Cinque Terre · Italy
January
The villages almost to yourself — cold, quiet, and the fishing boats outnumber tourists.
Strong option
#8 of 12 months
There are better months for Cinque Terre — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
11°C
Low
5°C
Rain
92mm
Sun
3.8hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How January scores in Cinque Terre
Weather
Average
Value
Perfect
Crowds
Perfect
Events
Low
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in January
- ↑Accommodation and restaurants in January are at rock-bottom prices — expect to pay 40–60% less than July for the same room in Vernazza or Manarola. Many agriturismi offer special winter rates and the owners have time to actually talk to you.
- ↑The five villages revert to their fishing-town character. The waterfront bars in Monterosso and the enotecas in Riomaggiore are full of locals, not day-trippers. You can walk the Via dell'Amore and not pass another tourist for an hour.
- ↑Sciacchetrà wine tastings at local cantinas are available by appointment — something nearly impossible to arrange in summer. The vineyards are dormant but the wine is excellent, and producers will take you through the terraced hillsides with no waiting list.
What you sacrifice
- ↓The coastal trails — including the famous Sentiero Azzurro between the villages — are frequently closed in winter due to erosion, rock slides, and maintenance. The 2011 floods that devastated Vernazza and Monterosso led to major restrictions; trail closures here are not bureaucratic caution but genuine safety measures.
- ↓Cold, grey, and often wet: 92mm of rain across the month, frequently arriving as persistent drizzle rather than dramatic storms. The Riviera loses its colour.
How January compares to May (best month)
| Factor | January | May ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 4 | 9 |
| Value | 10 | 7 |
| Crowds | 10 | 7 |
January in other destinations
Lisbon (13.6°C)Barcelona (13.2°C)Tokyo (9.8°C)Bali (30.2°C)Santorini (13.4°C)Paris (7°C)New York (3.3°C)Marrakech (17.3°C)Amsterdam (5.6°C)Maldives (30.1°C)Rome (11.6°C)Bangkok (31.1°C)Istanbul (8.7°C)Vienna (3.2°C)Seoul (1.1°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (30.9°C)Kyoto (9.2°C)Phuket (31.5°C)Cape Town (26.1°C)Prague (2°C)Amalfi Coast (12°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (31°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (24°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (29°C)Miami (24.1°C)Florence (9.2°C)Queenstown (22°C)Madrid (9.4°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (4°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (6°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (18°C)Osaka (9°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (30°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (13°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (29°C)Havana (26°C)Split (10°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (33°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (4°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (28°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (18°C)Jordan (12°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (19.8°C)Cairo (19.1°C)Kenya (26.8°C)Jaipur (22.2°C)Las Vegas (13.9°C)San Francisco (13.2°C)Madeira (19.5°C)Vancouver (6.9°C)Muscat (26.4°C)Lima (26.2°C)Kotor (10°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (30°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (5.8°C)Penang (31.5°C)Lombok (30.8°C)Cape Verde (26.2°C)Fez (13.8°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (-1°C)Auckland (24°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Cinque Terre, not across destinations. Methodology →