Travel from South of France to Cinque Terre

Rent a car but return it to France at the end to avoid a huge drop fee. Or take trains, changing over the border to Italian train.

If you are looking for something instant non-stop forget it.

It is very simple by train you have to decide if you want to say in any of the cities listed below or travel for 8 hours by train making connections below
Avignon to Nice
Nice to Genoa
Genoa to Monterosso

You have specify on how you want to get there for people to help

Avignon to CT is a LONG way!

We've traveled from Avignon to Florence, via train, but we stopped overnight in Nice, and even then it took most of the day!

There is really no "best way", in my opinion.

Have you considered traveling to Nice for at least an overnight, then traveling from there?

You may consider flying from Marseille to Pisa, then take the train to the desired village in the Cinque Terre, however, you first have to take the train to Marseille, then wait at the airport, etc, etc...

Thank you for the replies... Thinking stopping one night in Nice may be the best option but that means I will need to take one night from another stop. We have 14 nights and I am having such a hard time deciding where to focus our time. I want to see it all! Thanks again!

Gracie,

We have 14 nights and I am having such a hard time deciding where to focus our time. I want to see it all!

What is your itinerary?

I read your other posts, but I didn't see a revised itinerary.

Have you considered enjoying your 14 nights traveling in France and leaving Italy for a future trip?

Oh yes, sorry... here is my tentative itinerary:
We are looking at flying into Paris cause it’s quick and easy from SFO. The three places I really really want to see are South of France (minus the Riviera) and Cinque Terre and Tuscany. But as I continue to research, I have discovered Loire Valley and Dordogne which look amazing. I think we are trying to do too much but don’t know where to cut back. Also, I just realized that it will take an entire day and 2 train changes to go from Avignon to Cinque Terre. I also looked into flights and there is nothing that would be any better. Anyway, I’m frustrated and ready to give up! All input is appreciated.

This itinerary is 14 nights but we actually have 15 so I could add another night somewhere wherever it makes sense.

Arrive Paris 2 nights
Loire Valley 2 nights
Carcassone 1 night
Avignon 3 nights
Cinque Terre 2 nights
Tuscany 3 nights
Florence 1 night
Fly out of Florence

Carcassonne is a detour on your route that's adding another 8 hours of travel time and would be the easiest to cut. To travel by train from the Loire Valley to Avignon without going back through Paris (and changing stations in Paris), take the 14:30 TGV departure from St-Pierre-des-Corps direct to Avignon TGV station (arriving 18:43, then catch a shuttle bus into town).

Each of your places to visit is wonderful, but there's a lot of movement and travel from place to place, and the movement is at the expense of spending time at the places you want to visit. I have not been to every place on your itinerary, but have visited many of them. I have a couple of thoughts on the beginning and end of your visit. I imagine you will arrive in Paris relatively early in the day (after a long flight) and it will take an hour or so to get to your hotel and possibly not be able to check-in until 3:00 pm or thereabouts. I’m also guessing your flight out of Florence may be relatively early in the morning, so the night before you may be packing, etc. This said, have you considered an additional night in Paris, and having 5 nights in Florence, with day trips to Sienna, Pisa, Ravenna and Bologna (by train from Florence)? This would mean sacrificing two nights in one (or two) of your stops between Paris and Florence, but it would mean less unpacking and re-packing and more time in two spectacular cities to relax a bit and just take in the moment. Speaking of time, if you plan to visit the Louvre, Uffizi or Academia, check other RS threads for purchasing advance admission, or you will spend a great deal of time standing in line.

PS This would further impact your planned intermediate stops, but you may want to consider flying from Marseilles to Genoa. Once in Genoa, the train to the CT is pleasant and you can begin to wind-down for the balance of your time in the CT and Italy.