We're planning on going to Cinque Terre from Forence. Want to stay a couple a days. Anyway - how to get there ? train or car ? We were planning on using a car in Tuscany after C.T. Can one park a car in the C.T. area ?

The train would be easier, all of the Cinque Terre villages have a train station but very little parking. You could catch the train from Florence to Genoa or La Spezia then catch a local train which will stop at the villages. When we were in Manarola they were building a carpark at the top of the village but it wasn't very big. You can't drive into any of the villages though there is a little community van (in all the villages) that runs up and down the hill from the station to the top of the village but we found it quite unreliable. If you do a search on this forum for Cinque Terre or CT and car or parking you should find lots of info.
Kay

I, too, would recommend taking a train from Firenze to the Cinque Terre. The trains leave Firenze and usually stop through Pisa, then onto the CT. Parking is at a premium (both space and cost-wise) in the CT and unless you have a hotel that is guaranteeing parking with your rate, there is no sense renting a car and spending the extra money. Once in the CT, you will be walking and, if you tire of walking, you can certainly hop on the local trains that run in-between the 5 cities daily. If you think you will use the trains (vs walking), I would recommend buying the CT card that saves on train fare, Via dell'Amore fees, etc. It is available in 1, 5, and 8 day increments. The CT cards are available at each of the stations for a minimal price.

Since we want to explore Tuscany for a few days by driving - where can one rent a car ? I heard Florence was the nearest rental area ? Thank you so much - marcielee

If you are only going to be in CT for just two days, buy the single day pass for each day for each of you. That will save you a few euro over the three day pass.

I like to stay in Levanto, not technically one of the CT towns. However it is just a few minute train ride to Monterosso. If you do drive, the drive is an easy one from Florence (maybe you could rent at the airport so you wouldn't have to drive in Florence...a nightmare). The drive from Florence to Levanto (mostly by highway) is just about 90 - 100 minutes. In Levanto, there is good signage to any hotel or b&b you might select.

We stayed at Villa Margherita in Levanto (85 euro a night). It's clean, has a garden and a nice little breakfast buffet included. Not anything spectacular, but a good bargain. The Stella d'Italia in Levanto looked very nice, but a little pricier, but not too expensive. I actually like Levanto a lot, because it is has more of a home grown feel.

Anyway you do it, if the weather cooperates., the CT is neat.