Monterosso al Mare Travel Forum

We plan to visit Monterosso Christmas Day. Will the trains be running? Will there be a restaurant open for Christmas Dinner? If so, will we need to make a reservation? Thank you for any comments.

In the whole Italy trains are running Xmas's day and restaurants usually need a reservation for that day. Not too late to make a reservation today. Tourist restaurants may have place, usually it's not a good taste what you eat in a tourist restaurant.

yes, i agree. I live 45 minutes south of Monterosso area, even Italians make a reservation for the Xmas lunch/dinner in a restaurant. I strongly suggest u make the reservation or you won't find a place to sit even in the worst place.
Also, u can consider having lunch in Porto Venere, which is a little souther, but MORE BEAUTIFUL
ciao:)

at Porto Venere I strongly suggest
Iseo restaurant
Calata Doria 9
Tel. +39 0187 790610

Thank you all for the useful information. We are considering a rental car for the weekend. Perhaps, it would be better to get the rental car and have Christmas lunch in Porto Venere before traveling to the Cinque Terre.

if u have a car, I would consider going to Camogli,north of Monterosso, as well. It's a beautiful place

I looked Camogli up on the Internet and it is beautiful. If we decide to travel by train, is it possible to get to Camogli that way?

yes, the train stop is " camogli st. fruttuoso"
u can check out trains here:
www.trenitalia.com

Yes, trains run normally,
There will be few good restaurants open in Monterosso,it is better make a reservation for one of them!
I hope you'll enjoy My village (Monterosso)
If you need any suggestions you can ask me at Jmoggia@yahoo.it

Giorgio

I emailed my Lucca hotel manager about a reservation Christmas Day at Iseo Restaurant, but he said that it would be closed Christmas Day. He suggested Trattoria Tre Torri. He said dinner would be 45 Euros each. That is considerably more than Iseo and much more than we wanted to spend. What do you think? Do you have any other recommendations?

do not expect to pay less for xmas time, actually 45 euros is average for this period

as you have found out, camogli is a delight. As described, there is a train stop, but if you can handle the tortuous roads over from Santa Margherita, the trip is beautiful.

Thank you. I will confirm the reservations now that I know that I am not being scammed. And I will definitely add Camogli to my list of special places to see.

In Monterosso, the very best place to stay is the Monastery. "Santuario Nostra Signora de Soviore" The meals are outstanding, the rooms comfortable (with private bath), the staff friendly, and the views are unbeatable! You can contact them at... info@soviore.it Their website is... www.soviore.it Tel: 0187/817385
Fax: 0187/817097. It's about 7km above the town, but is easily accessible by the Cinque Terra Bus, which runs a regular schedule all day. My wife and I stayed there for 10 days in October, and will be returning next year. I cannot recommend it highly enough! Enjoy the Cinque Terra!