Coastal
Coastal Towns Frozen In Another Era
Vernazza is one of the five Cinque Terre villages and the only one with a natural harbor. Until the 1990s no road reached it; you arrived by boat or by the medieval mule path from Monterosso. The Doria family's 11th-century watchtower still stands on the harbor mole, and the swordfish boats still tie up at the bottom of the village. There is no chain hotel because there's no flat ground to build one on.
These eight coastal towns are still coastal towns — fishing, ferrying, salt-curing — rather than dressed up as them. The architecture is functional; the boats are working; the cafés open at 6 am for the early shift.
Below: how to get there by sea where possible, the harbor café locals use, and which fish to order.
Late afternoon light, looking east. Photo by our regional correspondent.
Why This Place Matters
Vernazza, Italy — Cinque Terre village with the only natural harbor, 11th-century Doria tower, still running anchovy boats out of the lower harbor every dawn.
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands — capital of 13,000 with grass-roofed wooden houses in Tinganes (the parliament district founded 825 AD).
Essaouira, Morocco — Portuguese-built (1506) and French-redesigned (1760s) fishing port with 18th-century Genoese ramparts and a working sardine fleet of 200 blue boats.
A Short History
Camogli, Liguria — 'a town of a thousand white sails' (Camogli's name from 'Casa delle Mogli', 'house of wives') because the men were always at sea. The 17th-century quayside houses are painted with trompe-l'œil balconies and shutters so sailors could recognise their houses from far at sea.
Stykkishólmur, Iceland — Snæfellsnes peninsula port with the world's oldest surviving wooden warehouse (Norska Húsið, 1832) and Iceland's first heated outdoor swimming pool.
Cudillero, Asturias — Spanish fishing village whose houses cascade down a single ravine to a small harbor; the village was a centre for whaling until 1715.
What You Will Actually See
Vernazza, Italy — Castello Doria (climb the tower, €3), the harbor church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia (built 1318, with a separate clock tower), Trattoria Gianni Franzi for anchovies marinated 24 hours.
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands — Tinganes peninsula with red parliament buildings, Skansin fortress (built 1580 to ward off pirates), Áarstova restaurant for grilled lamb in a 19th-century house.
Essaouira, Morocco — Skala de la Ville (the ramparts), the sardine harbor at dawn, Caravane Café in the medina, the daily auction at Lonja del Pescado.
Camogli, Italy — promenade Lungomare Garibaldi, the basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on a sea-bound rock, focaccia at Revello bakery, the Sagra del Pesce festival second Sunday of May (when a giant 12 m fish-pan is set up to fry 30,000 fish for free).
Stykkishólmur, Iceland — Stykkishólmskirkja (an avant-garde 1990 white church that looks like a whale), Sigurður Ágústsson's eider-down workshop, the basalt islands of Breiðafjörður on Sea Tours boat.
Concarneau, Brittany — the Ville Close (walled medieval inner-island), the daily fish auction at Halle aux Poissons, eat tellines at Crêperie L'Hermine.
Sète, France — Brassens' birthplace and France's biggest Mediterranean fishing port; bouzigues oysters at Halles centrales.
Cefalù, Sicily — the Norman cathedral with its Byzantine mosaic Christ Pantocrator, the medieval lavatoio (washhouse) where women still actually wash laundry.
The kind of detail you only notice on the second visit.
Interesting Facts
A few quick notes on coastal towns frozen in another era before the section below.
These are the details our correspondents most often get asked about by readers planning a trip.
Practical Information
Vernazza — best in shoulder season (April, May, September, early October). Stay one night to see the village empty after the day-trippers leave. Trattoria Gianni Franzi rents rooms above the restaurant.
Tórshavn — the Hotel Føroyar overlooks the city; Áarstova restaurant requires booking 2 weeks ahead.
Essaouira — stay inside the medina at Riad Mimouna or Heure Bleue Palais; the wind blows hard April–September (called 'alizé').
Camogli — visit on the second Sunday of May for the Sagra del Pesce; otherwise October is the local-fishermen month.
Interesting Facts
- Vernazza is the only one of the five Cinque Terre villages with a natural deep-water harbor; the others have only beach landings.
- Tórshavn was founded around 825 AD as the meeting place for the Faroese Løgting parliament, making it one of the oldest continuously functioning parliaments in the world.
- Essaouira's 18th-century ramparts were designed by French architect Théodore Cornut on the orders of Sultan Mohammed III in 1760s and used as a Hispano-Portuguese trading port.
- Camogli's Sagra del Pesce festival uses a 4 m diameter copper frying pan to deep-fry approximately 30,000 fresh anchovies, distributed free to visitors on the second Sunday of May.
- Stykkishólmur's Norska Húsið (Norwegian House, 1832) is the oldest two-story timber building in Iceland and was prefabricated in Norway before shipment.
Most travellers walk straight past this corner. Stop and look up.
How To Visit
La Spezia → Vernazza: 5 minutes by regional train; or 30 min by Cinque Terre ferry from Monterosso.
Copenhagen → Tórshavn: 2h40 flight via Atlantic Airways; or 2-day Smyril Line ferry from Hirtshals (Denmark).
Marrakech → Essaouira: 2h45 by Supratours bus, MAD 80.
Genoa → Camogli: 25 min by regional train, €3.50.
Final Thoughts
Coastal towns survive in their old form because they still have a function. Buy fish at the daily auction even if you don't have a kitchen — you can give it to your guesthouse to cook.
Don't visit the Cinque Terre in July or August. Vernazza becomes a moving conveyor belt of day trippers.
Our pick: Stykkishólmur in late September. The light is low, the puffins have gone, the eider farmers are collecting the last down, and the fjord smells of salt and woodsmoke.
If you read this article and noticed something we got wrong, please write to us. Reader corrections shape what we publish next.
Tomas Halvorsen
Regional correspondent for WIGO Trips. Writes about overlooked places and quiet histories.
