Rick Steves’ Europe: Cinque Terre, Italy

The breathtaking refuge of Vernazza, the jewel of Italy's Cinque Terre villages boasts a harborfront beach, seaside cafes, friendly residents and unbroken traditions.

The vino delle Cinque Terre, famous throughout Italy, flows cheap and easy throughout the region. If you like sweet, sherrylike wine, try the local Sciacchetra -- served with a cookie.

Along the Cinque Terre's coastline and in Vernazza itself, the allure of the Mediterranean, Italy and village life fuses potently.

In the cool, calm early evening, one can sit on the Vernazzza breakwater nursing a glass of wine before going on to share a pasta dish at a restaurant.

The five villages in Italy's Cinque Terre is the traffic-free, lowerbrowed, underappreciated alternative to the French Riviera