We are flying into Marseille to visit family for a week then we will be heading to the Florence area for approx 4 weeks. I want to know our most economical way to get from Marseille to Florence and is easy enough and economical to spend a day half way there. We do not want to rent a car so it would have to be train, bus or plane.
Once we are in the Florence area we will station our selves and do some trips from there. Any suggestions on the best place to stay that is central to everything. Again we want to avoid renting a car.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7942 posts
I can't give you a specific personal recommendation regarding plane or bus, but for what it's worth, we were heading the opposite direction last November, and took the train from Florence to Nice. My understanding is the train continued from Nice to Marseille, so our train trip was shorter than yours might be.
But it took all day, including a transfer at Milan, after getting on the train in the very early morning. On the stretch between Turin, Italy and Nice, France, the train kept crossing and re-crossing the Italy/France border, so as the train made stops there would be signs at one station in Italian, then in French at the next, then Italian at the next one, then in French again at the one after that, etc.
We were wiped out when we finally got to Nice, and so tired and disoriented that one backpack got left on the train, and we never got it back -- it never turned up in Lost & Found. So somebody got our camera, a whole bottle of special olive oil, and a set of expensive espresso spoons we'd bought in Florence -- plus that special travel backpack. That made the cheap train trip more expensive, in the end.
So the train can work, but it will take a lot of time, and be prepared so it doesn't sap your energy and you're so loopy at the end of the trip that you forget things.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3281 posts
You can check Google Flights for direct connection from Marseille. Mistral Air flies non stop on Thursday or Sunday. Depending on baggage and date, fares range from as low as €70 and flight time is 90 minutes. More expensive 4 1/2 hour flights are available through Air France.
Trains take MUCH longer. Total journey is over 10 hours. If you stop in Nice, it'll be a 3 hour journey followed by about 7 hours from there to Florence. Or you could split it by stopping in Genoa, about 5 hours one day and 3-4 the next. If you go to the trenitalia.com website, you can see schedules. There's a EuroCity Thello from Marseille at 3:30 PM that arrives in Genoa a few minutes after nine. The saver fare is €25. Same train, purchased on French SNCF site is €52. A number of options Genoa to Florence from €10-28.
When using the website, chose Marseille-Saint-Charles as a starting point and then Genova Piazza Principe and, finally Firenze ( Tutte Le Stazioni ). Most trains in Florence stop at Santa Maria Novella. The fastest train from Genoa stops at Campo di Marte.
The earlier you purchase tickets, the cheaper they are. Saver fares are non refundable and can't be modified. If you buy one for a specific route, it'll be worthless if you can't make the train. In Italy, there are Regionale trains that have no saver fare or reservations. These can be purchased on the day of travel at the station.