I am traveling in July with a group of friends from Avignon TGV to Cinque Terre and I need some helping planning the journey. Based on the information provided on TA, my best option is to take a train from from Avignon TGV to Niceville, change trains from Niceville to Ventimiglia and then onto Monterosso. Is this the most efficient or is there a better alternative? I know it will be a long travel day, so I am looking for your advice and planning this leg of our month long trip. Also, When traveling, I usually purchase train tickets during the journey. Should I purchase these tickets in advance? Thank you all kindly, for your advice.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
The route you describe also stops in Genova
another option:
10:19
Avignon Tgv 10:54
Marseille-Saint-Charles 00:35 Tgv Duplex 6103
11:31
Marseille-Saint-Charles 17:07
Genova Piazza Principe 05:36 Thello 35145
17:50
Genova Piazza Principe 19:04
Monterosso 01:14 Intercity 35673
Or you can book the TGV to Nice-Ville then book with le frecce for the Nice to monterosso leg - stops n Genova arrives same time 19:04
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32869 posts
The city is Nice, the main station is the city station; city in French is ville. So the station is called Nice Ville.
By TA do you mean Trip Advisor? It is likely that your prior advice is missing one more connection - Genova PP. I'd be surprised if you don't have to change there.
It is not an easy journey and will take quite a long time.
Avignon TGV > Nice Ville > Ventimiglia > Genova PP > Monterosso.
Use the DB website for each section to see what is available, but it is unlikely that you will get the whole trip in one inquiry. Use Avignon (don't put in TGV in case there is a connection which uses Avignon Ville) to Ventimiglia, and then a second inquiry Ventimiglia to Monterosso. If you don't get anywhere with Monterosso, try La Spezia and then use a local train back the 5 minutes or so.
How big is your group?
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
I once researched the same trip and now know that it is a bad plan. You are looking at about 12 hours and four trains with short connections. Miss a train or one gets delayed and you've blown the rest of the reservations and probably a night of your hotel in CT. Too long a travel day and to many things that can go wrong, it's just a bad plan.
For about the same money you could fly to Florence from Avignon which makes way more sense. On a month long trip you should figure your logistics to spend time in each destination and only use one mode of transportation in a day. Another option would be to find a halfway point and spend a day there.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
Richard, have you found such a flight? I don't see any useful flights from Avignon or Marseille airports. Flying Marseille-Milan probably doesn't gain you anything.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
The route I posted is 8hrs 45 minutes - better than getting to then through airport, landing, transferring from airport to train station and then train to final destination
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
As you've discovered, that trip is going to be a long travel day. The best option seems to be a departure from Avignon TGV at 10:00, arriving Monterosso at 19:04 (Time 9H:04M, 3 changes at Nice, Ventimiglia, Genova P. Principe, reservations compulsory on all segments except the TER from Nice to Ventimiglia).
You could save some money on the TGV / EC / IC trains with advance purchase tickets, but you must be willing to commit to those specific trains. You'll have to check the rail websites for current prices. Use SNCF for the first two segments and Trenitalia for the latter two. You can buy tickets for both SNCF and Trenitalia on www.captaintrain.com, at the same prices as charged by the rail networks. If you'd rather have more flexibility and don't mind paying higher prices, then you can just buy the tickets at local stations.
While that's a long day on the train I don't see many flight options that will work well on the route you're travelling. You could fly from Nice to Rome, but that's still going to mean about a 4-6 hour train journey after that. Another option to consider would be to stop at an intermediate location for a night or two, and Nice would be a good choice for that.
Good luck!
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
Laura, I stand corrected, I thought there was an Avignon to Florence flight.
When I originally planned the same trip I thought the train was a good idea. My experience has taught me just because it looks logistically close on a map doesn't always mean it is. I have since flown between France and Italy.
If it isn't too late in the trip planning I'd rework my itinerary to avoid 12 hour multi train trips.