Cindy

My husband and I will have a 3-week vacation in Italy for the first time. We are planning to travel by train and spend a few nights in each of following places: Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, and Rome. Our first stop has to be Florence because my husband will attend a business meeting there. Our tentative plan is: Florence-Venice-Cinque Terre-Rome--Florence. Is there a better way to complete this loop? Could anyone here give me some suggestions about our itinerary, particularly between Venice and Cinque Terre? Is there a direct train between Venice and Cinque Terre? Many thanks. Cindy

Daniel Hutson

My advice is to see Florence, Cinque Terra, and Rome all at the same time. Florence is only about 2 hours away by train from both of the other cities give or take a little depending on how lucky you are with your departure times. The easiest way to get to Cinque Terra is to go to Pisa from Florence or Rome(if starting in Rome you will go through Florence anyway 99% of the time). From Pisa you arrive in La Spezia take the slow train if you want to get a few minutes look at the mountains of Carrara where Michelangelo got most of his marble. In La Spezia you change trains again which leaves you a few minutes away from Manarola the first town in Cinque Terra. Venice is so far east of the other cities that is should be a trip in and of itself. Verona would be a possibility on the way to or back from Venice also it is a beautiful city and is where Romeo and Juliet was set. E-mail me if you want any more information about anywhere in Italy.

Richard

Cindy, You can get train info on www.fs-on-line.com/ the Italian rail site. Remember to use the Italian names for the towns, i.e. Florence is Firenze, Venice is Venezia and of course Rome is Roma. From Venice to Pisa you might want to consider a side trip to Siena, change trains at Empoli.

Richard

A small correction to Daniel's post, the first town of the 5 (cinque) villages is Riomaggiore, followed by Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, going south to north, check out the archives on this forum for the CT, must be 50 posts at least.

john b

Consider an Italy railpass. They're <BR>terrific. No waiting in line or validating tickets. A 21 day pass costs about $250. We used it almost every day. Stay in Padova instead of Venezia and take the train in each day you want. Much cheaper hotels! Ask for an "ORRARIO" (schedule) at any stazione for the province you're in. I also agree with previous postings.