diane9

Help please! I would like to take a train from Florence to Nice France. I've searched on-line routes via Pisa or Genova...withoutluck! It doesn't appear that there is train service to Nice from that area. (that doesn't make sense!) I don't want to go via Milan...it would take too long. Are there any other options I'm not seeing? I'm new to this....can anyone help?

rex

The website to use is www.trenitalia.it and click on English. Florence-Genoa departs at 27 minutes after the hour, beginning at 9:27 am, and takes 3 hrs 41 (or 49) minutes. There is a 13 minute connection in Pisa, except for two departures daily, one very early, and one too late to continue on to Nice at a civilized hour.

Service from Genoa to Nice (click on International) - - if you want the direct - - does not run so often... 12:55 and 16:55, for example and that takes 3 hrs 3 (or 9) minutes.

Thus you could leave at 12:27 and arrive Genoa at 16:16, then depart Genoa at 16:55 and arrive Nice at 19:58.

Best wishes,

Rex

rex

One other thought - - even though it is unlikely to apply to your situation. Driving is considerably faster than train for this route - - 4 hrs 19 minutes, according to viamichelin.com (matches my experience).

But it makes sense chiefly if you are returning a car to the country where you rented it (i.e., if you were starting in France, for example, and returning the car - - or if you planned to return to Italy after Nice). I've had the former experience (I've actually driven this three times, twice in the Italy-France direction, and only one of those returning a French car to France) - - it's a route often described as weird or bizarre by those driving it the first time - - 154 tunnels in roughly the same number of miles, once you head north up the Italian coast (only about 10 of the tunnels are in France/Monaco).

WallyKringen

There's an earlier option - train Corok nr. 523 lv Firenze SMN 07:51, ar Genova (Piazza Principe) 11:08. Change to train Cork 144 lv 12:55, ar Nice Ville 16:04 (there's an 18-minute stop at the border, Ventimiglia, but you stay on the same train).

A later option via Milan with only one transfer: Corok train nr. 582 lv Firenze SMN 11:33, ar Milano Centrale 14:50, change to train Corok nr. 345 lv 15:10, ar Nice Ville 19:58

A later option: train Corok 23363 lv Firenze SMN 16:57, ar Pisa 18:06, change to train Corok nr. 548 lv 19:00, ar Ventimiglia 23:15, change to train ter nr. 81258 lv 23:32, ar Nice Ville 00:21.

Note that all European train time tables change on Dec. 12, so check back after that date, on both

www.trenitalia.it and

www.voyages-sncf.fr

Good luck

WK

GeoffHamer

For train schedules, I find it's usually easier and quicker to use www.bahn.de.
I've travelled all over Europe by train, but don't know what "Corok" means. Perhaps Wally can enlighten me.

ira

Hi diane,

http://plannerint.b-rail.be/bin/quer...n?L=profi&

shows the 00:43 train leaving Florence Rifredi to Pisa connecting with the 02:46 to Nice Ville, arriving at 09:45


There is also the 07:51 from Florence SMN to Genova connecting with the 12:55 to Nice Ville arriving at 16:04.

All other routes require 2-3 changes of train.

rex

Curious to know... if any of these replies were useful to you?

diane9

Hi Rex, Yes, all the replies were helpful to me. Thank you and everyone for all the helpful information. Trenitalia was a very helpful website. We've decided to drive part of the way from Florence up the Riviera to visit Portofino and then up to either Genova or San Remo. We will then leave the car and hop on a train to Nice from there. We thought it would make for a nice drive and we'd get to see some of the Italian Rivera on our way to Nice.