Where to stay near the Cinque Terre: Resort La Francesca

The night sky covered with stars, the full moon illuminating the road. This is the first thing that struck me at La Francesca Resort, the place where to stay near the Cinque Terre.

So much that, returning from dinner on the first night, I couldn’t help but stop and capture that moment. Capture it inside myself.
I stopped, sitting on the small field that flanked the road just before sliding in a clifftop overlooking the sea. Sitting there I breathed in the night. The noise of the sea, the light of the stars and the quiet thoughts that all of that was inspiring were the fellow companions of that half hour.

This is my welcome to the Cinque Terre.
The Resort is located between Bonassola and Levanto, an oasis of 15 acres overlooking the Gulf of Poets.
Simple accommodations , 55 little houses perfect for a tourism in contact with nature, to enjoy your holiday at a slower pace, to find the peace and simplicity that we need but too often forget.
Here you wake up looking out at the sea. Here you walk along those roads flanked by trees and sea views. Sea which gets closer and closer when you go down, or wider and wider as you go up.

There really is everything there. From the front desk in the upper part (did I tell you that the structure develops downward, following the side of the hill, and extends for 15 hectares?) to the pool, pizzeria, supermarket , restaurant, soccer fields , tennis, volleyball and bocce courts, mini golf holes, and table tennis.
But besides all this, there was one thing in particular that hit me. Mark and his wife, the resort’s owners, have spent a lifetime traveling the world to create their much interesting documentaries. They really saw the whole world. And there, at the Resort Restaurant Rosadimare, everything you see comes from a different part of the world: from Peru to Madagascar, China, Paraguay… you have all the world in one room.

Those are their treasures, the symbols of their life, available to people who choose to spend time with them, to be shared as those were shared with them in some other part of the world.
Also the cuisine here mirrors the simplicity and informality that dominates the whole resort. They serve local products such as fish and pesto (here I discovered that in the true pasta con pesto, there must be potatoes and green beans!), with also the option to order à la carte or from a set menu..

Also the breakfast is (maybe too much) simple: bread, butter and jam.

The perfect place to unplug from the world’s stress and routine.

Only one thing: is not easy to reach the place. In fact, you can only do so by car.
If you don’t have a way to reach it on your own, you can take a taxi or the transfer service of Levanto Shuttles, at a cost of 15 Euros.
Uncomfortable and not exactly cheap (ten minutes by car), but yes, it’s totally worth it.