Nice to Cinque Terre by train?

Brenda,

Are you planning to do this as a day trip or stay in one of the C.T. towns for a few days? Travel time from Nice to Monterosso is ~5 - 6 hours each way, with at least two changes so a day trip is not really practical. Having a car in the C.T. is also not practical as parking is very limited and could be expensive. Monterosso has a large car park at one end of the "new town", but you won't be able to drive into the towns.

Ditto Ken. You'll be on a French regional train from Nice to Ventimiglia where you would most likely change to either an Italian intercity train or a regionale train. No fast trains on any of these segments. 5.5hrs-6.5hrs each way. A rental car is faster but two things here. 1) you could rent a car in Nice if you plan to return to France to turn it in. Don't rent it in France and turn it in in Italy. Very expensive drop off fees. 2) In the CT, tourist cars are not permitted in any of the five towns with the exception of driving to certain hotels with parking lots or the various parking lots that are in the area. In the high season, expect the parking lots to be full. Of course, staying a couple of days would be quite nice. A day trip is really not practical.

Nothing else is the same as the Cinque Terre, but there is a good variety to see on the French Riviera that is easier to access from Nice. If you need it, How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

Thanks for the advice. My husband and I along with another couple will be staying in Fayence for three weeks with use of a rental car, so either train or car is feasible. An overnight in CT is an option now that I have an idea of how long transportation will take.

Brenda,

As you're now planning one night in the Cinque Terre, I would highly advise getting a room booked SOON (especially with two couples)! When is this trip taking place?

You'll first have to decide which of the five towns you want to stay in, and then start looking for places. I'd suggest starting in Monterosso as it's the largest of the towns and therefore has the greatest number of accommodations, restaurants and other amenities. If you can't find anything there, start checking the other towns.

You may find that when you see the place, you'll wish that you had booked at least two nights. Keep in mind that if you only book one night, you'll arrive mid-afternoon and will only have that afternoon and evening to look around. You'll have to be out of the hotel by about 11:00 the next morning, so not really convenient to continue touring with luggage and then face a five hour+ trip back to France. Spending 10-12 hours on trains to only have about 10 hours sightseeing time doesn't seem worth the effort.

Thanks, Ken. I agree with the idea of staying 2 nights and appreciate the advice to book soon.

Any other thoughts on small towns to visit in the region around Cannes? The obvious ones are in the several tour books I have, but there are always those "hidden gems" that don't make it into print. We like the out of the way places as well as the more publicized ones.

Brenda

Brenda,

Are you staying in Nice or Cannes? Of the two, I'd definitely suggest Nice (I was somewhat "underwhelmed" by Cannes). If staying in Nice, some of the "usual favourites" in that area are visiting Villefranche, Eze or Monaco & Monte Carlo. There are two versions of Eze, Eze-sur-Mer and Eze-Village. While some of those are not "small towns", they're interesting places to visit.