La Spezia
 

My plan is to spend two nights in La Spezia. Does it make sense to stay there and plan to bus or train down to Cinqueterre?

The five towns of the Cinque Terre are all "up" from La Spezia. I would prefer to stay in one of the towns. Once the daytrippers go home, evening is nice in the little villages. There is a "locale" train that passes through the villages to La Spezia.

La Spezia's a tad.... industrial. Why not try Portovenere, and use the boat?

I would suggest staying in one of the Cinque Terre villages instead. Riomaggiore is the next CT village and is only 5 mins away by train. If you stay in Portovenere, it is not on the train line and you must catch a bus from Portovenere to La Spezia and then get a train to the CT. If you buy a CT card when you arrive in the area, it covers all train travel between La Spezia and Levanto (includes all 5 CT villages) and also allows you to hike the trails.<BR>Kay

nolswood: There realy isn't any good reason to stay in La Spezia. Spend your two nights in CT and be way ahead in terms of enjoyment. Have a great trip.

La Spezia has reallly a rather special charm, in the last years its really been cleaned up and not beeing touristic it is very real. Enjoy the passeggiata on the main street at 7.00pm, thousands of youngsters come out for a stroll. Many cheap restaurants, remember to order the farinata and the testaroli al pesto!! I would suggest you stay and do day trips, not a bad idea at all! I very often stay at my relatives in town and really in the last 5 years the city has had a facelift

ttt

That would be my last choice. Stay in any of the 5 villages or in Portovenere or Levanto first.

It's funny how different people's responses are regarding a place. The reason for choosing La Spezia is because we will have a car....can't drive it in Chiqueterre...are there places for long term (like two days) parking outside the villages? I really would prefer staying in the towns. Also, I'll be in that area April 1. How soon would I need to get reservations? I already have 2 nights reservations in La Spezia. Thanks

You asked &quot;does it make sense to stay there&quot;. You can drive to and park easily in Portovenere, Monterosso, and Levanto. The former is about 8 miles past La Spezia and much more charming.<BR>The ferry boat leaves from there and that is the best way to see the coast.<BR>You did ask.

we stayed in Portovenere in 1999 and then took the bus to LaSpezia and bought the day pass on train to visit the Cinqueterre. Worked great. Enjoyed the town of Portovenere. We had a car,but did not use it in Portovenere.<BR><BR>LaSpezia did not do that much for me.

For all you Cinque Terre experts, which town is the best to stay in if you're travelling by car? Leaning towards Levanto because I think I saw Bob the Navigator say it would be ok...<BR><BR>

We stayed in Levanto, and it was great. It was a short walk to the train station and a short train ride to Cinque Terre. I hope to return in September, and Levanto will definitely be my base.

I prefer staying just outside the 5 villages--at Levanto or Portovenere. Both have easy access and have more to offer as a real town.