bed
by 10pm. Revolving around the central streets of Via Roma and Via
Visconti, the town is mostly door after door of apartments occupied by welcoming
Italians ready to take in the lonely wayfarer and his or her all-too-heavy luggage. The
piazza by the beach is surrounded by restaurants serving up anchovies—a local
specialty—in salads, soups, and pastas. When that’s all been washed down with a cool wine
from one of Vernazza’s gourmet stores, only a dip in the fresh blue waters of the town’s
petite but oh-so-fine beach will do. Squished on three sides by pastel-colored buildings
and on the other by a field of bobbing fishing boats, the sand here may nonetheless
blanket Cinque Terre’s most renowned swimming spot. Though there are tourists here, a trip
to Vernazza during the day can still feel like an escape from the over-hyped beach resort
aura.