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Train itinerary from Nice to the Cinque Terre (and other recommendations)?

Posted by on

My wife and I are planning the itinerary for our two week France/Italy trip this May. We have booked our flights from Minneapolis to Paris and Paris to Minneapolis (best use of Delta skymiles). We have a rough itinerary set up, but we are hesitant about the travel from France to Italy. Initially we thought it would be a good idea to take the train from Paris to Nice then on to the Cinque Terre via train after 2 nights in Nice, but it has proved difficult to find solid information on the latter train route.

Is the train ride from Paris to Nice, and Nice to CT worth it (value, views of countryside/Mediterranean?) or are will we be spending too much time on trains to justify it? Can anyone provide more details about the train ride from Nice to CT? Any other recommendations?

Current rough itinerary (goal of trip is to see some sights, but also enjoy some French/Italian culture and food).
MSP>Paris by Plane
Paris 4 days
Paris>Nice by Train
Nice 2 days
Nice>CT by Train
CT 3 days
CT>Tuscany by Train
Tuscany 2 days
Tuscany>Rome by Train
Rome 3 days
Rome>Paris by Plane
overnight in Paris
Paris>MSP by Plane

Thank you!

Posted by
6898 posts

The French SNCF has a really fast train from Paris to Nice Ville (Nice train station). Just short of 6.0hrs for the train ride. Or, you can fly www.easyjet.com from Paris-CDG to Nice in 90 minutes for 79Euro. Your choice. From Nice Ville to the CT will take another 6.0hrs by train. Trains are all Regionales and the overall speeds are slower because of the track layouts along the way. No fast trains on this routing. CT to Florence is another 2.5-3.0hrs by train. IMHO, you appear to be trying to hit the hot spots and for a 2-week trip, you really have a lot of travel distance to cover. Distance wise, traveling from Paris to Rome is similar to traveling from Chicago to New Orleans.

Posted by
111 posts

You should reserve the Paris-Nice train ticket 3 months ahead to get a significant discount over full fare; see tips at Rick's France rail page. The 6-hour train ride from Nice to Cinque Terre has some nice Mediterranean scenery, but the part that makes it "worth it" is getting to your destination. Italian train tickets are relatively cheap to buy as you go, without having to lock in dates and times so far ahead; get an idea of regular fares on the map at Rick's Italy rail page.

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